Juan Pablo Montoya alarmed by winless F1 driver who’s now getting ‘worse and worse’ after strong start

The 2025 Formula 1 season is past its second triple header, with McLaren firmly stamping their authority on the field.

Oscar Piastri claimed his fifth win of the season at the Spanish GP, extending his lead over teammate Lando Norris to 10 points.

The FIA’s flexi-wing technical directive failed to have much of an impact on the field. McLaren were the only team not to bring a new front wing to Barcelona and were still able to command the field for their third 1-2 finish of the season.

Max Verstappen was hit with a 10-second time penalty after he drove into George Russell. The four-time champion was instructed to hand the position back to the Brit, having been forced off the track after the safety car restart.

The Dutchman walked away from Barcelona with just one point after he was demoted to P10. Now 49 points adrift from Piastri, Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban, after being handed three for the incident in Spain.

Red Bull have slipped to fourth in the constructors’ championship, with Verstappen’s point being the only one they scored last weekend. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda had a miserable time in the RB21, limping home 13th after qualifying last.

Juan Pablo Montoya alarmed by Yuki Tsunoda who’s getting ‘worse and worse’ at Red Bull

Since Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson at Red Bull after two races, the Japanese driver has also struggled in the second RB21. While he has reached Q3 on occasion and scored seven points – Lawson failed to reach Q2 or score points with the team – his pace deficit to his teammate has been concerning.

Red Bull have been surprised by Tsunoda’s pace and how far behind he has been to Verstappen. His struggles were made apparent in Barcelona as he qualified at the back of the grid, while his teammate put his car P3.

The 25-year-old, who is yet to win in F1, had shown encouraging signs of performance at the start of the year. However, his struggles in the last two races have prompted internal discussions from Red Bull, with Helmut Marko expressing concern about his form.

The Austrian is not the only one who is alarmed. Juan Pablo Montoya has pointed out that Tsunoda has been getting ‘worse and worse’, putting Red Bull in a ‘complicated position’ for 2026 as they assess their options for their driver line-up.

“A little bit about Tsunoda. Tsunoda started very well and in the last few races and he’s gotten worse and worse. What’s going to happen there?” he said via AS Colombia.

“And Lawson isn’t doing so well either. So, Red Bull is in a complicated position because they have a chance of losing Max, they don’t want Tsunoda and they probably don’t want Lawson.”

Seb Montoya – “And I don’t think Hadjar wants to go up to Red Bull right now.”

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With his current form, the Japanese driver is in danger of losing his seat for 2026. Marko says Tsunoda may cost Red Bull £118m as the team have ‘written off’ the constructors’ championship due to the results of the second car.

It is becoming clear that the 25-year-old has to find form if he wants to keep his seat. Isack Hadjar is now the favourite to replace Tsunoda, with the Frenchman displaying real potential at Racing Bulls.

As Montoya mentioned, Verstappen’s future at Red Bull is uncertain, with Mercedes and Aston Martin tracking his situation. Verstappen has lost faith in the technical department and could make a move away with a top-three exit clause in his contract.

Red Bull are pushing to get Arvid Lindblad a superlicence, with the 17-year-old being tipped as the next rising star within the team. Tsunoda could be in danger of dropping off the grid if his form cannot improve.