Juan Pablo Montoya criticizes Oscar Piastri after Singapore: “He acted like a maniac”. Former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya defended Lando Norris.

Following a technical issue at the Dutch Grand Prix, the points gap in the drivers’ standings between Lando Norris and his teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri was 34 points. Heading into the United States Grand Prix, that gap has narrowed to 22 points, but McLaren remains in a particularly tense situation despite securing the Constructors’ Championship in the previous race at Singapore.

In addition to Max Verstappen steadily gaining on them in the standings, the two McLaren drivers came into contact at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix. The incident occurred due to an aggressive move by Norris into Turn 3. To avoid hitting Max Verstappen, Lando Norris veered to the right, colliding with Oscar Piastri, who then complained over the radio to the team to regain his position — which was not granted.

Speaking on AS Colombia’s YouTube channel, former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya commented on the current situation within the Woking team, defending Norris and criticizing Piastri, particularly after the Australian’s mistakes in Baku. Montoya stated, “We are seeing a Lando who is starting to take control — he is starting to assert himself. He did exactly what he needed to do.” – the former Formula 1 driver pointed out.

He added, “Oscar left the door open like never before. Coming out of Turn 1, if you look closely, Lando saw that Oscar wasn’t accelerating, and the moment Lando stepped on it, Oscar accelerated. Oscar acted like a maniac for once. He threw himself to the outside to avoid being overtaken by Lando, and Lando threw himself to the inside like a maniac. This is the first corner of the race. What are they waiting for?”