Juan Pablo Montoya reiterates his take on Oscar Piastri’s approach for F1 glory

Following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has reiterated a point he had previously made about Oscar Piastri. He has claimed that the Aussie driver has to be careful not to change his approach because he has a comfortable lead in the drivers' championship.

Oscar Piastri suffered his worst weekend of the 2025 F1 season at the Azerbaijan GP. The championship leader had started the race from ninth after having crashed in qualifying, and then also crashed on lap 1 of the race, after jumping the start.

Many fans and experts have questioned Piastri's mindset after his showing at Baku. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya had already issued a warning to the 24-year-old about not taking his foot off the pedal.

“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," Montoya had said prior to the Italian GP. [via F1TV]

Piastri was second-best to Norris at Monza, and then had his disastrous outing in Baku. Montoya then reiterated his earlier point after the Azerbaijan GP, saying:

"We’re starting to see a side of Oscar that nobody's seen before. 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," he reiterated.

Montoya also added that Piastri’s points advantage over teammate Lando Norris could be a double-edged sword for him, either making him complacent or pushing him to overdrive and risk a crash.

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Oscar Piastri reflects on the drivers' championship after crashing out of the Azerbaijan GP

Oscar Piastri climbing out of his damaged McLaren at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Oscar Piastri claimed that there is still a long way to go in the 2025 drivers' championship after the Azerbaijan GP, adding that the battle is "far from over". The driver also mentioned that he was not "too concerned" about what his teammate Lando Norris did or did not do to capitalize on his crash at Baku.

When asked about the title fight after the race on Sunday, and his teammate's result, Piastri said:

"I’m not too concerned about that. I’m solely focused on myself and what I can do to improve. There’s still a long way to go, and if you have good or bad weekends, the championship is far from over." [via Sky Sports]

Piastri also gave a similar answer when asked if Max Verstappen is now back in the championship hunt, or could affect the battle between himself and Norris, reiterating that he is solely looking to focus on himself and return to form as soon as possible.