Montoya: "He has found out the hard way that Lewis no longer lifts for him"

The first half of the season has already created a lot of spectacle in the championship. The difference in points between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is minimal at the moment. According to Juan Pablo Montoya, the Dutchman will have a hard time this season.

"The hardest thing for him this year is that he is in a new situation. He's always been the hunter, not the one everyone is hunting. It's great for him that he's in this situation now, but when you're the one being hunted, you do have to approach things a little differently," Montoya explained in a conversation with Motorsport.com.

Verstappen will learn from this season

Hamilton already has plenty of experience of title battles, some of which were only decided in the final race with a difference of a few points. Still, the seven-time F1 race winner hopes Verstappen can do something about Mercedes' dominant years. "Hopefully Max can win the championship this year. But left to right, this will be a great experience for him with an eye to the future."

Montoya expects Verstappen to find himself in this kind of intense title fight more often and he also thinks the Dutchman is going to learn from this season. "Max, however, was used to a situation where he was the attacking party and others were lifting for him. But now he has found out the hard way that Lewis no longer lifts for him."