According to the former driver, Max Verstappen is unlikely to give up the undisputed leadership role he enjoys within the Milton Keynes team.
The Colombian’s opinion
“At Red Bull, it was always a problem, whether I was fast or far from Verstappen.” Sergio Perez recently appeared on an episode of the Cracks Podcast, where he emphasized just how uncomfortable it is to sit in the Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen—a seat that has already ‘burned’ or at least ‘scorched’ many drivers.
In 2026, it will be Isack Hadjar’s turn to face the four-time world champion, who in 2025 faced no internal competition from Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda.
According to Juan Pablo Montoya, Perez’s statements support the idea that it would be very difficult for Max Verstappen to leave Red Bull, precisely because he would lose the status he currently enjoys at the team: “What Perez said is terrible,” Montoya told the Colombian edition of the Spanish outlet AS. “If you go faster than Max, it’s a problem, and if you go slower than Max, it’s a problem. You lose either way. If you go faster than Max, they will change everything so Max can go faster. If you’re slower, they’ll blame you for misjudging the situation. That’s why I think it would be hard for Max Verstappen to move to another team. The reality of not being number one and not having the status he has at Red Bull, where he can do whatever he wants, is complicated.”
The internal dynamics at Red Bull continue to be a subject of intense scrutiny as the sport approaches the 2026 technical reset. Juan Pablo Montoya’s assessment paints a picture of a team built entirely around a single driver, creating a “security blanket” for Max Verstappen that other top teams—who often promote more balanced competition—might not offer. As the driver market remains unpredictable, the question remains whether Max Verstappen values his total control at Milton Keynes more than the challenge of proving he can dominate in a completely different environment.
Leave a Reply