Montoya questions Verstappen-Bortoleto friendship: ‘Come on!’

According to the Colombian, what truly makes Verstappen stand out from the rest of the grid is his ruthless mentality and refusal to blend into the close friendships that now exist between many drivers in the paddock. Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast, he explained that drivers in his era approached racing with a far more aggressive mindset, constantly focused on finding ways to outperform and dominate their rivals.

Montoya believes the Dutchman’s competitive edge comes precisely from that separation, arguing Verstappen’s refusal to fully “play along” with the social side of the paddock is one of the key reasons behind his success: "I would wake up and figure out how I could beat the hell out of everybody. You've got to be selfish. For me, it's shocking. You look at them, they all go play padel together, and they're really good friends and go for dinner together. But that's why Max is good, because he doesn't play along."

When it was pointed out to Montoya that Verstappen is actually close friends with Gabriel Bortoleto, the Colombian dismissed the idea that friendship would make any difference once real competition is involved. Montoya argued that if Bortoleto were fighting Verstappen in equally competitive machinery, the Dutchman would treat him no differently from any other rival on track, insisting Verstappen’s ruthless approach is exactly what separates him from the rest of the field.

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes there are only three realistic options available to Verstappen if the Dutchman were ever to leave Red Bull in the future. In Steiner’s view, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are the only teams capable of attracting a driver of Verstappen’s calibre.

However, Steiner also questioned whether any of those teams would currently be willing to reshuffle their existing line-ups in order to make room for the four-time world champion. Despite describing Verstappen as the best driver on the grid, the Italian-American suggested none of the three teams appear fully committed to pursuing him at this stage. Steiner nevertheless expects Verstappen to remain in contact with all three manufacturers as uncertainty surrounding his long-term future at Red Bull continues to generate speculation across the paddock.