Montoya warns Red Bull ‘careers lost’ amid Verstappen replacement questions
Juan Pablo Montoya's warning to Red Bull
Should Red Bull lose Max Verstappen to Mercedes, Red Bull will need “two drivers” just to get close to the same number of points Verstappen himself could score.
And Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t believe they have either of those two drivers ready and waiting within their own junior programme.
Juan Pablo Montoya: How many careers have we seen lost?
After weeks of intense speculation, the F1 paddock will learn in the next two or three weeks where Verstappen will be racing next season.
The reigning World Champion has been linked to George Russell’s Mercedes race seat, although Red Bull may have played a trump card by sacking Christian Horner reportedly on the behest – or at least encouragement – of ‘Team Verstappen’.
Verstappen will confirm his decision in August, according to Nelson Piquet Jr., the brother of his partner Kelly, with that coinciding with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff’s summer break deadline.
But while Piquet Jr. may have let the cat out of the bag when he said “next year with Max there” when he spoke about Mercedes’ form at the British Grand Prix, the F1 driver himself hasn’t said much.
“The more I say about it,” he told Viaplay, “the more it will be reported in the media. And I certainly do not want that. I determine my own future.”
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A future that has everyone guessing.
“We don’t know what’s going on at Red Bull. Max will now say, ‘It’s going to be interesting’,” Montoya told AS Colombia. “We don’t know.”
The former F1 driver believes Red Bull could be in trouble if Verstappen decides to leave the team as he has been their leading points-scorer since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of the 2018 season.
Winning four World titles and 60 Grand Prix, this year Verstappen has 165 of Red Bull’s 172 points.
“Max is worth as much as half to two-thirds of the entire grid, because at the moment Red Bull is a team that only scores points thanks to Max,” said Montoya.
“If they lose Max, they will really need to invest in two drivers and try to get the same number of points with those two that Max gets on his own. I think this is what they will try.”
But with which drivers?
Although Red Bull have their own junior programme, Montoya doesn’t believe Arvid Lindblad nor Isack Hadjar, who is already on the grid with Racing Bulls, are ready to step up into a Red Bull race seat.
As for Yuki Tsunoda, he’s struggling to score points with reports claiming this could be his first and last season at Red Bull, while Liam Lawson also didn’t excel during his brief Red Bull stint.
“For Lindblad, who is now driving in Formula 2, the next step is a switch to Racing Bulls,” Montoya said. “I don’t know if he’s the solution. He should first drive for a season with Racing Bulls.”
“I wouldn’t give Hadjar a seat either,” Montoya continued. “He needs to gain more confidence first.”
“He is doing very well in his first season, but I think he needs at least one more year at Racing Bulls. A driver needs confidence and stability. At the moment his career is going well, but how many careers have we seen lost?”
It has been suggested Red Bull could turn to Russell if they lose Verstappen in a straight swap between the two drivers. Hadjar, despite Montoya’s opinion, is said to be the favourite to replace Tsunoda in the second seat.
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