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Montoya critical of Russell's personality: 'He's too nice on track!'
Juan Pablo Montoya believes George Russell is missing one key element to become world champion. The Colombian sees Lando Norris as the strongest contender for the 2025 F1 title but also sees Russell as a potential champion. However, he questions whether the Mercedes driver has the aggressive edge needed to win, suggesting that Russell is “too nice on the track” to fully capitalize on his speed.
Montoya: 'It's not the reputation Russell wants'
“Russell has the speed to win a title, but I think he’s too nice on the track. People need to look at him a little differently. You think of Russell as a nice guy, and that’s not the reputation he wants," Montoya explained in a conversation with CasinoApps.
The former Williams and McLaren driver thinks the dynamic between Russell and his new teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli could change rapidly. “The friendship between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will be very friendly at the beginning, but if Antonelli starts off quickly, that friendship could deteriorate quickly. But Russell will start off as the dominant driver of the two.”
Montoya admits: 'For Antonelli, it will be difficult'
Still, the 49-year-old Colombian does not think that the 18-year-old rookie will have an easy time in his debut season. “It’s going to be hard for Kimi Antonelli to live up to the hype. It’s going to be really hard. He’s got enough speed to be really, really good, but with speed, accidents can happen. There’s always talk that he had lots of crashes in the old cars,” he notes.
“I think he’s fully committed to it, and I think if Kimi can control his emotions, understanding it might take time to perform, he is going to be okay. If he wants to come out and race and beat everyone, it can backfire really quickly. If someone can pull his reins and steady him—’ slow down, tiger’—he has a time where he doesn’t need to put himself into bad situations.” Montoya concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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