Juan Pablo Montoya predicts ‘crazy’ seven-tenth gain from Red Bull when they shed weight

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Juan Pablo Montoya suspects that Red Bull are losing as much as seven-tenths of a second through excess weight alone. Laurent Mekies’ squad appear to be fourth-fastest at best right now.

Red Bull’s meagre 12-point tally is partly down to unreliability – Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen have both had a DNF already – but their average finishing position so far is 9.5. Both drivers were outqualified by the Alpine of Pierre Gasly in China.

One report during the weekend claimed Red Bull’s car is 10kg overweight, and an image taken by a spectator overlooking the FIA weighbridge suggests it may actually be double that.

Would Max Verstappen be complaining about F1’s 2026 regulations if he had joined Mercedes?

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Juan Pablo Montoya says the Red Bull may be a ‘good car’ after all

Speaking on the AS Colombia YouTube channel, Montoya said Red Bull’s excess weight could be spun as a positive. He says they have been ‘competitive’ despite the obvious limitation.

The former McLaren and Williams driver believes they can be at the level of Ferrari, currently Mercedes’ nearest challengers, when they get down to the weight limit, but he is concerned that the car’s ‘diet’ will stall its development.

“If the Red Bull is 20kg heavier, it’s a good car, because they’ve been competitive and heavy,” said Montoya. “The problem is that… instead of developing the car, you have to put the car on a diet.

• READ MORE: Liam Lawson’s Chinese GP data confirmed Racing Bulls currently hold engine advantage over Red Bull

“They were just a second away [based on Verstappen’s gap to Kimi Antonelli in qualifying]. That means they would be about three-tenths away, which is crazy. They would be like Ferrari.”

Verstappen said in China that he currently doesn’t expect to win a race this year, but that may be premature if indeed there is huge untapped potential in the car.

Which other F1 teams have an overweight car?

Williams are also well over the weight limit, and Montoya recently told his former team to sack whoever is responsible. The Grove outfit, who missed the Barcelona Shakedown in January due to production delays, scored two points in China through Carlos Sainz but couldn’t escape Q1 in either qualifying session.

To a lesser degree, McLaren’s car is also over the weight limit. The reigning champions are a clear third in the pecking order but have been left behind by Mercedes and Ferrari.

The 2026 regulation changes were designed to make the cars lighter as well as smaller. But the introduction of a larger, more powerful battery saw the power unit weight limit increase by 34kg.

Some teams may be under the minimum weight, which requires them to add ballast to the car.