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F1 Montoya sees McLaren make mistake in battle with Verstappen

Montoya explains how Red Bull are causing McLaren a headache

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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Juan Pablo Montoya believes McLaren made a key mistake in their battle with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen for the 2024 Drivers' World Championship. According to the former F1 driver, McLaren should have decided to make Norris the number one much earlier. He also identifies a key problem McLaren have in the final six race weekends.

Lando Norris must bridge a 52-point gap to call himself World Champion when the chequered flag falls at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December. The McLaren driver has six Grands Prix and three sprint races remaining but might not be able to win the overall prize even if he wins every remaining race.

Montoya, who raced for McLaren in 2005 and 2006, sees a problem for McLaren. "The hard thing for McLaren is Max keeps finishing the podium," Montoya told Gambling Zone. Despite winning by nearly 21 seconds in Singapore, Norris only reduced the gap by seven points because Verstappen finished second. "But McLaren had the opportunity to close that gap and put more pressure on Max, but it’s maybe now too late," he continued.

Should McLaren have favoured Norris earlier?

Montoya thinks all teams can learn from this situation. "McLaren should have made the decision about who is number one earlier. It’s a good lesson for all the teams. They should say that halfway through the season whoever is ahead becomes number one for the second half of the season," he added.

However, McLaren lead the Constructors' World Championship. Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have won races during the 2024 season, whereas Red Bull's Sergio Perez has often lagged behind the front runners. Andrea Stella's team has a 41-point lead over Red Bull Racing.

This article has been created in collaboration with Estéban den Toom