In place of Max Verstappen 'seven or eight drivers' could be World Champions with Red Bull according to former F1 driver

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya feels that in place of Max Verstappen, there are seven to eight drivers on the current F1 grid who could be world champions in Red Bull.

Verstappen has proved himself to be a real phenomenon. He is doing a great job when it comes to turning up every weekend and not having any dips in his performance.

It is this skill that has differentiated him from the dominant eras of the past. Juan Pablo Montoya, however, has a far more pragmatic view of all of this. According to him, Max Verstappen has not certainly become faster in the last two seasons. The only thing that has changed is the car under him.

The former Williams driver said that he felt there were multiple drivers on the grid, including Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, who could be world champions if they drove the Red Bull.

FormulaPassion.It quotes him, saying:

"Verstappen is doing a great job at the moment. He seems invincible like when Hamilton won everything, this is the reality. Max is a very good driver, but for now he has the best car. Verstappen’s speed right now is no higher than it was two years ago, it’s probably the same. Only that the car is much faster.”

“In place of Max, there are about seven or eight drivers who could be World Champions with Red Bull," he added. "For example Perez, Hamilton, Sainz, Leclerc, Norris would be World Champions. It’s clear that if you’re not a good driver it becomes difficult because the better you are, the more chance you have of being in a good team.

"Norris, for example, is a very good driver and McLaren has improved a lot this year, but Lando would probably be World Champion in Red Bull."

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Does Montoya have a point about Max Verstappen's recent success?

There are two ways to look at what Pablo Montoya said. On one side, it is fair to say that Max Verstappen's recent success can be put down to the car he has under him. It's also fair to say that drivers like Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso will be world champions in Red Bull this season.

However, at the same time, there is one thing that cannot be denied. Max Verstappen is the driver that has stuck with the team during the tumultuous phase from 2016 to 2020 when the car was not a title contender.

To add to this, while there might be 7-8 drivers that would have won the title in this year's Red Bull, there aren't many or any of them arguably who could have won the title in 2021.

That's where the value of a Max Verstappen is felt by a team like Red Bull and why he drives for them.