Montoya lashes out at 'kindergarten' behaviour as 'yapping' Mercedes and Red Bull war returned

Tensions between Red Bull and Mercedes reignited after an incident behind the safety car in Montréal, where Verstappen briefly overtook Russell following a sudden braking manoeuvre from the Mercedes driver. The moment drew immediate attention over team radio: Verstappen believed Russell deserved a penalty, while Russell felt the same about Verstappen. Although no investigation was launched, Red Bull filed a protest, which ultimately led to nothing.

The former Williams and McLaren driver has explained his own perspective on the incident. "I think if George really stood on the brakes and stopped the car on purpose, and Max passed because of it, then they should look at it," he began to a betting site. "But it's like a kindergarten thing. Why are you protesting something? That's like the fights that you could hear before on the radio when the team owners’ radios were open with the FIA.

After the conclusion of the 2021 season, team messages to the FIA stopped being broadcast in its entirety.

Montoya noted that Verstappen appeared unusually restrained in Montréal, suggesting the Dutchman was deliberately avoiding risks due to the threat of a suspension. Verstappen entered the weekend with eleven points on his super licence, just one under a race ban, leaving him with no margin for error.

"He had a good start, but he never attacked, he never pushed. Normally, you see Max on the first lap being all out, and he wasn't. He was very controlled emotionally in the way he managed the race,” the Colombian states.

Verstappen eventually finished in second place, behind George Russell, without major incidents or aggressive actions in the opening phase. "He was scoring points. And I'm pretty sure there was an intense conversation at Red Bull about how he needed to handle himself at the weekend. There’s no way they went business as usual."