Juan Pablo Montoya echoes Martin Brundle on F1 teams ignoring driver better than ‘a lot’ of the grid

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F1 pundit Juan Pablo Montoya has echoed Martin Brundle’s verdict on one driver who the Colombian believes is better than ‘a lot’ of the grid’s current occupants.

The recent Barcelona Grand Prix saw the first batch of mandatory Free Practice sessions for the grid’s rookie reserve drivers, with a couple of names in particular impressing during their allotted hour of track time.

Some F1 reserve drivers never get to race. Let us know in the comments who the most talented yet overlooked driver has been ⬇️

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There were seven rookie drivers during FP1 in total, with Frederik Vesti making a high-profile substitution with championship leader Kimi Antonelli for the Danish driver’s fifth appearance in Mercedes machinery.

However, one driver caught the eye of a few respected F1 paddock figures, with former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya echoing Martin Brundle’s initial verdict of him after seeing his data at the Montmelo-based circuit.

• READ MORE: McLaren reserve driver admits he’s ‘lost interest’ in F1 and doesn’t bother watching the races

Juan Pablo Montoya says Paul Aron ‘deserves’ to be in F1 over ‘a lot’ of the current grid

Following his appearance in place of Nico Hulkenberg with Audi at the Barcelona Grand Prix, Martin Brundle was highly complimentary of Alpine reserve Paul Aron’s pace during his testing programme.

Do you agree with Martin Brundle that Paul Aron deserves a seat in Formula 1?

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The iconic F1 pundit told viewers of Sky Sports F1 following the conclusion of FP1, “Paul Aron was really outstanding. I don’t understand why he’s not had a chance in F1.”

While Brundle and Montoya may not be the best of friends inside the paddock, they certainly share the same opinion on the young Estonian driver.

In a recent episode of the MontoyAS podcast, the Colombian echoed the 67-year-old’s verdict, saying, “Paul Aron probably deserves to be in Formula 1 more than a lot of the people who are currently in Formula 1.

“I’d say Paul Aron managed to battle it out with Gabriel Bortoleto in a car that was inferior to his in F2 all year, and he almost won the championship. He is there, waiting for a chance to come his way.”

Montoya also went on to offer some reasoning to Brundle’s question, giving his thoughts on the main factor behind Aron’s snub for a full-time seat on the grid. As usual in F1, money talks, and the seven-time Grand Prix winner believes that has hindered his progression.

• READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron? Age, nationality, stats and more

“The reason Paul Aron hasn’t raced in Formula 1 is because he doesn’t have 15 or 20 million dollars, or euros,” Montoya continued. “Well, I know two drivers, one of whom is good. He’s got $16 million and still doesn’t have a seat.

“I know another who isn’t that good, has $25 million, and doesn’t have a seat either. That’s the reality of Formula 1. Formula 1 is great once you’re in, but to get in, things have to fall into place for you.”