Lando Norris is the driver of the moment. With a 24-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship – 23 of which he gained during the Interlagos weekend alone – the McLaren star is accelerating towards what could become his very first Formula 1 World Championship. His advantage is built on raw speed, precise driving and a clean, error-free approach, a combination that has helped erase the image of the sometimes hesitant and inconsistent driver seen earlier this season and throughout last year. According to Juan Pablo Montoya, Norris has overcome his past weaknesses and, if he continues at this rhythm, he may even clinch the title before the final round in Abu Dhabi.
Juan Pablo Montoya shares his view
“If we look at how far back Lando Norris was,” the former Colombian driver told PokerStrategy, “he was more than 30 points behind, and now he leads by 24. If he keeps going like this, he’ll win the championship even before Abu Dhabi. Max Verstappen is still mathematically in the fight, but realistically it’s unlikely he’ll catch either of the McLaren drivers. If Norris manages to beat Oscar Piastri in Las Vegas and Qatar, then he can wrap it up before the final race.”
Juan Pablo Montoya continued: “Lando has always missed something in Q3 and when he made that mistake on one of his laps in Brazil, I thought ‘oh my God, here we go again’. But then he delivered that second lap, he still had energy, and he was even a bit conservative in the first sector – but he had the pace to afford it. I think he knew he was faster than Piastri. Two things happened there: Oscar retired in the Sprint Race and probably just wanted to finish the main race, while Lando really bounced back, and his confidence has grown massively.”
Juan Pablo Montoya, who raced for McLaren in 27 Grands Prix between 2005 and 2006, also warned the British driver against thinking the job is already done, as that could cause him to lose focus and make mistakes. “There’s a risk he becomes complacent like Piastri was when he had his points advantage, so he needs to be careful. Realistically, Lando could still finish behind his teammate in every race and win the championship anyway, but the problem is that Oscar doesn’t have enough speed at the moment. When he found himself second after the contact with Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris managed to pull away and extend the gap to seven or eight seconds.”
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