Juan Pablo Montoya tells Yuki Tsunoda to copy a Max Verstappen garage trick to improve his Red Bull results

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Yuki Tsunoda just finished outside of the points for the eighth time in his last nine races at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver is fighting for his Formula 1 career after being promoted to an unfortunate situation with Red Bull this year.

As has been the case with multiple other drivers, Tsunoda cannot get on well with the second chassis and has failed to deliver any results of note.

As a result, he’s the lowest-placed individual in the drivers’ championship that has a point to their name, and he hasn’t finished above ninth once in 2025.

Red Bull’s ‘extreme’ weakness with their 2025 F1 car is fixed following Max Verstappen’s dominant display at the Italian Grand Prix.

However, Laurent Mekies’ deeply concerning answer about Tsunoda shows that his position may be becoming more vulnerable by the day.

READ MORE: Christian Horner privately ‘indicated’ what Red Bull’s 2026 driver line-up would be just before his sacking

Juan Pablo Montoya tells Yuki Tsunoda to copy Max Verstappen and make changes at Red Bull

Red Bull’s ‘change of mindset’ could be a boost that sees Tsunoda retained for next year, despite his lack of results.

Entering the 2026 F1 regulations with the most stable foundation possible will be crucial for long-term success, and the team are aware of this.

Throwing someone new in the car won’t do them any favours, but Juan Pablo Montoya has urged Tsunoda to copy Verstappen and start making changes now.

“I think at that point when you’re struggling, if you want to come out of that hole, you really need to bring your side of the garage together,” he said on F1’s Italian GP post-race show. “You need people that believe in you and people that are willing to try things.

“You can’t keep coming to the racetrack with the same thing and hoping that things are going to get better if you don’t change. Max is the best example. He’s not happy, we’re going to change, we’re going to change, they changed the car, he ended up winning the race.

“I think he needs to find direction, I think he needs to find something that is going to give him the right feel in the car, where he’s going to get more speed and get more comfortable.”

READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer has seen one ‘critical’ sign why Isack Hadjar may be a ‘better prospect’ for Red Bull than Liam Lawson was

What could happen to Yuki Tsunoda if he fails to find another F1 seat for 2026?

Tsunoda’s manager gave an intriguing two-word answer about potential talks with Alpine for next season to line up alongside Pierre Gasly.

It would be the first time in six seasons that the Japanese driver will be lining up outside of the Red Bull stable.

The majority of his racing career has been backed by Honda, whose partnership with the Milton Keynes-based outfit ends at the end of this season.

It coincides with the start of Red Bull Powertrains’ new venture in 2026, as they build their own power units for the first time.