Lando Norris stopped Max Verstappen’s title streak and heads into this season as the reigning F1 champion.

Lando Norris is the reigning F1 champion heading into 2026 (Image: Getty)

Lando Norris may be the defending Formula 1 champion, but his rivals on the grid won’t yet fear him on track. That is the view of former racer Juan Pablo Montoya who feels Max Verstappen still very much has the upper hand when it comes to his intimidatory presence while battling wheel-to-wheel with others.

Norris spent much of last season locked in a close title battle with team-mate Oscar Piastri as McLaren dominated the grid for the first two-thirds of the campaign. But Red Bull found extra pace in the latter stages of the year, enough for Verstappen to put himself back into contention, though he was eventually pipped to the title by Norris.

That brought to an end Verstappen’s run of championship successes, which he would have extended to five in a row had it not been for Norris remaining calm under pressure in the Abu Dhabi finale. While that was clearly an impressive feat, former McLaren and Williams racer Montoya believes the Brit has to do more before other start fearing him.

“I think they’re going to gun more for the people who have got the fastest car,” the Colombian told Vision4Sport, who offer F1 hospitality packages. “For people to fear Lando Norris, he needs to win another one or two more championships. Last season, he won with the best car, he took advantage of the best car and did a mega job and won the championship.

Lando Norris has been told he doesn’t yet have the same ‘fear’ factor as Max Verstappen (Image: Getty)

“But it wasn’t like when Max won his first championship that was all the drama with Lewis Hamilton. That first championship for Max was a big thing. The next championship? Probably anybody that car would have been world champion. And that’s how a lot of people look at Lando. But the reality of this sport is if you don’t have the fastest car, you don’t win.”

For McLaren chief executive Zak Brown, though, there is no doubt at all that his driver will not simply rest on his laurels now that he has achieved his childhood dream. The American insists Norris’ self-confidence is at an all-time high and that the 26-year-old wants to follow in Verstappen’s footsteps by launching a dynasty of his own.

Brown said: “There are some drivers that say, ‘I’ve done it, now I’m done’. And then you have drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher who go, ‘I’ve done it once, now I want to do it twice and three and four times’.

“Lando’s confidence is very high. He’s highly motivated. It’s our job to give he and Oscar [Piastri] equipment again to be able to let him fight it out for the championship. But if we can do that, I would think Oscar and Lando will both be in with a shout.”