Former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya believes that Lando Norris has a ‘higher value’ to McLaren than team-mate Oscar Piastri due to his history with the organisation and his strong relationship with Zak Brown.
Norris was guided through the junior formulae as a McLaren development driver and promoted into F1in 2019 after finishing second in the Formula Two championship the previous year. Since then, the Brit has scored nine race victories and 40 podiums for Andrea Stella’s squad, all while becoming a fan-favourite and marketable personality.
Piastri, meanwhile, was a product of Alpine’s junior academy and was poached away from Team Enstone by McLaren for the 2023 campaign. According to Montoya, this will affect his standing in the team relative to team-mate Norris.
“I think Lando because he’s got more history in the team,” Montoya told Fruity King ahead of the United States GP. “He’s been there; he came up with the team. When he joined McLaren, McLaren wasn’t where it needed to be.
“And I think he’s got a really good relationship with Zak. If Oscar becomes world champion, then things might change. But today, they might be equal and everything, but the value of Lando is still higher than Oscar.”
As things stand, Piastri is well-placed to clinch his maiden World Championship and bolster his standing within the McLaren team. The Australian leads Norris by 22 points heading into the final six rounds of the 2025 campaign, with Max Verstappen dropping out of the picture 63 points back from the 24-year-old.
However, momentum is on Norris’s side. The Bristol-born racer has finished ahead of Piastri at each of the last three Grands Prix, and has out-scored his title rival in six of the last eight race weekends.
According to Montoya, Piastri, whose ice-cool demeanour has shown cracks in recent weeks, is feeling the heat. “The pressure is getting to him, and it’s getting to everybody, and it’s normal,” he continued.
“Everybody said Oscar never had an issue with pressure. He was so self-assured. But Oscar has never been fighting for an F1 world championship before. This is a different league. This is a 24-race season. He is centre stage of this great drama playing out.”
In Austin this weekend, all eyes will be on the dynamic between Norris and Piastri. The latter was furious with his McLaren team after his request to swap positions after the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix was denied.
