Montoya shrugs off Verstappen criticism with one-liner in Brundle grid walk

Juan Pablo Montoya brushed aside Max Verstappen’s stinging criticism of him with a single dry line during Martin Brundle’s pre-race grid walk, turning a simmering paddock dispute into one of the weekend’s most-shared moments. When Brundle told the Colombian, “You seem to have upset the Verstappens,” Montoya replied with a grin: “Anything new there?”

The exchange follows a pointed back-and-forth that began when Montoya, appearing on the BBC Chequered Flag podcast after the Miami Grand Prix, argued that drivers who publicly disparage Formula 1 should face licence penalty points severe enough to trigger a race ban. “You’ve got to respect the sport,” Montoya said. “I’m OK you not liking the regulations, but the way you were speaking about what you’re living off and your own sport — there should be consequences for that.”

Asked what an appropriate punishment might look like, Montoya was direct: “Park him. Add seven points to the licence, eight points to the licence — whatever you do after, you’re gonna be parked. And I guarantee you, all the message would be different. I’m not saying ‘don’t be outspoken’, but don’t come and call an F1 car a Mario Kart.”

Verstappen responded sharply in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, questioning why Montoya — a seven-time grand prix winner — holds a role with Formula 1’s broadcast operation. “I don’t know what his problem is. I also don’t care much for someone who talks so much nonsense,” Verstappen said. “Surely you don’t want someone like that in the paddock who spouts so much rubbish? I think it’s a case of: ‘I say something different from everyone else, so I’m relevant.’ It doesn’t bother me that much; it’s his problem.”

Montoya’s grid-walk retort landed well on social media. “That’s a Lifetime Achievement right there,” one user wrote on X, while another added: “I love Juan, man. Anyone who gets F1 fans so riled up is cool in my book.”