Juan Pablo Montoya believes Max Verstappen “won’t pose an issue” for Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 F1 world championship.
Verstappen begins the new season as the reigning world champion for the fourth time, while Hamilton has left Mercedes for Ferrari in an attempt to secure his eighth world title.
However, Red Bull faced difficulties with its 2024 car, experiencing a concerning drop in performance that the team couldn’t completely comprehend, although they did regain momentum towards the end, enabling Verstappen to secure the drivers’ championship.
The squad is additionally dealing with the departure of Adrian Newey, who left to work with Aston Martin, as both McLaren and Ferrari vehicles were significantly quicker than Red Bull towards the conclusion of last season, and the 2025 cars are expected to be mainly advancements of the 2024 models.
As the new season approaches, six-time F1 champion Montoya thinks Verstappen won’t be able to compete closely with former title rival Hamilton.
“Max Verstappen won’t be an issue for Lewis this year,” Montoya stated to OnlineCassino.com.
“I’d be taken aback if Red Bull starts off strong like in recent years; Adrian Newey mentioned the other day that the issues at Red Bull are more complex than they believe.”
“It’s quite challenging because when you think your actions are correct and then suddenly they fail, how far do you retrace your steps, and when do you ask, ‘Is our current approach right or are we still mistaken?’”
“If you claim that you’re constructing the car incorrectly and acknowledge that your actions are wrong, how certain are you that what you’re currently doing is entirely correct?”
At a certain moment, they simply need to say: ‘This is what we stand for, and this is where we will focus our efforts, and this is what we will enact, and this is what will occur.
You simply begin to move laterally or even in reverse. If you continue to progress on incorrect foundations, you will never escape the pit.
“That gap can be extremely deep, and that’s the issue.”
