Montoya: “I’d love to see Lewis Hamilton world champion with Ferrari, but I can’t believe in a competitive Red”

According to Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship will be won by George Russell.

What the Colombian driver said

Formula 1 is ready to lift the curtain on the 2026 season, and in Australia we will finally see just how much Mercedes may have hidden during testing, and whether Ferrari can truly dream of winning a World Championship title that has eluded them for almost 20 years.

Charles Leclerc was the fastest during the Bahrain tests, and Ferrari also has a few aces up its sleeve, including the new ‘Macarena’ rear wing briefly seen at Sakhir for a few laps. Among insiders in the UK and beyond, there is still a certain skepticism regarding the actual competitiveness of the Ferrari SF-26, and Juan Pablo Montoya is no exception.

“Ferrari will not be competitive; it’s hard to imagine that it could happen,” said the former Colombian driver, speaking to Vision4Sport. “It’s the same story every year, and it’s difficult to believe they will manage to put everything together. I just can’t imagine it. I would love to say yes, because I would love to see Lewis Hamilton become world champion with Ferrari. I think that would be fantastic. But it’s hard to believe they will really achieve it. The championship will be won by George Russell, and Mercedes will take the Constructors’ title.”

As the first lights out of the season approaches, the debate continues: will the SF-26 finally break the curse, or is Juan Pablo Montoya right to put his money on George Russell and the Silver Arrows?