At the Austrian Grand Prix, former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya expects collisions between teammates
At the Austrian Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya expects collisions between teammates. According to the former Formula 1 driver, the short Spielberg circuit is practically tailor-made for just that.
“We’re going to see collisions between teammates,” he said on the Weekend Warm-up Show on F1 TV. “Here, the teammates are always right on top of each other. Some are happy here, others extremely unhappy. The team principals will really be under pressure.“
Montoya also emphasized: ”Three-tenths here is like six-tenths on other tracks. So closing the gap here is very, very difficult. There aren’t enough corners to really make a difference.”
Collisions in head-to-head battles aren’t entirely new at Spielberg. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had a minor run-in on the final lap in 2016, during which the eventual world champion damaged his front wing.
Montoya himself nearly collided with Michael Schumacher at the same spot in 2001, although the two were racing for different teams at the time. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen also had a minor accident at that very spot in 2024, forcing the McLaren driver to retire from the race.
The victory that day went to George Russell in his Mercedes. He is now at the center of various discussions ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. After all, the third-place driver in the World Championship is locked in a duel with his teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Although there has been no collision between the two Mercedes drivers so far, close battles in Canada and costly run-ins in Barcelona have sparked talk of team orders. Between them, Lewis Hamilton sits in second place in the World Championship standings and is riding a wave of momentum following his first Grand Prix victory for Scuderia Ferrari.