Lando Norris furiously defended over 'stab-in-the-back' threat

Juan Pablo Montoya has launched a scathing attack on a journalist following a controversial interview with F1 drivers' champion Lando Norris, with the Colombian calling some reporters "incompetent" and untrustworthy.

The seven-time grand prix winner branded the behaviour "very poor" and advised the Briton not to speak to that particular journalist again.

The McLaren driver was interviewed by The Guardian — around his Laureus Breakthrough of the Year award — with specific restrictions imposed by his management team.

Topics deemed off-limits included questions about Max Verstappen, George Russell, his relationships with both rivals, and the current F1 regulations.

The resulting Guardian article detailed these restrictions extensively, describing how a question about regulations was interrupted by a management representative who indicated the interview was over despite ten minutes reportedly remaining. Norris was described as appearing uncomfortable, reportedly saying: "I'm not the boss."

Despite the restrictions, the journalist continued questioning, asking whether Mercedes could be caught this season. Norris responded briefly: "Yes, they can, and we’re doing our best to make sure it'll be us who do that."

When asked if he thought Verstappen might retire, the management team reportedly laughed, with Norris saying: "I've no idea. Max can do whatever he likes."

After the journalist put it to the McLaren driver that he is not afforded that same luxury by his management team, a representative approached, adding: "He’s an amazing guy. Max is the best person ever, and we love him. Quote."

The Guardian piece concluded with the journalist expressing his displeasure at the situation, writing: "At the end I shake Norris’s hand and thank him for his time. Once he has left, I walk over to the garrulous young manager. I point to my white hair as a sign I have been interviewing famous sports people for a long time. For what it’s worth, I say, I think he and his company are doing Norris a great disservice.

"I also offer him my hand and walk away into the night. The regret I feel is less for my own curtailed encounter than the troubling fact that an admirable world champion has to be policed in this way."

Stabbed in the back

Speaking on his MontoyAS podcast, the former McLaren and Williams driver strongly defended Norris and his management approach.

"Very poor from that journalist," Montoya said. "If they tell you: we have an exclusive interview with Lando, but you can't ask this, and you do it anyway... I would never speak to him again. But Lando handled it very well by acting like he would answer, while knowing he couldn't and that they would interrupt him."

Montoya argued that such questions are deliberately provocative, explaining: "Suppose you ask a question and he says: 'To be honest, I'm not such a fan of Max, his character doesn't suit me, I don't like the way he races.'

"Then 80 per cent of the article is based on that. With all respect to you as a journalist, but those are just incompetent people. That's why management stepped in, because they knew what was coming."

The 50-year-old expanded his criticism to journalists more broadly: "You know what happens? Journalists never ask those kinds of questions with good intentions. There's never good intention behind those questions.

"They try to make someone stumble, say something wrong, so they can use it as a headline and 'finish' someone. That's just how it works. And I tell you that because I've experienced it myself."

Montoya reflected on his own experiences with media management during his Formula 1 career.

"Very few journalists are people you can really trust to say things openly without it being used against you," he stated. 

"With me, the team limited me more than my management side. And honestly, you just learn that through trial and error. In your first year, you're still friendly to everyone and just assume everyone is trustworthy. But then you start to see who you can and can't share things with."

He concluded with a stark warning about media relations: "If you tell someone something 'off the record', for example: 'that guy was really an idiot', there's always someone who will still use that.

"And there are also people with whom you can really have normal off-the-record conversations and who will never betray you. But many others, purely for a scoop, will stab you in the back without hesitation."