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Montoya sees Red Bull at fault: 'Told Lawson to drive like Verstappen'

09:00, 30 Mar

byNorberto Mujica

Liam Lawson's demotion to Racing Bulls after just two Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing is the best outcome for the Kiwi driver, says former F1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya.

A terrible 'great' record, sees Montoya in Lawson's stay at Red Bull Racing, the shortest for any driver at the Austrian team.

"Or any other team [in F1]. Some who's announced for the rest of the season, it's the greatest record. Unbelievable." The demotion, though, the Colombian Grand Prix winner sees as a blessing in disguise.

"They may be saving Liam's career by dropping him to Racing Bulls because he's already been there, he's done well.

"He's been competitive, he's been on par with Yuki, he beat him in some races, he's been behind others, but he's been doing well. He'll have that chance again to get back into a car and say, 'Oh, this feels normal.'"

The problem is Red Bull, not the drivers

The main problem Montoya sees at Red Bull Racing is not to do with the drivers, but with the team itself, and the way they've built themselves around their lead driver, Max Verstappen.

"The problem is, I don't know if it's at the Red Bull engineering core. I understand that the entire Red Bull [team] is tailored to Max. Everything has been done to make Max comfortable, for what Max wants.

"Max wants the car to turn. If it's unstable, he doesn't care. That it turns, it's what he wants most, and it's perfect. The problem is that the other side of the garage also has engineers.

'Red bull told Lawson to drive like Verstappen'

The Colombian believes Red Bull told Lawson to focus on how Verstappen drove the car, when they should have focused on adjusting the car to the New Zealander's needs.

"I haven't been there to relay what the philosophy is, but I'm pretty sure that they talked a lot about it [at Red Bull]. 'He's driving badly, he's braking badly. Look how Max brakes. Look how Max releases the brake, look how Max moves his hands.'

"And the engineer, instead of saying, 'come on, I'll change the car,' the engineer tried to tell him [how to drive]."

Montoya then recalls himself going through something similar at Williams. After giving up a lot of lap time to teammate Ralf Schumacher because he felt unable to drive the car, and his engineer failing to adjust it to his needs, the Colombian says he marched on to Frank Williams and made his demand.

"I need someone else because I don't need a coach. I need an engineer. I need someone who, instead of saying I'm driving badly, will change the car for me so I can drive it."

In Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson's replacement, Montoya believes lies what Red Bull is looking for.

"And this is kind of what Red Bull needs. Red Bull needs to take someone on and build the other side of the garage with that person, and they have to take the time to do it. For them, Yuki is the perfect person," Montoya concluded.