Few Formula 1 drivers can claim to have had as successful a career as Max Verstappen.
Even though Max Verstappen is still only 27 years old, only three drivers have more championships than the Red Bull star.
Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio currently have more titles than the Dutchman, but Verstappen is very quickly catching that iconic trio up.
Verstappen will match Schumacher’s five consecutive championships if he wins the 2025 title but many people in the sport aren’t making him the favourite.
Nico Rosberg is backing Lando Norris to win the title and for the first time in years, Verstappen is unlikely to have the fastest car on the grid.
Red Bull have revised their 2025 F1 car after falling behind McLaren and Ferrari last year, but this change in the pecking order rings a bell for former driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
Montoya arrived on the F1 grid in 2001 with Williams as a Champ Car champion and Indy 500 winner with plenty of excitement surrounding him.
Nearly 100 Grand Prix later, Montoya walked away from Formula 1 halfway through the 2006 season without having achieved what many expected of him.
Juan Pablo Montoya explains what was similar between himself and Max Verstappen
Montoya was asked on the MontoyAS Podcast who he thinks would have been the better driver between himself and Verstappen if they had race during his time in the sport and replied: “That’s really difficult to tell the truth.
“It’s difficult to know, do you understand? If you look at the first years of Max against my own, they are very similar. I don’t know.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
“I was never in the best car. I was never in a winning car, but I won races with cars like when Max won races with a car that didn’t have enough to win.
“The truth is Max is doing a spectacular job and comparing is very difficult.
“If I say that Max is faster, some would say, oh, but I thought you were better! If I say that I was better than Max, then I’m arrogant!”
Juan Pablo Montoya’s record in Formula 1 never matched his ability
Montoya spent four seasons with Williams before moving to McLaren for the final 1.5 years of his time in Formula 1.
Ahead of his F1 first season, team owner Frank Williams said: “He’s very exciting.
“Superb car control. Good to watch, a bit like a marching army coming down the pass.
“But he’s short of Formula One experience, and that matters, because the cars are very complex. When he acquires the experience, Juan will be very, very good.”
The Colombian driver only managed seven victories in F1 but had his fair share of bad luck before walking away.
Montoya believes he did some damage to Ralf Schumacher’s career due to his speed, although their overall records while they were teammates weren’t that different.
READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya reveals unlikely £12m-a-year F1 driver is ‘super loved’ in Colombia after helmet tribute
As he explained, Ferrari and later Renault were the dominant forces while he was racing for Williams and McLaren, but Montoya never looked like the incredible talent that Verstappen did even during his time at Toro Rosso.
He’s right that comparing them – especially as racing has moved on so much in the past 20 years – is nearly impossible.
However, despite Montoya and Verstappen having a very similar racing style, the Dutchman would likely have come out on top in the end.
