Juan Pablo Montoya believes one F1 team will become the new Red Bull next year

Follow us on Google Discover

F1’s new technical era is expected to shake up the pecking order of the Formula 1 grid, and Juan Pablo Montoya believes one midfield F1 team will certainly surpass Red Bull in competitiveness next year.

One of the leading narratives heading into the 2026 F1 regulations relates to how Red Bull will stack up against their on-track rivals.

The Austrian constructor are developing the engine that will power their F1 car for the very first time through their Red Bull Powertrains division in Milton Keynes, and teething issues have been forecast.

There have been a multitude of changes to the different engine deals that customer teams are required to have.

Audi are joining Red Bull as a new engine supplier on the grid, and Alpine are switching to Mercedes power as Aston Martin struck a deal to receive engines from Honda.

F1’s brand new 11th constructor, Cadillac, will be supplied with Ferrari power units.

READ MORE: Everything we know about F1’s 2026 regulation changes from engines to tyres

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Red Bull will be surpassed by Aston Martin in the 2026 F1 season

Red Bull’s inaugural power unit has already been tipped to be some way off the pace during its debut next year, but until the cars hit the track at pre-season testing, their inferiority can’t be guaranteed.

However, two crucial factors in their recent success will be absent from the team during F1’s new technical era, and have found a new home at one of Red Bull’s on-track rivals, Aston Martin.

Speaking on a recent episode of the MontoyAS podcast, Juan Pablo Montoya highlighted how the Silverstone-based constructor will likely be ahead of the 2023 world champions once racing gets underway.

The former F1 driver said, “It’s funny because everyone always says, ‘No, it’s that the new rules are going to change everything,’ and it comes, and it’s the same thing.

“If one were to predict by the history of the last 50 years of Formula 1, Mercedes is going to be there, and Red Bull is going to be nearby.

“Theoretically, Red Bull is the only one that is in doubt. I think that Red Bull and Aston Martin are the only two that can change because the engine that Red Bull has is going to Aston, and the designer of Red Bull is going to Aston.

“So you can already say that soon next year, what you are seeing from Red Bull, you’re going to see in an Aston.

“That can be a big possibility. I don’t know if those two could be inverted 100%, which would be a disaster for them; it would be very strange to see Red Bull in the midfield again.”

READ MORE: Jenson Button says Lewis Hamilton has already proved John Elkann wrong at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t think Ferrari will be able to dominate in the F1’s new era of regulations

John Elkann’s fiery comments about the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc served as a stark reminder of the iconic Italian constructor’s lack of success in recent years.

With 2025 adding another year to the title drought, it marks a 17th successive year without a championship for Ferrari.

They have now surpassed their previous longest drought of 16 years, which came in between their constructors’ championship feats in 1983 and 1999.

In his assessment of the grid’s pecking order next year, Montoya also issued a verdict on whether Ferrari will turn their fortunes around and come out dominating, to which he is pessimistic.

The Colombian said, “I don’t see it, because of what we have expected in recent years, 2018, for example. We have already had rule changes, and it’s always the expectation that Ferrari dominates.

“They brought in Alonso as a world champion, they didn’t win, they brought Vettel in as a world champion, they didn’t win, they brought Lewis as a world champion, and they have not won.

“So, at some point you have to say, ‘Hey, it’s time to look a little more inside than outside.'”