Montoya: Cool vegan guy Hamilton shouldn't be a race car driver
F1 NewsThursday, 14 August 2025 at 14:43
Juan Pablo Montoya has weighed in on the Lewis Hamilton ‘mea culpa’ saga that erupted after the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion openly suggested Ferrari should replace him if they could find a faster driver.
The "absolutely useless" were said amid another below-par weekend compared to teammate Charles Leclerc, continuing a 2025 trend that has seen the Monegasque outqualify Hamilton ten times and beat him to the flag in 11 Grands Prix so far this season.
Montoya does not see Hamilton’s comments as evidence of a career collapse: “I think that his statement is not a sign of a meltdown. It's a way of telling Ferrari, if you're not going to listen to me, then you might as well take me out and let me go.
"The big thing here is Lewis is not getting the attention he wants and they're not paying attention enough to him for what he wants and what he's pushing for. He's putting in a lot of hard work. I think he's working really hard, but I think Ferrari is very structured in the way it does things. This is our way and accept it.
"But Lewis is going, ‘Your way doesn't win!’ I think there's an internal fight with people saying Ferrari needs to listen to Lewis and ‘we need to change our ways.’ That is really, really hard because there is a lot of tradition in Ferrari and a lot of politics in Ferrari.
"And I think Lewis is more used to Mercedes’ outlook which is, ‘What do we need to do to win?’ It’s not about politics; it's about results at Mercedes," ventured Montoya, a seven time Grand Prix winner.
Montoya: Hamilton will wait to next year for sure to see where they are
If Ferrari cannot provide a competitive car next season, Montoya believes Hamilton could walk away: “I think he'll wait next year for sure to see where they are. And if they struggle next year and he's not competitive, I think he might just go, ‘You know what? That’s it. I've got other things in my life.’
"At the end of the day, he's got a long contract with them to be an ambassador whether he drives a car or not. But you don't want to see Lewis leave on a low. It's a wakeup call. In the last couple of years when the Mercedes stopped being really good, I think he backed off in qualifying because there was no need.
"I think to get it back is really difficult. Look at an onboard of Lewis in qualifying. That car does not suit him at all. You look at Charles, and Charles looks like Max, looks like Lando. He is precise. And Lewis is fighting with the car. He doesn’t trust the car. He’s trying, but it is just the way the car is set up for him does not match his driving style.”
Montoya suggests Ferrari may value Hamilton more for his profile than his input: “I think what my point of view of what he is saying is that Ferrari are not really paying attention to him and they just want him there for his name."
Montoya: Hard to get traction when the other guy on your team is quicker than you
The 49-year-old Colombian continued: "I think he's pushing and maybe people are getting annoyed at how hard he's pushing and maybe getting tired of what they see as his whining. He is trying to move the world by himself. And I think he needs more people in his corner to be able to get more done.”
For Montoya, Hamilton must rediscover the ruthlessness that defined his peak: “I don’t get it. Hamilton wants to be portrayed as this cool vegan guy who doesn't want to hurt any pets or any animals. But that guy shouldn't be a race car driver.
"Because the guy that wants to be a successful racer driver is the person that doesn't mind crushing people in his head. He does whatever it takes to win. That is what Lewis used to be, that is what Max [Verstappen] is. I think from what you hear, he's working really, really hard and he really wants success.
"That is very good to see, but he's probably not getting enough traction within the team to get the changes. It's really hard to get traction when the other guy on your team is quicker than you," explained Montoya.
Formula 1 is on a break until 29 August with Round 15, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, kick-starting the final ten races of the season.
(Source: CoinPoker Media Team)
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