Racing Icon Asks ‘Million Dollar’ Question over Max Verstappen’s 2026 Title Prospects

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya pointed out the one factor that could hamper Max Verstappen's 2026 title chances.

Racing Icon Asks ‘Million Dollar’ Question over Max Verstappen’s 2026 Title Prospects

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Max Verstappen dominated Formula 1 at the start of the ground-effect era. The Dutch driver has won back-to-back world titles and shattered several records. However, 2025 paints a completely different picture with the Red Bull star struggling to match McLaren upfront. This has raised concerns over Verstappen’s future in the sport, as well as his title chances for 2026 if he continues at Milton Keynes. Now, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has pinpointed one major question over the status quo.

In 2025, Red Bull has fallen far behind McLaren in terms of performance. This is evident with Max Verstappen only winning two races compared to seven victories achieved by the Woking-based team. While Verstappen has continued to push himself to the limit, he is in a tight spot over defending the world title this time around. Moreover, this has even raised questions whether Red Bull will even be competitive next season.

Juan Pablo Montoya cited that next year will see a massive overhaul courtesy of the 2026 rule changes. The Columbian pointed out that Verstappen’s pace is not an issue, highlighting that Lewis Hamilton managed to win seven titles while having arguably the best car on six of those occasions. The Briton even made the call to switch teams at the perfect time. Montoya hinted that car performance is what would likely decide Max Verstappen’s success next season.

The question is the 2026 rules. The question is not how good Max is. You can say Lewis won seven. But Lewis was in the right car for six of them. And the other one as well, McLaren. He left McLaren at the right time and went to Mercedes at the right time.

Juan Pablo Montoya told CasinoHawks

More importantly, the former F1 driver recalled that Red Bull no longer had aero-genius Adrian Newey, who left to join Aston Martin. This will be the first time in two decades when the Austrian team heads to a regulation change without Newey. Juan Pablo Montoya claimed that the million dollar question was whether Red Bull can still give Max Verstappen a good car without its aero-wizard.

So, can Red Bull still dominate with the new rules with no Adrian Newey? This is the first time Red Bull is going to go to a new regulation without Newey. That’s the million dollar question.

Juan Pablo Montoya added

Max Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen worried over Adrian Newey’s absence

Max Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen has played a pivotal role in shaping the 27-year-old’s career. The former F1 driver has continued to provide guidance to his son over the years. So much so, that the 53-year-old has been in a war of words with team boss Christian Horner whenever he has not been happy with the team.

Max and Jos Verstappen
Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Juan Pablo Montoya reckoned that Newey’s absence was a bigger concern for Jos Verstappen. The 53-year-old has immense experience in the world of motorsport. Thus, he understands the need to have the right person for a major regulation change. The senior Verstappen would undoubtedly warn his son over the possibility of Red Bull facing a performance slump next season.

I think that’s probably more in the back of Jos’ mind than Max’s. Jos has been around longer and understands it better, and he understands how important it is to have the right person building the car.

Juan Pablo Montoya stated

Certainly, Max Verstappen would be keeping an eye on Red Bull’s progress for the 2026 rules. No one can really get a clear picture of the pecking order before the cars hit the track, however, the team’s situation can give an idea over whether things are going on-track. If Verstappen remains unconvinced by the development made at Milton Keynes, he could potentially consider his options before the end of this season.

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