Outside Line: Keeping a bullsh!t meter on Juan Pablo Montoya and it's cranking up big time

Montoya, hired to be part of the F1 TV commentary team, is unrecognisable. His opinions have done a 180-degree turn, as has his appearance. Gone are the crinkled T-shirts and grubby jeans of old. Instead we have an AlphaTauri mannequin in ill-fitting beige and light beige garb donned for the cameras. Seriously, puppy-poo beige? Monty what's going on? I digress.

Unfortunately for us F1 TV viewers, amid the soundbites of his colleagues, we have Montoya's 'pearls of wisdom' to listen to, which have lost all credibility in my opinion. This time around, post-race we received a list of explanations for his waywardness behind the mic.

Word is that in Montreal, Verstappen was not impressed by Montoya's sharp turnaround, from once being a mate to now being a shill for Formula 1's abysmal rules. Suggesting Max can leave if he does not like it and suggesting he is only complaining because he is not winning. Seriously?

And then JPM doubles down by questioning the Dutchman's epic participation in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. A feat universally admired and respected. But he had to find fault in that too. What's going on?

Post Montreal, this is what Montoya said regarding "issues" with Verstappen: "The interview with the BBC was taken completely out of context. I had said that all the drivers who were talking shit about F1 should get penalty points or a ban for a race, as they do in every other sport.

"If I work for you and talk shit about your company, you are going to fire me. It's the nature of the beast. And they asked me if that included Max. I said, ‘Yeah.’ Because it was Max who became the story," explained Montoya; remembered for fleeing to NASCAR mid-2006 season after receiving a pasting from teammate Kimi Räikkönen at McLaren. But even those bulky NASCARs were a comfortable fit, as the two wins in 256 starts suggest.

Montoya continued: "People asked Max what he felt about me, so of course, he reacted. If it had been the other way around, I would have done the same thing as Max said. It’s normal. I don't think he gives two f@cks, to be honest. I certainly don't!

"Martin Brundle, who has never liked me, and the feeling is mutual, got me on the grid. He said, ‘I see you have pissed off Max.’ I replied, 'Nothing new there’.

Montoya added more fuel to the fire: "It was wrong for him to drive that Mercedes at the Nürburgring. When Ford is putting so much money into the sport at Red Bull, to drive a Mercedes was just wrong," declared the Colombian.

Shots fired. He then flagrantly self-aggrandised himself: "I think the general public loves what I do because there's no sugar coating. It’s a point of view. It doesn't mean I'm always right. It's just an opinion from a guy who has been in the sport for a long time.

"I've driven not only in Formula 1 but also in NASCAR, IndyCar and sports car racing. I've done everything. And lucky enough, I've won races, and I've been good at everything," trumpeted the 50-year-old racing veteran. As if we did not know that and needed reminding. But that is not the issue.

Until this year, I would not have had an issue with what Montoya said and would actually double down on it, as I, like many others, was impressed with his no-BS attitude and commentary. He popped up on the telly in a T-shirt and jeans and dropped his truth bombs.

But this year, fully on board with F1 TV, it appears Montoya has transformed into an AlphaTauri mannequin, seeing only good in these regulations when we expected him to call them out for what they are.

He disappoints because if we accept and nod along to his BS and follow the Stefano Domenicali FOM slop, we will be doomed until 2030 with these rules. And WTF are they going to deliver next? The inappropriateness of these current exorbitantly expensive ($15 million each), monstrously complex power units is blatantly obvious. But not for Montoya!

If Formula 1 accepts advice from this puppet, we will have a world of lift-and-coast, harvesting, clipping, super-clipping, fake overtakes and regular big crashes for the next five years. Hopefully the FIA realises the stupidity of it all and adjusts the rules to compensate for the biggest ball drop in sporting history.

Then, for 2030, get Formula 1 back to being real, cost-effective and competitive. Ditch electricity and return to far less expensive and more appropriate naturally aspirated V8 power units with modern tech attached to them to make them state-of-the-art and awesome.

How a federation and its commercial partners could have come up with a concept that changes the entire ethos of racing, let alone Formula 1, beggars belief. In a corporate world, all who had a say in these rules should be fired or banned from motorsports for life.

That a great race driver turned popular and believable commentator has stooped so low to shill for the unshillable is mind-boggling and downright disappointing to former Monty fans like myself.

However, Montoya insists there is no beef with the Verstappens: "I've talked to Max in the past and at races, and actually, we get on really well. We don't spend time talking to each other, but we say 'Hi', and I say hello to Jos. We've never had any issues, and I don't think we do now."

Maybe not, but many of Montoya's fans read our comments section and check F1 forums and do have issues with the manner in which he appears to have sold his soul, as well as his wardrobe.

To the point that if I were Montoya, I would ditch the threads he is forced to wear, drop the mic and take a leaf out of the Jos Verstappen benchmark playbook and spend more time with his son Sebastian, who needs as much help as he can get in his troubled second year of Formula 2 while his dad is missing in action, talking bullshit on the telly.
(Juan Pablo Montoya was speaking to sports betting site, talkSPORT BET)