Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes McLaren has become “hard to stop” as it gains confidence in the 2026 championship.
Reigning champion Lando Norris heads into this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix on the back of two consecutive victories at the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix. Though Norris still trails Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 83 points, McLaren is rapidly closing the gap.
Speaking on F1 TV’s Weekend Warm-Up show, Montoya praised the Woking outfit for taking more risks.
“The combination we’re seeing is a McLaren that is growing, a McLaren that is starting to put everything together, a McLaren that is not afraid of taking risks with strategy,” Montoya explained.
“Last year they were put in a position with the fastest car where they were winning races, but they were afraid of making mistakes and losing races, whereas now they’re the underdog and they’re going for broke, and it’s working.”
The 50-year-old added that Norris’s momentum could be “hard to stop” as the confidence grows within him and the team.
“And when you start doing things like that, and it works, the confidence in the team and the people around you just grows, and it’s going to be hard to stop him,” he said.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Montoya also pointed to Norris’s trust in the MCL40 compared to team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has recently struggled to extract the same performance from the car.
“He’s doing a really good job in qualifying,” Montoya said of Piastri. “He’s always there. On one lap he’s driving really comfortably and when he’s in the right compound for him he’s very quick, but for some reason when he now seems to be on a hotter tyre, the car seems to be tricky to drive.
“I don’t think they’ve found the sweet spot for him. He hasn’t lost any speed. It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh Lando’s doing such a good job.’
“Lando’s just comfortable with the car, and when you trust the car, you can come off the brakes, you can roll the car in, you can throw the car in when you’re going to turn in.
“If you don’t know what the car is going to do, you’re never going to release the brakes as well. You’re never going to carry that speed. And that’s a big difference.”
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