Montoya says Lawson could be Red Bull's next Verstappen

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Liam Lawson has the potential to fill Max Verstappen's seat at Red Bull. The comment comes despite Verstappen describing Lawson's conduct as "rather unwise" after the pair collided during second practice ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix. The contact scattered debris and brought out a red flag, and the FIA handed both drivers a one-place grid penalty and penalty points.

Montoya reads Lawson's refusal to be pushed aside as a sign of growth. He said on his podcast MontoyAS that Lawson is consistently the best driver in the midfield and that he has scored more points on his own than the entire Alpine team, arguing he deserves the Red Bull seat. Lawson has been confirmed with Racing Bulls for 2027.

Montoya also suggested that Arvid Lindblad would have been the driver to make way had Nikola Tsolov been promoted to a race seat, noting that Lawson generally performs better in races than Lindblad.