EXCLUSIVE: Montoya on Verstappen vs Norris, more title race ‘fireworks’ and F1’s ‘million-dollar question’

Juan Pablo Montoya was one of Formula 1’s star drivers in the noughties, collecting seven race wins and 30 podium finishes across stints at Williams and McLaren. Now, he is a keen observer on his regular visits to the paddock, where he catches up with old friends and casts an eagle eye over the current crop of talent. At the Mexico City Grand Prix, F1.com spoke with the Colombian to quiz him on the sport’s current standout storylines…

Temperatures are rising ahead of qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez when we catch Montoya strolling down the paddock with his family, including son Sebastián, who has also climbed the motorsport ranks in recent years and reached the F3 feeder series this season.

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The weather is appropriate for two title battles that have erupted over the course of the 2024 campaign, with no fewer than three teams in the mix for the constructors’ championship, and McLaren’s Lando Norris taking the fight to Red Bull’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

It’s a situation few would have predicted after the opening 10 races, seven of which were won by Verstappen and put him well on course to make it four drivers’ crowns in a row – 2022 and 2023 particularly dominant displays from the Dutchman.

However, a combination of McLaren (and the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes) making progress with their cars, and Red Bull hitting trouble with their own, has flipped the season on its head.

Indeed, Verstappen and Red Bull have failed to stand on the top step of the podium again in the following 10 races, a win-less run stretching back to June’s Spanish Grand Prix, with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes sharing the spoils in an intense, multi-team scrap.

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“It’s really interesting now,” Montoya tells F1.com in the heart of the Mexico City paddock. “At the beginning of the season it looked like it was going to be a little bit like last year [with Red Bull dominating]. It’s surprising how much it’s changed since then.

“It’s exciting... It’s exciting [when looking] towards next year as well. I think the end of this year is going to be good and then next year is going to be really, really close.”

Homing in on the constructors’ championship, just 54 points cover Montoya’s former team McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari ahead of the final four rounds, which include Sprint weekends in Brazil and Qatar – meaning even more rewards are on offer than usual.

The momentum has shifted from Red Bull early in the season to McLaren midway through and now Ferrari in these closing stages, with the Scuderia finishing one-two and one-three at the last two rounds via effective car developments.

So, who does Montoya expect to come out on top?

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“That’s the million-dollar question,” he says with a smile as our conversation continues. “Everybody’s asking Lando to step up against Max, but if those two end up wrecking and Ferrari finish one-two, the swing of points is massive – it’s not a little swing.

“I think we might end up going to the end of the year and the fight for the constructors’ title be unbelievable. At the end of the day, that’s what we want here.”

He continues: “McLaren are doing really good, Red Bull were in a bit of a bubble and they’re kind of figuring it out again, so it’s becoming quite interesting that you come to a race weekend and you can’t really say, ‘Oh, Red Bull or McLaren or Ferrari are going to win this week’.

“We go into qualifying and [we don’t know what’s going to happen]… It’s great for the show, it’s great for the fans. I think something that people always used to complain a lot about F1 is how predictable it was, and right now it’s really not. I think that brings a lot to the sport.”

As well as the constructors’ battle, the race for the drivers’ title is delivering plenty of drama and excitement.

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After several other flashpoints, such as their wheel banging at the Austrian Grand Prix, the title contenders have come to blows during the last two races in the United States and Mexico.

In Austin, it was Norris who copped a time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, while in Mexico City it was Verstappen who picked up a pair of sanctions for his aggressive car placement as he attempted to defend position and then retaliated.

Amid a renewed focus on racing guidelines, the respective incidents have sparked an influx of comments from pundits and fans on television coverage and across social media channels – some siding with Norris and McLaren, and others with Verstappen and Red Bull.

It highlights an often-overlooked mental element as both men attempt to block out the noise and show that they are the fastest driver out there, with Montoya reminded of his experiences racing against – and his efforts to outsmart – legendary rival Michael Schumacher.

“Everybody’s human,” the 49-year-old says, when asked about Norris’s own assessment before the Mexico race that Verstappen is “the best in the world” and he has yet to reach that level.

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“It’s kind of funny that people used to say, ‘Michael’s perfect’. For me it was just more of a drive to show him that I could beat him, do you know what I mean? That just gave me more fuel to do it.

“The thing now with social media and everything, everybody talks so much about it. I had people that really liked me and people that hated me, and I was okay with it. You want to do your job, and you can’t really worry so much about what people think.”

He adds: “You need to be comfortable, and you need to make sure the team is 100% behind you. Lando’s done a really good job of having the team behind him, but I think everybody’s hoping he can step up [in the fight]. He’s stepped up in speed and the team has stepped up with the car.

“The way Lando’s driving, if this was the start of the year with the car McLaren have now, they could probably beat Max for the championship, because they have the pace. But at some point, he needs to go, ‘Okay, how do I do this? What else do I need to study to make it happen?’”

F1 heads from Mexico to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and the final part of the penultimate triple header sequence this week, where a fresh-faced Montoya made his own statement back in 2001 thanks to a bold lunge on the aforementioned and established Schumacher.

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The memory of that breathtaking side-by-side moment leads to one final assessment of the two title contenders – separated by 47 points in Verstappen’s favour – and what might happen as the championship reaches its climax.

“I think Max is built a little bit like me,” the famously combative Montoya says. “I think Lando has grown a lot, but he’s got to be comfortable enough to take it to Max, to [say], ‘Hey, there’s a line of how far you can go with me.’

“Max keeps pushing the buttons, and I think we’re going to see fireworks at some point [across the remaining races]. It’s going to make things really good fun.”