Juan Pablo Montoya: “Wolff knows an Antonelli-Verstappen lineup could dominate F1”. Montoya backs Russell but believes Mercedes dreams of Antonelli and Verstappen.

Montoya analyses Mercedes’ driver market scenario

At the start of the season, very few people would have predicted that, on the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli would be leading the Formula 1 World Championship, with Lewis Hamilton as his closest challenger.

George Russell has had to deal with a series of unfortunate incidents throughout the campaign. The British driver recently estimated that 45 points of his deficit to Antonelli came from circumstances that were completely outside his control. Nevertheless, he is objectively going through a difficult period.

In Barcelona, Antonelli appeared on course to beat Russell in the race before a technical failure forced the Italian out of contention, effectively balancing the equation after Russell’s own retirement in Canada. Against this backdrop, speculation surrounding Mercedes’ future driver lineup continues to intensify.

Montoya’s view on Russell’s situation

According to Juan Pablo Montoya, George Russell’s contract situation is having a significant impact on his performances.

“In my opinion, one thing that would really help George mentally would be a new contract with Mercedes,” the Colombian told Online Betting Site. “Even if he says it’s not a factor, I can guarantee you that he cares about it and that it has a negative impact on his performances. For me, being out of contract was s**t.”

Montoya also discussed the possibility of Max Verstappen joining Mercedes and forming a dream partnership with Antonelli.

“Toto Wolff might think that pairing Verstappen with Antonelli would allow him to win everything. It would be like recreating a Senna-Prost lineup, and Wolff has already shown that he knows how to manage situations like that with two champions in the same garage,” he added.

“For fans, it would be a dream scenario, but it depends on many factors. Mercedes could also decide that it’s not worth disrupting the trend that is seeing Antonelli take on more and more leadership within the team. To me, it seems more likely that Verstappen would end up at McLaren rather than Mercedes, if he were to leave Red Bull.”