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Lando Norris’ deal reportedly prevents Oscar Piastri from taking lead role, says Montoya

Originally posted on HITC | By David Comerford | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 10:26 AM ET

McLaren have decided not to promote Oscar Piastri to number-one driver, even as Max Verstappen narrows the gap in the title race. Juan Pablo Montoya believes contract details could be influencing that decision.

With five races left in the season, Verstappen has cut his deficit at the top of the standings to 40 points. And after winning four out of five recent races, Red Bull now look like they have the quickest car on the grid.

Lando Norris has also made up ground on Piastri during that stretch, with their gap now down to 14 points. But if McLaren were to establish a clear pecking order, the Australian would likely get the nod based on his position.

David Croft suggested that ‘any other team’ would be ‘ruthless’ and prioritise their lead driver. If Norris were asked to support Piastri by giving up positions, it could help maximise McLaren’s chances for both titles.

Why McLaren cannot back one driver while both are still in the title fight

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Speaking to AS Colombia on YouTube, Juan Pablo Montoya explained why McLaren cannot back Piastri over Norris, even if there is growing pressure to do so.

Both drivers reportedly have a clause in their contracts that blocks any kind of team order until they are mathematically out of the title race. And with Verstappen closing the gap at the top, we could see all three within a race win heading into the Abu Dhabi finale.

While McLaren can issue team orders, those instructions have to benefit the overall team result rather than favour one driver over the other.

Last year, when this situation came up, McLaren said they would sooner stick to their principles than sacrifice their approach just to secure a title.

Montoya claimed: “They can’t because, first of all, the drivers’ contracts say that as long as they are mathematically in the championship, they can’t give them team orders to help the other driver. But they can give them team orders to benefit the team.

“So what I’m saying is that they have to look at how they handle that politically internally.”

Juan Pablo Montoya says Lando Norris retirement was the worst thing for Oscar Piastri

Piastri was in a strong position after the Dutch Grand Prix, where he won and Norris retired with a mechanical issue. But since then, Norris has closed the gap by 20 points.

The Australian has managed just one podium finish in the past four races, a stretch that also included two crashes in Azerbaijan. Montoya had advised him to play it safe, but now believes the 24-year-old may be holding back too much.

Despite early success in F2 and F3, this is only his third season at the top level, and the pressure is beginning to show.

“I think the biggest damage Oscar could have suffered was Lando having a mechanical problem,” said Montoya. “Things changed, the approach changed, things changed, and the speed right now is not the same, you understand? He’s no longer getting the speed in Q3,” Montoya said.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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