Montoya: Norris a worthy champion, but 'anybody in that car could have been world champion'
Juan Pablo Montoya calls Lando Norris a "worthy" F1 champion but argues the dominant McLaren was the key factor, suggesting any top driver could have won the title in that car. He compared it to past eras of dominance by Ferrari and McLaren, emphasizing F1's nature as a team sport.
Juan Pablo Montoya praised Lando Norris’s 2025 title-winning campaign, while also suggesting the dominant McLaren MCL39 was the decisive factor, stating that "anybody in that car could have been world champion." Norris secured his first Drivers' Championship by a narrow two-point margin over Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, capitalizing on his car's clear season-long superiority after a strong second-half performance.
Why it matters:
Montoya's comments touch on a perennial debate in Formula 1: the balance between driver skill and car performance in determining a champion. By framing Norris's achievement within the context of McLaren's dominant machinery and drawing parallels to past eras, he highlights the team sport nature of F1 while still acknowledging the Briton's worthy status. This perspective adds nuance to the celebration of a new champion.
The details:
- Montoya explicitly stated, "Lando is a worthy champion, but anybody in that car could have been world champion," drawing a direct comparison to Max Verstappen's previous titles in the dominant Red Bull.
- He contextualized the achievement within F1 history, noting, "When Schumacher won with Ferrari, or when Senna won with McLaren... They did a mega job, that's why it's a team sport."
- The analysis of Norris's season acknowledged a significant performance shift. Montoya observed that the car's characteristics required an adaptation period, saying, "At the beginning of the year... it takes him a bit of time to understand what he needs out of the car."
- He credited the turnaround to a collaborative effort: "Once he and the team understood how to maximise the car, they made the necessary changes... And that's when he starts getting the job done."
The big picture:
The conversation extends beyond Norris, as former driver Riccardo Patrese separately contended that the new champion is not the driver who can consistently match Verstappen on pure pace. This juxtaposition of opinions—one focusing on the car's role in a title win and another on head-to-head driver comparison—underscores the multifaceted criteria used to evaluate driver greatness in F1. Ultimately, Montoya's view reinforces that a championship is the product of a driver extracting the maximum from a competitive package at the right time, a feat Norris demonstrably accomplished in 2025.