Juan Pablo Montoya tells Oscar Piastri how he acted like a ‘fool’ in ‘crazy’ Lando Norris collision

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Oscar Piastri has come under fire from former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya after his collision with Lando Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix. Piastri wanted Norris to return the position following the turn-three incident.

The championship leader started two places ahead of his title rival, but Norris was markedly more aggressive at the start. Having passed Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, he dived into a gap behind Max Verstappen.

Contact with the rear of the Red Bull damaged Norris’ front wing and knocked him into Piastri. Having been bumped out of the way, the Australian said his teammate had done a ‘pretty s— job of avoiding’ Verstappen.

When McLaren informed him that they wouldn’t be swapping the cars back, Piastri said the situation was ‘not fair’. It was his biggest public criticism of the team’s management yet.

Oscar Piastri told he ‘left the door open like never before’ for Lando Norris

Speaking on the AS Colombia YouTube channel, Montoya commended Norris for ‘taking control’ with a more assertive approach at McLaren. The Briton found himself 34 points adrift after a mechanical DNF at Zandvoort but has now managed to cut that deficit to 22.

Reviewing the incident itself, he was critical of a naive Piastri for leaving the ‘door open’ for Norris. It was ‘crazy’ to take the outside line as he did.

Montoya had previously suggested that Piastri should be cautious in Singapore after his disastrous double crash in Baku. He may have been too risk-averse at the start.

“We’re seeing a Lando who is starting to take control,” said Montoya. He’s starting to make his presence felt. He did what he had to do.

“Oscar left the door open like never before. Coming out of the first corner, if you look, Lando sees that Oscar doesn’t accelerate, and the moment Lando accelerates, Oscar opens [the throttle].

“Oscar acted like a fool for once. He threw himself like crazy on the outside so that Lando wouldn’t reach him, and Lando threw himself like crazy on the inside.

“It’s the first corner of the race. What are they waiting for?”

Juan Pablo Montoya admits Lando Norris ‘crossed the line’ in Oscar Piastri incident

Montoya did add, in the context of McLaren’s philosophy, that Norris had perhaps gone too far. Piastri has previously been warned over the radio about attempting marginal moves on the sister car.

“Lando did nothing wrong,” he said. “But considering how they are racing among the McLarens, he crossed the line.”

Guenther Steiner has told McLaren to back Piastri in the championship to ward off the threat of Verstappen. The Dutchman couldn’t make it three straight wins in Singapore, but he did chip the gap to 63 points.

Team staff have privately indicated that Norris and Piastri will be able to fight with fewer restrictions at the last six races now that the constructors’ championship has been sealed.