FORMER F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya isn’t convinced Max Verstappen’s dominance will continue in 2025.
Red Bull driver Verstappen, 27, is hoping to win a fifth consecutive Drivers Championship this season.
Juan Pablo Montoya has given his bold prediction ahead of the new F1 season[/caption]
Max Verstappen is chasing a fifth consecutive F1 title this season[/caption]
Montoya believes Lewis Hamilton (pictured) will dominate for Ferrari[/caption]
The Dutchman‘s main opposition looks set to come from Lewis Hamilton, who has swapped Mercedes for Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion, 40, has penned a two-year, £78million deal with the Italian giants.
Both Ferrari and McLaren went toe-to-toe with Red Bull on the track last season.
And Montoya – winner of seven F1 Grand Prix races – believes Verstappen will be “no problem” for Hamilton in 2025.
The Colombian said: “Verstappen is not going to be a problem for Lewis this year.
“I would be surprised if Red Bull came out to fight like in recent years”.
Red Bull finished third in last season’s Constructor Standings.
Verstappen won nine races on his way to a slender title win over Lando Norris – ten fewer than his all-conquering championship season in 2023.
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Montoya continued: “You just start moving sideways or even backwards.
“If you keep going based on wrong principles, you’re never going to get out of the hole. And that hole can be very deep, that’s the problem.
“Max doesn’t like to lose, and Max is a guy who would rather crash than let himself be beaten.
“We saw it at the end of last year, when he did things that surprised people. We were wondering: ‘Why did he do that?’
“When he went up against Lewis [to end Hamilton’s dominance] and took no prisoners, everyone thought: ‘Oh, great. Finally someone is standing up to Hamilton.’
“Now the positions are reversed.”
Hamilton will make his first Grand Prix appearance for Ferrari next month.
The 2025 F1 campaign kicks off in Melbourne, Australia on March 16 with Albert Park staging its first season-opener since 2019.
Hamilton is set to debut with Ferrari during the official test drives in Bahrain this week.
But he admitted he’d been enjoying the Italian food a little too much over the offseason.
The Stevenage native laughed: “I have to watch my diet. But that will be difficult.
“I have to be careful and I can’t eat pizza all year round. Otherwise I won’t fit in the car anymore.’
“Oh God. I’ve eaten so many pizzas in the last few weeks. But funnily enough, I’ve lost weight.
“Last week alone I had three pizzas. I love Italian food. Penne a la Arrabbiata is still my absolute favourite dish.”
