Unless you’re Max Verstappen driving a 2023 Red Bull, every F1 driver has to be on the very edge at all times to extract the most out of their cars to defeat their rivals.
It means even in perfect conditions, Formula 1 cars are very difficult to drive to their full potential with knowing when to push and getting the tyres to the perfect temperature a very difficult skill.
Juan Pablo Montoya was speaking on the W Radio Colombia YouTube channel about one driver he thinks tries too hard to extract every bit of speed out of his car.
The conditions at the Canadian Grand Prix were far from perfect and a quarter of the grid didn’t reach the chequered flag.
Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc will count themselves very unfortunate, but Logan Sargeant, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez all made mistakes that ended their races.
However, Montoya believes that despite achieving his best result of the season in Canada, Mercedes driver George Russell still makes too many mistakes.
He believes that the reason for this is that the British driver – who has 12 F1 podiums to his name – is trying to drive at 110% all the time.
The Colombian former F1 star has a theory about why Russell is always right on the very edge.
READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell’s life outside F1 from net worth to height
Juan Pablo Montoya thinks George Russell keeps trying to drive at 110%
It’s been a very long time since so many drivers came away from a race disappointed they didn’t achieve victory.
Max Verstappen eventually came out on top but had to work hard in his Red Bull and enjoy a bit of luck after a poorly-timed safety car for Lando Norris.
However, it was George Russell who started the race on pole position after a magnificent lap in qualifying.
He also led for a decent portion of the Grand Prix, but once the conditions started to change, his Mercedes wasn’t quite as quick.
Russell eventually finished third, however, he might have been wondering what could have been after making several errors.
Montoya believes that Russell keeps having these issues because he’s constantly driving at 110%.
That may partly be Mercedes’s fault because he’s not used to running at the front of a race during his time with the team.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage
George Russell is not used to leading races with Mercedes
Talking about Russell’s performance in Canada, Montoya said: “That’s why he made the mistakes, he was trying to give 110% all the time.
“If you try to really understand, look at what happened when he got to Mercedes, Mercedes stopped winning.
“I think he won a race [Brazil 2022] but he has not won more and Mercedes in 2023 was not fast and in 2024 it has not been fast.
“So, if you have a chance to win, you’re not going to drive conservatively.
“The problem with what he did is that he probably threw away a chance to win because he made a lot of mistakes, but you can’t scold him and judge him for trying.
“He made a mistake because he was going too fast, he made a mistake because he was pushing like a madman and he went off.
“I even talk about it with Sebastian [Montoya, his son in Formula 3], and I tell him look if you are trying and you make a mistake and you crash, we fix it and we move forward.”
Russell will hope that Mercedes’s form in Canada wasn’t just a one-off and he can continue to challenge at the front of races from now on.
The more experience he has in those situations, the less likely he is to make mistakes.
Jolyon Palmer has shared with Russell the one aspect of his driving he needs to improve to start winning races.
Former world champion Damon Hill believes that some of his key moments in Canada suggested he was desperate, but that’s understandable given he’s had to wait a very long time to have a race-winning car.
The post ‘The problem’: Juan Pablo Montoya thinks 12-podium F1 driver keeps making mistakes by trying to drive at 110% appeared first on F1 Oversteer.