Juan Pablo Montoya claims vindication after ‘nobody’s seen before’ Oscar Piastri claim

Oscar Piastri faced his first truly disastrous weekend of the F1 2025 season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, just weeks after his championship lead over teammate Lando Norris swelled to 34 points.

But Juan Pablo Montoya believes that points gap inspired Piastri to change his approach to the season — leading directly to the downturn we’re witnessing now.

Oscar Piastri “wants to prove” himself in Montoya assessment

Following Lando Norris’ retirement at the Dutch Grand Prix, McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri saw his lead in the drivers’ championship standings swell to season high of 34 points.

The Australian was adamant heading into the Italian Grand Prix that he would not change his approach, because what he’s been doing has worked.

“It’s still far too early to be calculating and settling for positions that aren’t first,” Piastri PlanetF1.com and other media at the time.

“So for me, the approach is still exactly the same. That won’t change until the gap is pretty significantly bigger, or the amount of races is significantly smaller.

“The risk attitude, five races ago, [I] didn’t know the championship picture was going to look like this. And if you took a different amount of risk either way, then the gap is going to be potentially smaller than what it is, could potentially be bigger.

“But I like to think that my approach to risk is pretty measured.

“For me, that doesn’t really change regardless of the championship situation.”

In the two races since Zandvoort, Piastri has been second-best to Norris and seen his title advantage eroded.

More 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix analysis:

👉 Winners and losers from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

👉 Azerbaijan GP conclusions: Piastri SOS, Lando’s big problem, Max’s post-Horner wavelength

At the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri admitted that during qualifying, his laps were good but not spectacular, and he finished a somewhat controversial third after late team orders in a race where he was otherwise no match for Norris.

Baku was even worse, clattering into the wall in both qualifying and the race, as well as jumping the start.

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has argued that he was prescient in predicting that Piastri would change his approach to the championship after his lead reached 34 points, whether he believed he would or not.

Just before the Italian Grand Prix, Montoya argued that “I think Oscar is in a comfortable position, but he should not change his approach.

“I think if he changes his approach, he’s going to become vulnerable to Lando.”

With two events in which he’s been second best to his nearest rival, Montoya has now argued that it is proof that Piastri – deliberately or not – has changed his approach.

“We’re starting to see a side of Oscar that nobody’s seen before,” Montoya said on F1TV’s post-race show. “I don’t even think Oscar’s seen it before.

“He went to Monza and said: ‘Oh, I’m in a comfortable position but I’m not going to change my approach.’

“And I actually said it in Monza, whether you like it or not, mentally, you are going to change your approach, because you’re going to start double-guessing yourself.

“One side is: ‘I’m not pushing enough because I don’t need to’ and then you want to prove to yourself that you are pushing enough, and then you throw the car in the wall.”

There’s something to be said for McLaren’s overall performance at both Monza and Baku; the MCL39 was not the dominant car in either case, having been usurped by an upgraded Red Bull RB21.

But Montoya is also right to point out the impact of ever-growing pressure on drivers like Piastri, who are chasing a title just before the onset of a new regulatory direction that could transform the current pecking order.

The Singapore Grand Prix, in theory, should be an event better suited to the McLaren machines, but it remains to be seen how Piastri reacts to the disappointment of Azerbaijan, and the mounting pressure that comes with leading a narrow title fight.

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