Max Verstappen returned to the spotlight in Formula 1 due to his criticisms of the current regulations, and also because of his participation in GT3 races with Mercedes cars. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes that Red Bull Racing and Ford should act to prevent the Dutchman from continuing to promote a competing brand while defending the team in the main motorsport category.
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The four-time Formula 1 world champion has been competing in endurance races this season with Mercedes-AMG GT3 models, under the banner of Team Verstappen Racing. The participations serve as preparation for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, an event scheduled for next weekend.
The situation caught Montoya’s attention, who finds it contradictory to see Verstappen associated with Mercedes outside of Formula 1. The former Colombian driver especially highlighted Ford’s involvement, Red Bull’s partner in the team’s power units from this season, through Red Bull Powertrains-Ford.
“If I were the big boss at Ford, I wouldn’t like to see Verstappen at Nurburgring promoting Mercedes,” Montoya said in an interview with Betpack. According to him, the image created by the Dutchman ends up directly benefiting a competitor of Red Bull within Formula 1.
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The Colombian also stated that Red Bull and Ford should interfere in the choice of car used by Verstappen in GT3 races. For Montoya, it would make more sense for the driver to compete with a model linked to Ford or another Red Bull partner manufacturer: “If I were Red Bull and Ford, I would put pressure on Max so that he does not drive a Mercedes car, but rather a Ford GT3 or something similar. I don’t believe the Ford boss likes seeing him racing with a Mercedes car in GT categories and promoting the competing brand,” he concluded.
Verstappen’s participations in endurance races recently took place in qualifying events for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, held in April. The program has been treated as preparation for the traditional German race, one of the best-known in the long-distance calendar.
The scenario gains even more repercussion due to frequent speculations involving Verstappen and Mercedes in Formula 1. The Dutchman has been linked again to the German team, especially after Mercedes’ performance improvement, which has started to occupy a prominent position on the current grid.
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