Juan Pablo Montoya has said Red Bull need to rethink their decision to let Max Verstappen compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours this May.
Max Verstappen’s recent qualifying session for the Nurburgring 24 Hours was another example of his skill in GT3 machinery, despite technical issues with his Mercedes GT3 car on Sunday cutting his final result short.
The race weekend was also marred by tragedy. Early in Saturday’s race, a seven-car crash at the Klostertal section led to the death of GT3 veteran Juha Miettinen.
This tragic incident led to renewed concerns over safety at the famous Eifel circuit as motorsport paused to remember Miettinen.
Montoya suggests Red Bull might need to rethink Verstappen’s GT3 racing plans
Speaking on the AS Colombia F1 podcast, Montoya was asked about Verstappen’s continued involvement in races at the ‘Green Hell’ after recent incidents. He doesn’t expect Red Bull to step in, but he does think they should at least take another look at their stance.
Montoya was first asked if he believes Red Bull will make Verstappen step away from GT3 racing this year. “No, because they’re afraid of losing him,” he said.
But when asked what he thinks Red Bull should do, Montoya took a firmer stance. The 48-year-old believes the team should take a closer look at what’s at stake.
He explained: “An accident could happen where he breaks a leg, breaks an arm, or something like that, and all the money Red Bull has invested in him should be reason enough.
“They should say, ‘Look, we gave him the chance, but following this accident we’re having a rethink and we don’t think he should be allowed to race.’ Personally, if I were the boss of Red Bull I would have called Max and said: Look please. You’re not getting back in the car.”
The former F1 driver also drew from his own experiences to highlight why teams are often cautious about letting drivers take part in outside events.
“There’s no risk of us letting him get behind the wheel of one of those cars,” he continued. “It’s an investment; you’re investing in the driver. But not only that; you’re making a huge investment in the driver and everything surrounding him.”
Max Verstappen impresses again in a GT3 car during Sunday’s qualifier
Once Verstappen was able to get into the cockpit of his Mercedes-AMG on Sunday, he immediately showed why he’s so highly regarded in any machinery.
In fact, Verstappen didn’t take part in qualifying because his team feared that if he set too fast a time, it could lead to balance-of-power (BoP) restrictions. So, Lucas Auer stepped in for that session.
But once the race started, Verstappen quickly made an impact. Starting from fifth on the grid, he moved into the lead by lap four, overtaking both the Manthey Porsche and the pole-sitting Ferrari ahead of him.
He built up a lead of more than 30 seconds before damage to his front splitter – likely caused by one of the many kerbs around the 15.7-mile circuit – slowed him down.
Even with those setbacks, Verstappen and his team secured their place in next month’s race. The Nurburgring event falls between the Miami and Montreal rounds of this season’s F1 calendar.
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