Former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya has never been shy about sharing his opinions.
In an interview a few months ago, Montoya shared how he destroyed one of the old teammates on the grid.
Juan Pablo Montoya was speaking to the Dutch publication Formule1.nl about the 2024 F1 season.
One of the season’s biggest talking points has been whether Max Verstappen will still be at Red Bull at the beginning of next year.
Verstappen has a contract until the end of the 2028 campaign but Mercedes have been courted the triple world champion ever since Lewis Hamilton announced he would be heading to Ferrari.
Montoya has suggested that he simply can’t see Verstappen leaving Red Bull while they still have a race-winning car.
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Juan Pablo Montoya can’t see Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull
Trying to predict the Formula 1 driver’s market is a difficult task, but the drivers themselves have an equally tough job on their hands trying to map out their careers.
Most drivers don’t have the luxury of several top teams courting them at all times and are generally happy just to have a contract for the following campaign.
However, Max Verstappen has put himself in an almost unique position in the paddock.
He’s dominated Formula 1 in a way that only a handful of drivers in the sport’s history can claim to have done.
While part of that is down to Red Bull’s exceptional work, the gap he’s opened up to teammate Sergio Perez shows just how good he really is.
However, there has been unrest behind the scenes at Red Bull and that doesn’t tend to bring success.
That may be one of the reasons why the rest of the grid have closed the gap to Red Bull this year.
Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t believe that this will impact Verstappen’s future at Red Bull.
He believes that Verstappen’s competitiveness will ultimately make his decision for him and as long as Red Bull are in a stronger position than Mercedes, he won’t be going anywhere.
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Max Verstappen holds all the power in future F1 negotiations
Asked whether he could see Verstappen leaving Red Bull at the end of the year, Montoya said: “That’s not going to happen. Max isn’t leaving. I’ll bet you money that he’ll be driving the Red Bull again next season.
“Believe me, as a driver you never voluntarily get out of a winning car. Of course, you will have new engine regulations in Formula 1 from 2026 and you will have to deal with Red Bull Powertrains instead of Honda, but the chance that he will get a better package elsewhere and that Red Bull will choose a completely wrong approach is very small.”
“To put it another way, if I were Max, I wouldn’t go anywhere. If the choice was between racing in a Mercedes or a Red Bull for the next two seasons, you wouldn’t have to think about it for long, would you?
“Mercedes has a good engine, but not a good car.”
Mercedes are confident that when the new regulations begin in 2026 they will have the strongest engine on the grid.
It’s one of the reasons why Alex Albon has stuck with customer team Williams for the next few years.
Martin Brundle has shared what he has seen at Red Bull Powertrains and his verdict might fill Verstappen with confidence that the team can still compete with Mercedes and their other rivals during the next era of the sport.
However, if there’s any suggestion that Red Bull might not be at the top of their game, Verstappen and Mercedes will do everything they can to make a deal happen.
The post ‘I’ll bet you money’: Juan Pablo Montoya shares where he thinks Max Verstappen will be driving next season appeared first on F1 Oversteer.