Max Verstappen in Monza paddock @RacePictures

Montoya makes claim on Verstappen: 'I think even Red Bull was surprised'

20:29, 13 Sep

Updated: 20:57, 13 Sep

byTobia Elia

Juan Pablo Montoya believes that even Red Bull might have been surprised by Max Verstappen’s request to run with an extremely low-downforce wing at Monza.

Max Verstappen, winner of 2025 Italian GP @ RacePictures

''I think even Red Bull was surprised''

- Juan Pablo Montoya

Montoya weighs in on Verstappen's dominant win at Monza

Speaking on the MontoyAS podcast, the former Formula 1 driver stated: ''I think even Red Bull was surprised. The engineers didn’t want to do it, but Max said, “Do it, I want it this way.” And after qualifying, Max said over the radio that it had actually worked, and he laughed.''

''A driver like Max, with so much experience, it makes sense—he knows when to take risks. Honestly, it’s logical to be bold.''

The Spaniard said he had expected McLaren to be able to challenge for the win with a much higher-downforce setup, which did not happen, as evidenced by the Dutchman’s 20-second advantage at the finish.

''One surprising thing was that Red Bull ran less wing than McLaren. You would have expected McLaren to be faster in the race with less tire degradation, but that wasn’t the case. McLaren could do nothing against Red Bull.''

The Colombian believes that if Red Bull continues to show the same competitiveness as at Monza, Verstappen could reopen the championship battle in the final eight races: ''Baku or Vegas, for example—there are several where Red Bull could start winning again. And if Red Bull becomes competitive, the championship gets really interesting.''

''For instance, if Lando can beat Oscar one week and Max finishes second, the points gap opens up significantly. You recover the points when neither of the two finish. That’s going to change things a lot.''

Verstappen still far away in the championship

With the 25 points gained at Monza last week, the four-time world champion now sits 63 points behind Lando Norris and 94 behind Piastri, with eight races and three sprint events still to go, respectively at the Austin, Interlagos, and Losail weekends.

A considerable advantage for the two McLarens, nonetheless, but with both drivers competing against each other, Norris and Piastri could end up eating into each other’s points, as Montoya suggested, which could pave the way for a potential comeback by the Dutchman.