Red Bull brutally compared to mid-table F1 team as Max Verstappen gets wake-up call

Former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya believes that 'could be running where are currently' in 2026, raising question marks over the team's new power unit. The new regulations promise to shake up the field, and the Milton Keynes squad are already on a concerning trajectory. Max Verstappen's squad have endured a challenging start to the 2025 season. While the 27-year-old did secure a Grand Prix victory in Japan, it required a career-highlight pole position and some faultless defending on Sunday to convert.

In three of the five rounds so far, Red Bull have been third fastest or worse. This is reflected in the Drivers' Championship standings, too. Verstappen has hardly put a foot wrong this year - - and yet he heads to Miami 12 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, and two points behind his team-mate Lando Norris.

With no guarantees that Red Bull will overhaul their form, Verstappen's future has been called into question. The 27-year-old has been , although Christian Horner is confident that he will retain his star driver's services.

"They have an engine power unit for next year that nobody knows how good it is at this point," Montoya explained to , handing a wake-up call to the four-time world champion. "Red Bull next year could be running where Williams is running. The hard thing is, McLaren just re-signed Piastri.

"Would Toto get rid of Antonelli to accommodate Max? Or would you get rid of George? I don't know how clear the option is there Basically, if Max went to Mercedes, whoever left Mercedes would go to Red Bull, in my opinion.

"If you had to make a decision tomorrow, would you get rid of George? George has been a Mercedes guy for a long time. It's not like the only eyes were for Antonelli. And Antonelli's done a very good job being a rookie. So the question is, do you want to pair George with Max? Do you want to pair Max with Antonelli?

"Or you decide to stay where you are and don't take Max? That could happen. I know Toto was desperate to have Max last year. Is he still desperate this year to have Max? I'm not so sure."

While rival teams weigh up moves for his signature, Verstappen's focus is on keeping the Drivers' Championship fight alive. The Dutchman has aspirations of matching Michael Schumacher's record of five successive titles, but needs Red Bull's incoming upgrades to pull through if this is to materialise.