Editor's Desk: Why the systematic attack on Max Verstappen?

Verstappen is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, not beating around the bush when it comes to commenting on any topic in the sport. He is refreshingly candid with his opinions which may be frowned upon by the powers that be in F1 with political correctness becoming the norm.

However, giving an opinion about the appalling state of the racing in F1 so far in 2026 has nothing to do with being politically correct. It is a plain and simple evaluation of whether the racing is good or not.

And it is not, regardless of what Formula 1's Spin Doctor-In-Chief, Stefano Domenicali, says or wants us to believe, as we, the true fans of the sport, know what good racing looks like, unlike the Drive to Survive fans the Italian and his paymasters in Liberty Media are hell-bent on attracting.

As such, we have expressed our full support to Verstappen when expressing his grievances, and that applies to any other driver, team boss, or pundit that shares Max's opinion—which is also ours—on the sorry state of affairs in F1 right now.

But it seems that there is a systematic attack on Max these days for airing his concerns, and I say this based on two stories we ran yesterday with quotes from Martin Brundle and Juan Pablo Montoya, back-to-back.

Let's begin with Brundle. I have to say I am shocked by what he said. I have great respect for him and always look forward to his columns and punditry, as he is the only one worth listening to on Sky Sports F1.

Hence my shock in what he said as Paul Velasco and I were trying to make sure his quotes were not an April Fools' joke since it was the first of April. Such was our disbelief.

Brundle, who drove in F1 during the days when racing was real and drivers were gladiators, should relate the most to Verstappen and understand what he's talking about.

He may disagree with the Dutchman's approach, but to label him boring and ask him to leave is not acceptable. With all the respect I have for Martin, I have to say that his achievements in F1 do not give him the right to disrespect a generational talent like Max with four F1 Titles to his name.

Which brings me to another F1 underachiever, Montoya. Within less than thirty minutes of publishing the Brundle quotes, we received the Colombian's opinion on Verstappen's statements.

Now, I have to admit that I have never rated Montoya highly following his six-year stint in F1. He may have won seven races, but even Pastor Maldonado won a grand prix.

I always felt he was arrogant, something Velasco confirmed based on professional photo encounters with Montoya, and while some may have considered him an exciting racer, I found him erratic.

And while Brundle has built his brand in commentating, Montoya has not and was drafted into the F1 TV crew last year, so he hardly has the CV to be taken seriously. And while we at GrandPrix247 run many quotes from him, keeping in mind that he once drove an F1 car, which gives him the right of having a say, now I regret doing that.

While Montoya has the right to an opinion, he must be respectful, especially when he is talking about a driver of Max's caliber. Other than that, he should shut up!

After the race in Melbourne, I pointed out in my Takeaways column from that race how Montoya has clearly joined the dark side, shamelessly promoting the new cars and how fast they were out of the corner or in a straight line.

I do not want to go into conspiracy theories now, but it feels that there is a campaign to discredit Verstappen. After all, other drivers, aside from George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, have expressed their displeasure with the new cars.

But Max is singled out. Why? Well, he is an important figure in F1, if not the most important, especially among drivers, so what he says will have an effect on those listening, both for fellow drivers and fans.

That means F1 will be affected by what he says or does. Of course we won't be naïve to suggest the sport will break down if he walks, but he will leave a void, and in a time when most true fans do not recognize the sport they have fallen in love with over the years, losing a driver like Max will be a huge hit.

We have reported how F1 worked hard to hide negative comments from fans on their social media channels regarding the new regulations, so would it be outlandish to suggest or believe that Liberty and their enforcer, Domenicali, have issued an order of the day to everyone who accepts to bend over to them to do whatever to promote their woeful regs and discredit anyone who calls them out?

We at GrandPrix247 are fortunate that we are independent and not beholden to anyone; we can write what we believe, which is always based on our passion for F1 and racing, but that doesn't apply to others who are F1 employees or have commercial interests with them, or even have a son racing in Formula 2... Just saying.

But as much as I am furious with the likes of Montoya and Brundle, and other shills out there, I feel sorry for them, because deep down, they know they are not telling the truth or what they actually believe in.

That also applies to all those shilling the 2026 F1 rules, but I singled out Brundle and Montoya in this piece based on their recent nonsense statements.

In conclusion, class act David Coulthard tutors Brundle and Montoya when commenting on the reality of Verstappen leaving Formula 1.

Coulthard told the Up To Speed podcast: "Max is a career-defining, or a generation-defining, driver. Lewis Hamilton was that person before.

"You have to admire his absolute speed, his absolute commitment. And actually, you have to admire his what-you-see-is-what-you-get passion. It would be very easy for him to just give short, one-word answers and not feed this conversation.

"But because he is passionate about it, because he cares about it, he is not prepared to say nothing, just cruise and collect, which some other drivers are maybe in at that phase of their careers.

"The sport is bigger than any individual driver. The sport has been around for a long time and will continue to be around, but it would be a huge loss if Max were to take time away," the Scotsman concluded.

Amen to that!