‘Park him’ – Montoya calls for Verstappen punishment over F1 complaints

Juan Pablo Montoya says Max Verstappen should receive penalty points on his licence for criticising Formula 1, warning that driver complaints can quickly turn “political”.

Verstappen has been vocal in his unhappiness with Formula 1’s new engine regulations that put the onus on electrical power, with battery harvesting and super clipping the buzzwords of the season.

Montoya: Add licence points to silence Verstappen’s F1 ‘Mario Kart’ criticism

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Although the sport tweaked the energy management regulations ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, reducing the maximum permitted recharge from 8MJ to 7MJ for qualifying and the boost to 250 kW, it didn’t have a huge effect because the Miami Autodrome is a high-energy circuit.

Having called the changes a “tickle” ahead of the weekend, Verstappen insisted after the grand prix that the drivers are still being “punished” by energy management.

“I mean, you still need to go a bit slower in places to go faster,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media. “So, yeah, it’s still not how I would like to see it.

“It’s still punishing you. You know, the faster you go through corners, you go slower on the next straight. So that’s not what it should be about.”

Verstappen’s complaints in Miami were tame compared to his previous “anti-racing” and “Mario Kart” comments.

But for Montoya, he’s had enough.

“You’ve got to respect the sport,” he told the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast.

“I’m okay you not liking the regulations, but the way you were speaking about what you’re living off and your own sport, there should be consequences for that.”

Asked what consequences, Montoya replied: “Park him.”

Ban him for a race? “Yes.

“Add seven points to the licence, eight points to the licence, [so] that whatever you do after, you’re going to be parked. I guarantee you all the messaging would be different.

“I’m not saying, ‘Don’t say that you don’t like the regulations’, because if you don’t like them, you have the complete right to an opinion.

“It’s okay to be outspoken. I’m not saying don’t be outspoken, but don’t come and call an F1 car a Mario Kart.

“Because you say ‘oh I feel like a boost’ but when the rear wing was open [DRS] and you were getting 20 kph, was that not fake?”

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The seven-time Grand Prix winner also raised concerns that some of the complaints from the drivers could be politically driven to favour their teams.

Mercedes entered this year’s championship as the team to beat with the Mercedes HPP engine in a league of its own. Although Kimi Antonelli did win in Miami, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says his team “were caught on the back foot more than others when it came to energy management”.

Montoya knows all too well how politically motivated complaints can wreck a season after losing out on the F1 2003 title when Williams’ tyre supplier was forced to change its tyre design after complaints from Ferrari and Bridgestone.

Ferrari went on to win the title, with the Colombian finishing third in the standings.

Speaking about the political side, he said: “One is what he really feels, and two is probably what the team is asking him to say.

“Because the politics of the sport are really important, and the message the drivers come across and ask for, a lot of them are guided.

“I can tell you because I was part of that. They tell you that you really need to push for this because it is going to help us.

“I’ll give you an example. In 2003, when I had a shot at the championship, I got screwed because they took a picture of the tyre when completely rolled over and squished over, it was too wide.

“And they had to redesign the front tyre and we lost a tonne of front grip on the car. Ferrari went and won the championship.

“If they had not changed that tyre, I probably would’ve been world champion.

“And why was that? That was a political move.”

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