Juan Pablo Montoya believes Max Verstappen won his 2024 title in the first races of the season. According to him, it was mainly because of the difficulties of Mercedes F1 that the drivers of the Brackley team were not able to fight.
“The truth is that if you look at the grid you see eight or even ten good drivers anyway” declared Montoya to Marca. “The problem is you have a big advantage if you start with a car that you can win with every week and you are number 1 straight away.”
“That doesn’t mean the other drivers are bad, because they are actually very good. But it’s like telling Lewis Hamilton that he can’t race anymore and therefore can’t win another title.”
“While the problem is mainly that Mercedes is not driving as fast as Red Bull. Red Bull has suffered from that in the last few races, but it’s not that Verstappen has forgotten how to drive. He showed that at the Brazil.”
The two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 expects a very difficult year in 2025 in the Red Bull clan, and he even thinks that the team which has just won four consecutive drivers’ titles will not compete for the world crowns.
“For Verstappen it will be very difficult next season. If Red Bull can’t suddenly take a big step, it will be really difficult for him to become champion with the car he has at the moment. They simply don’t have not the speed they need so I don’t see him as a favorite.”
“If you look at the last Formula 1 races of last year, it’s impossible to consider him a favorite. We have to wait and see what Red Bull comes up with first, but I would say the fight for the title l “Next year will be between McLaren and Ferrari. I think Mercedes is even more likely than Red Bull.”
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