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Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has warned Red Bull that they could get in the same boat as Williams if Max Verstappen leaves the team in 2026. The Colombian pundit claimed that there were no guarantees that the Austrian team would be able to develop a quick power unit for the upcoming regulations.
Verstappen has been rumored to be heading away from Red Bull at the end of the 2025 season, as many reports have suggested that the Dutch driver fears that his team will not be able to provide him with a quick enough car amid the upcoming engine regulations. Red Bull is moving away from Honda and will develop their own power units in partnership with Ford from 2026 onwards.
Speaking to Instant Casino, Pablo Montoya shared his worries for Red Bull, especially amid the Verstappen exit talk, as he warned the team about a decline to the levels of his former team, Williams.
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"They have an engine power unit for next year that nobody knows how good it is at this point. Red Bull next year could be running where Williams is running," said Montoya, via Crash.net.
Recent reports have suggested that Mercedes may well be ahead of all of their counterparts with regards to their 2026 engine development, and they are one of the rumored destinations for Max Verstappen as well. However, these reports remain purely speculative, and the true performance of the teams will only be revealed when they arrive for the pre-season tests next year.
For now, Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull that runs until 2028, although with certain exit clauses heavily reported to be included in it. It remains to be seen where the reigning F1 world champion's future lies at the moment.
Juan Pablo Montoya claims Toto Wolff was 'desperate' to sign Max Verstappen in 2024
Juan Pablo Montoya has also claimed that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was 'desperate' to sign Max Verstappen in 2024, as the former F1 driver assessed the Dutchman's future. Montoya also claimed that Wolff could potentially be less keen on making a driver change this year, given the strong form of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Speaking to the aforementioned outlet, Montoya weighed in on Verstappen's future and his chances of moving to Mercedes next year.
“If you had to make a decision tomorrow, would you get rid of George Russell? George has been a Mercedes guy for a long time. It’s not like the only eyes were for Kimi Antonelli. And Antonelli’s done a very good job being a rookie. So the question is, do you want to pair George with Max? Do you want to pair Max with Antonelli? Or you decide to stay where you are and don’t take Max? That could happen," said Montoya.
“I know Toto was desperate to have Max last year. Is he still desperate this year to have Max? I’m not so sure,” he added.
Juan Pablo Montoya also mentioned that whichever driver was replaced by Max Verstappen at Mercedes in this hypothetical situation would end up at Red Bull, in his opinion. All talks remain conjectural at the moment, though, and a clearer picture of the 2026 driver line-up will unfold as the season goes on.
