Photo: Race Pictures

Verstappen to truly challenge McLaren? 'Have to wait for that first'

09:57, 28 Sep

Updated: 13:02, 28 Sep

byTobia Elia

Juan Pablo Montoya praised Max Verstappen’s outstanding weekend in Baku, however, the Colombian is cautious in terms of the Dutchman having a shot at winning the title.

“Max, once again, unstoppable.”

- Juan Pablo Montoya

Speaking on the MontoyAS podcast, the former Williams driver was full of praise for the Dutchman: “Max, once again, unstoppable. I did some TV work again this weekend, but only on Sunday—for the pre- and post-race coverage.

"I spoke during the pre-race segment, and when they asked me what I thought, I said, ‘Max, you’re just going for a stroll.’ And that’s exactly how it went.”

Despite the two consecutive wins, the former Colombian driver believes it’s necessary to wait for the Singapore weekend to see if Red Bull can truly challenge McLaren until the end of the season.

“We have to get to Singapore, get through that weekend, and see Red Bull’s real pace. We’re heading to Singapore, then Austin—two high-downforce tracks that should really benefit McLaren a lot.”

Max Verstappen in Baku - Photo: Race Pictures

Stella believes Verstappen is back in contention

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was also impressed by Verstappen’s win in Baku, with the Dutchman claiming the sixth grand slam of his career.

"We're talking about Max Verstappen, we're talking about Red Bull. We have already seen in Monza that they improved, they seem to have made an improvement with their car," he said.

"Because the way they won Monza was something more for what was our assessment than simply a car that adapts well at low drag. They were fast in the corners, medium speed and low speed corners, fast in the straights. We know that Max, when he has a competitive car, can deliver strong weekends."

With seven Grands Prix and three sprints still to go, Verstappen now sits 69 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, who suffered a costly retirement in Baku. Here’s the updated drivers’ standings following the Azerbaijan GP.

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