Juan Pablo Montoya anxious over Racing Bulls line-up decision Helmut Marko has made ‘by force’

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Helmut Marko has reportedly made up his mind on who he wants at the helm of the Racing Bulls cars in the 2026 season, but Juan Pablo Montoya has questioned one of the drivers whom Marko is adamant he ‘wants’ in the car.

Isack Hadjar’s impressive debut season in Formula 1, marked by his podium at Zandvoort, has cemented his place on the grid for next season.

The Frenchman is currently first in line to partner with Max Verstappen at Red Bull for F1’s new era of regulations.

However, that leaves two seats open at Racing Bulls, and the names of the two drivers who will be at the wheel of their 2026 challengers are yet to be announced.

Liam Lawson’s future in F1 is far from safe as he continues to be outshone by his more junior teammate, and with it looking likely that Yuki Tsunoda will lose his status as a Red Bull driver for next season, it begs the question of who will end up as the biggest loser within the company’s game of F1 musical chairs.

READ MORE: Laurent Mekies now ‘apprehensive’ about repeating Christian Horner error with Red Bull driver line-up

Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t think Arvid Lindblad is ready for F1 just yet

Arvid Lindblad has emerged as a contender to become a rookie in F1 next season, given his impressive resume in the junior formulas but with just one season of Formula 2 under his belt, he may lack the experience needed to make the most of his debut in the sport.

Marko is sure that Lindblad is ready for the jump but the Austrian has faced stern competition from other members of the Red Bull team over the possibility that it is simply too soon for him to be thrust into F1.

Speaking on a recent episode of MontoyAS, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya agrees with the sentiment of the Red Bull personnel who are opposing Marko. When asked if he thinks Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was more prepared for the jump up to F1, the Colombian replied, “100%.

“I don’t know how many kilometres of tests Lindblad has. I know he has done several tests. I don’t know how many, but nothing like Antonelli, nothing even similar to Antonelli. So it is a bit different, truthfully.

Also asked for his opinion on how the Racing Bulls line-up will look at the first round of next season, Montoya answered, “The reality is for me that Hadjar goes up and that Yuki is left out because Honda is no longer.

“Lindblad, they have to promote because the person who wants to promote him is Helmut. Personally, I don’t think he is ready, but Lindblad, they are going to promote, as they say out there sometimes, by force.

“We will see, we will see how he does. He is fast, Lindblad, he is fast, but he doesn’t have it easy.”

Lindblad could get his first taste of a full F1 weekend this season if Max Verstappen accrues any more penalty points in the current campaign. The Dutchman is currently on nine points, meaning one more serious infringement of the racing regulations will see him sidelined with a race ban.

READ MORE: Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Karun Chandhok shares a similar assessment of Arvid Lindblad’s readiness for F1

Speaking on Sky Sports F1’s coverage of FP2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok was also asked for his opinion on the curious case of the Racing Bulls line-up.

To a question about Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda taking part in a shootout for a seat alongside Lindblad at Racing Bulls, the pundit replied, “It feels like it, doesn’t it? I don’t know why they wouldn’t keep both, if I’m honest.

“Personally, I think Lindblad’s got a lot of potential, and his junior formula career has been good. Part of it has been very good. But, you know, I think there’s value in him maybe doing another year.

“I wonder if they’d be better off letting Lindblad have another year in F2, building up the experience, but do a massive test programme with a two-year-old car, like Mercedes did with Kimi Antonelli, give him really, really good preparation, so then he’s ready for 2027.”

Antonelli’s debut season in F1 has been plagued with questions over Mercedes’ decision to promote the 19-year-old to a seat in the works team so quickly.

Antonelli has suffered through comparisons to George Russell due to the fact that the British driver is regularly overachieving in the sub-optimal Mercedes car.

The young Italian looks set to receive an extension to his current one-year deal with Mercedes that expires at the end of the current term. With a year in F1 under his belt and a podium already to his name, Antonelli can look to start building properly with F1’s new regulations in 2026.