Lando Norris told F1 championship rival has got ‘inside his head’

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes that Oscar Piastri has “got inside Lando Norris’ head” after the Brit lost his lead in the drivers’ standings to his McLaren team-mate

Lando Norris has been told his recent struggles are down to the fact that McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri is enjoying a run of success. Piastri has won the last two Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while Norris finished third and fourth respectively and also crashed in qualifying in Jeddah.

As a result, Piastri now sits ten points above the Brit in the drivers’ standings, with Norris having failed to win a race since the opening Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne. And former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Piastri has “got inside Lando Norris’ head”.

Montoya, who raced for both Williams and McLaren, feels Norris would beat Piastri “pretty easily” if he is able to stay “in his bubble” and not get affected by his team-mate. “Absolutely, Oscar Piastri has got inside Lando Norris’ head,” Montoya told Fast Slots.

“Lando just wants so much more that it’s not there, realistically. I think somebody needs to be on Lando’s corner to go to him and say, ‘Just stop looking at Oscar. Just do you.’

“At the weekend, he said he felt clueless and like he’d never driven an F1 car before. Then he made those mistakes.

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“What you can see clearly is that he’s putting enough pressure on Lando to force him into making mistakes. If Lando stays in his bubble and does what Lando does best without worrying about Oscar, I think Lando could beat him pretty easily.

“The problem is, Oscar is getting too close for him. I think Lando wants to see like a two or three tenths of a second gap where he can relax. When he has that, he can push comfortably knowing he has that cushion.

“But when that cushion is not there, he tries to create a cushion when it’s not needed. You can be on pole by half a tenth, or a tenth.

“But he’s not looking to be on pole by a tenth of a second – he wants three or four. And that’s where the mistakes are coming. They are self-inflicted.”

Montoya also believes Norris is “putting extra pressure on himself” with some of the comments he has made. “Every other year when Lando’s done good, he was the underdog,” Montoya added.

“And this time, like he’s defending himself, saying, ‘We’re still really good, it’s not the car.’ They are in the best car. He’s putting extra pressure on himself.

“He shouldn’t be making excuses and apologising. He should just celebrate that they have the best car, tell everyone that everybody on the team is doing an amazing job, and that we’re winning the races.”

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