To say Piastri has endured a tricky 2026 campaign so far would be quite the understatement. The 25-year-old kicked off the year with two consecutive Did Not Starts (DNS) after a formation lap crash at his home race in Melbourne and then electrical failure in Shanghai. Piastri immediately bounced back to take podium finished in Suzuka and Miami, but has overall struggled to get to grips with the MCL40 so far, particularly in comparison with teammate Norris.

Piastri looked like getting one up on Norris in Budapest last time out, but a controversial collision with back-marker Carlos Sainz while in the net lead of the race, followed by a gearbox-related DNF brought a miserable Grand Prix to an end while Norris took home the win.

With Piastri sitting P7 in the Drivers' standings, now 36 points behind Norris in P5, former McLaren driver Montoya has urged the Aussie to "go down a couple of rabbit holes" and experiment with his MCL40's set up, even if it means two or three difficult weekends.

Speaking to news.com.au, Montoya said: “He needs to understand why Lando’s more comfortable than him, what’s missing and what they need to do.

The Colombian has also offered his thoughts on where else it might be going wrong for Piastri, highlighting the potential impact of his dip in form at the very top of the standings during the 2025 season, which ultimately led to Norris beating him, and Max Verstappen, to the Drivers' title.

"Losing the championship last year really hurt him mentally,” Montoya said. “It’s a process of getting over it, figuring it out and getting the focus and the energy back on getting the job done. He is bloody good, so I think he will.

While Montoya clearly has full belief in Piastri's abilities, the 50-year-old raises a harsh reality that the McLaren driver might have to wait a while before mounting another title challenge.

“You need to focus on the day to day, winning races, focus on practice and maximising everything, then the opportunity might come by itself. You can’t determine the rest of your career because you finished second or third in the world championship. It sucks that your teammate won but that’s why we go racing," Montoya concluded.