Montoya: Red Bull RB21 was built for Verstappen

The Dutchman has claimed victory at the Red Bull Ring four times in the past and will look to make it five in Round 11 of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship. And a repeat could be on the cards next weekend, predicts former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

Verstappen heads to Austria after finishing P2 to George Russell in Canada, where Mercedes took a surprise win. It was a repeat of the 1-2 finish from Spielberg in 2024, where Russell also led Verstappen across the line.

While Red Bull will hope for a reversal of that result this year, McLaren arrive under pressure after a well below par weekend in Montreal. Lando Norris crashed out following a misjudged move on Oscar Piastri, ending McLaren’s 34-race streak of points finishes. Piastri salvaged fourth place, but the damage was already done.

Ahead of Austria next weekend, speaking to the media team at CasinoHawks, Montoya believes Verstappen remains the man to beat in Spielberg, even if the RB21 hasn’t looked dominant in recent weeks: “I don’t think the Red Bull car is as bad as people think it is. It’s a car that was built for Max. It’s not easy to drive, but the car does what he wants."

Montoya continued: “You look at Lewis [Hamilton] driving the Ferrari and how he’s steering with the wheel — he’s not sure, he gets snappy. You never see Max getting snappy. The only time this year that Max had a snap and looked out of control was when they put the hard tyres on in Barcelona at the end of the race.

"That was the only time he got rattled. Other than that, the car is competitive. It drives very differently to what everybody else drives. Max is doing an amazing job," declared the Colombian.

Montoya compared Verstappen’s risk-taking approach to Russell’s more measured style, saying: “He’s an aggressive version of George. George is quieter, he doesn’t take as many risks. But speed-wise, you’ve got to say what George did in Canada with that Mercedes was amazing.”

Looking ahead to Austria, Montoya is confident Red Bull will be strong on a circuit that suits their package: “It’s the type of circuit where you need a bit of traction but it’s not crazy. You have a lot of flowing corners, like Japan. Red Bull can shine there. Max is going to be really, really tough again.”

Montoya also warned that Austria and Silverstone could prove pivotal for Norris: “The thing to watch is whether Lando can bounce back or whether he sinks completely. He has to do well there and at Silverstone. If he doesn’t come out ahead, they’re going to lose Lando for a long time.”