Juan Pablo Montoya names two F1 drivers who would now ‘say no’ to signing for Red Bull

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Red Bull might have just struck gold in their preparations for the 2026 Formula 1 season, after a heroic Dutch Grand Prix result.

For the first time this season, two of their cars made it to the podium, as Visa Cash App Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar joined Max Verstappen.

Red Bull’s solution to their second driver conundrum could be the 20-year-old Hadjar, who has just 15 Formula 1 races under his belt.

The likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have all failed in recent times, and it might be up to him to buck that trend.

Red Bull have made a surprise decision on Tsunoda, and it now seems likely that he will return to Racing Bulls for 2026.

Hadjar is likely to be Red Bull’s ‘best option’ to partner Verstappen after his latest performance, but he was probably the front-runner for the seat before that. The grid is starting to take shape.

READ MORE: Red Bull sources have now privately given their verdict on replacing Yuki Tsunoda with Alex Palou

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon would ‘say no’ to Red Bull seat

Helmut Marko gave a ‘very telling’ response when questioned about his team’s driver line-up for the future. It seems that plans are falling into place.

How Hadjar might perform with them is another question, but Juan Pablo Montoya has a theory about two of the drivers who came before him. The Colombian expects that they would ‘say no’ to returning to Red Bull.

“No, not at this moment,” he said. “And I think that Alex, after the experience he had at Red Bull and how Red Bull treated him in life, you know what the problem is?” he said.

“Red Bull at this moment, if they went to Gasly, Gasly would say no. Wherever they went to Albon, Albon would say no. I think that almost no one would risk going to Red Bull at this moment.”

Verstappen will ‘definitely’ have interest after 2026, and it could end up leaving his team in a really tricky situation. Just how would they find someone to replace him?

With Tsunoda ‘being considered’ by Alpine, they might end up having to pull a move similar to Mercedes and prematurely promote Arvid Lindblad for 2027.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen could ‘explode’ if the ‘bad omens’ about Red Bull’s 2026 F1 car come true

How Alex Albon privately feels about returning to Red Bull in 2026

Since joining Williams, Albon has helped to transform a backmarker team into solid midfield runners, with a lot of promise for the future.

He believes in their project and has been loyal to them throughout the process. He might have been able to leave for a more competitive team, but he has flexed his talents over the last few years, despite being in a weaker car.

It might seem hard to gauge how Albon privately feels about a Red Bull return, given the potential their second seat has.

But the Thai driver seems very happy where he is, and won’t be inclined to rush back to a team where his career came very close to suffering an abrupt end.