F1 legend reveals timeline for surprise Red Bull comeback

Red Bull could be set for a comeback to the top of the standings in the near future according to F1 legend Juan Pablo Montoya.

The former Williams and McLaren star has assessed the chances of Max Verstappen's F1 team regaining their form come 2026, when new regulations are set to come in and shake up the sport.

The team may have secured the four time champion to their ranks for next season, but there has been plenty of change among the Red Bull garage this year, which was compounded by the immediate sacking of Christian Horner as team principal back in July.

But despite the major changes Red Bull have undergone in 2025, Montoya declared that the Milton Keynes-based F1 squad may surprise the paddock next season.

Speaking to CoinPoker, he said: "On the engine side Red Bull have the right people. The question is have they come together in time to build the engine.

"I think they might surprise people with the power unit and that it might not be as bad as people think it is. They took all the top people from Mercedes, the top people from Ferrari, people from everywhere. They have a massive amount of information. It takes time to collate and integrate."

Red Bull rebuild will take time

In the lead up to the 2026 championship, all 10 teams, 11 including the new Cadillac squad, are battling it out behind the scenes to get a head start in mastering the new regulations, but Montoya believes the clock has already started for Red Bull to rebuild after a hectic year of losing key team players.

Red Bull's F1 crisis dates back to the shock announcement in 2024 that Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey would be leaving the team at the start of 2025, with the design guru's eventual exit sparking a flurry of team departures.

On top of this, what was Horner's F1 outfit at the time were then dealt a further blow when Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley announced a switch to rivals Sauber, soon to become Audi, at the end of the 2024 season.

This meant the team headed into 2025 on the backfoot, but the true impact of such major departures won't be felt until next year claims Montoya.

"The problem now for Red Bull next year, is that before you had one guy Adrian Newey that made the final decision on what went on the car," he continued.

"Now, everybody's coming with new ideas, everybody's trying things, and at the end of the day, the guy leading the direction is a different guy.

"What does Red Bull do now? You're putting really good people in charge, but really good people with no experience of being in charge.

"You lose Christian, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley; that’s a huge loss of leadership.

"It's going to take three or four years for them to come back to the dominance they had."

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