Red Bull’s 2026 F1 concerns forced a full focus on 2025, says Juan Pablo Montoya. Juan Pablo Montoya believes Red Bull has concentrated all its efforts on the 2025 F1 season.

The former Formula 1 driver does not believe the Milton Keynes-based team will be among the main contenders in the next world championship cycle.

The Colombian’s view

“From what I understand, Red Bull will face difficulties because of the power unit it has available.” Johnny Herbert recently stated that the Milton Keynes outfit appears destined to struggle in 2026, its first season as a full engine manufacturer, and the former British driver is not the only one to share this opinion.

Juan Pablo Montoya agrees with this assessment, and it is precisely the awareness of a challenging season ahead that, in his view, pushed Red Bull to do everything possible to try to win the Drivers’ Championship in 2025.

“Red Bull knew it had no chance of fighting for the title in 2026, and that’s why it pushed hard on the development of the 2025 car,” Juan Pablo Montoya said while speaking to Grosvenor Casinos. “Max Verstappen has certainly done a great job and has driven extremely well, but he managed to achieve wins and pole positions because the car improved in the second half of the season, while McLaren stopped development in order to focus on 2026.” – the former Formula 1 driver concluded.