Sep.11 (GMM) Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Lando Norris needs to sharpen his elbows if he wants to be given clear ‘number 1’ status for the 2024 championship fight.
Despite the 62-point gap, Norris is the suddenly-struggling Max Verstappen’s closest and most realistic rival for the drivers’ title this year.
In the sister McLaren, Oscar Piastri is a further 44 points behind Norris, but he was the feistier racer last time out at Monza.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown said Piastri’s overtaking move on Norris was “tough but fair”, but team officials are nonetheless contemplating team orders going forward.
“In my opinion, Lando needs to be a bit more aggressive,” Montoya, renowned for his feisty style during his own Formula 1 career, told AS Colombia.
“I would be if I were him,” said the 48-year-old. “Because Oscar sets clear standards in this regard. He always attacks very aggressively.
“Piastri also used what they’re calling the ‘papaya rules’, because he knew that Norris could not compete with him. He knew that Lando was fighting for the championship and vulnerable. He couldn’t risk crashing.
“I’m sure the team is talking about it and looking at whether to issue a team order,” added the Colombian. “The truth is that this is necessary if they want to win the world championship with Lando.
“It’s important that this happens before Red Bull improves again.”
Indeed, Red Bull and Verstappen’s dominance has been alarmingly waning over the past few months. “Their problems have been clear for a while,” said Montoya.
“The interesting thing was what Checo (Perez) said – that Max is now having the same difficulties with the car. Monza was a weekend that produced many surprises, which might give us an idea of what is still to come this year.”