Juan Pablo Montoya spots glaring issue in Max Verstappen’s latest irritation with Red Bull

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F1 pundit Juan Pablo Montoya has spotted a glaring issue with the latest frustrations that Max Verstappen has taken to heart at Red Bull.

The four-time world champion was furious with his team after his crash at the British Grand Prix. As Verstappen approached turn 15 at upwards of 200mph, his rear wing failed to close entirely, which sent him into the gravel in front of a grandstand filled with Lando Norris fans.

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While that played a factor in Verstappen’s fury, he also wasn’t happy with Laurent Mekies’ refusal to allow him to start from the pit lane. The Dutchman had been unhappy with the balance of his RB22 and was hoping for a new engine prior to the Grand Prix.

As a result, a “breach of trust” between Verstappen and Red Bull has unravelled, and rumours of an exit at the end of the current campaign are now more rampant than ever. However, Juan Pablo Montoya has pointed out a glaring issue in Verstappen’s irritation.

• READ MORE: How Lando Norris’ grandstand reacted after Max Verstappen retired right in front of them

Juan Pablo Montoya says Red Bull ‘were right’ not to cater to Max Verstappen’s British GP demands

Speaking via AS Colombia, the seven-time Grand Prix winner opined that Red Bull were correct to refuse Verstappen’s demand to start from the pit lane due to the level of competitiveness he was showing during the race.

“I think Max didn’t expect to be going so fast,” he said. “He was in third place, wasn’t he? He was well on course for a podium finish, and from that point of view, the Red Bull engineers were right not to change the engine and send him into the pits for no reason.

“They had enough pace to be competitive – and they were competitive.”

Of course, the Dutchman had benefited from the aero damage that Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli picked up during his late charge, but he was still on course for a P4 finish at the chequered flag without it – a relatively strong result.

In terms of the rear wing issue that led to Verstappen’s eventual DNF, Montoya put it down to a stroke of bad luck, highlighting the ever-changing fortunes of the championship-leading Silver Arrows.

“The problem is that this has happened to him twice now, and that’s just a bit of bad luck, because it could just as easily have happened to Hadjar instead,” Montoya continued.

“It’s like if you look at how many times George had retired up until Barcelona, it never happened to Kimi – now it’s Kimi’s turn.”