Max Verstappen has long played the role of the villain in Formula 1 since emerging onto the scene as a 17-year-old, and Juan Pablo Montoya has explained why the vast majority of fans are starting to warm to the Dutchman.
Verstappen was tipped to go to the very top of F1 since his heroics at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, and he made it very clear that he wasn’t worried about hurting anyone’s feelings on his way.
The ultra-competitive nature of the Dutchman is one of the reasons why he has been so successful in his single-seater career, and Jos Verstappen has previously expressed his annoyance at how his son is portrayed by F1 fans because of it.
The sentiment was echoed by Chris Harris after he took part in a promotional video with Verstappen during the current season.
The presenter was taken aback by Verstappen’s demeanour, which was nothing like how the four-time world champion is illustrated in the media.
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Juan Pablo Montoya believes F1 fans are warming to Max Verstappen now that he isn’t dominating
In a recent episode of the MontoyAS podcast, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya spoke about the way that the Red Bull driver’s “image” has been changing over recent years, which was echoed by a recent poll that has Verstappen as the fifth most popular driver on the F1 grid.
“Max has changed a lot,” Montoya stated. “When he was dominating, people didn’t like him much. Generally, nobody likes someone who dominates. But when he was the villain, the one challenging Mercedes, or doing things like this, people really liked him.
“Racing outside of Formula 1 isn’t very common. For many fans who can’t attend a Formula 1 race, either because of the cost or because there aren’t currently any races in Germany, this was a unique chance to see Max drive a car and do something different.
“On top of that, people could even race against him, since many likely signed up just for the opportunity to share the track with Max. From that perspective, it’s pretty cool.”
Montoya is referring to Verstappen’s recent venture into GT3 racing at the world-renowned Nordschleife. The 28-year-old has entered a number of races in the NLS in order to prepare for the prestigious Nurburgring 24 Hours race next year.
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Max Verstappen could enter the 2025 F1 title fight with a win at the Singapore Grand Prix
Verstappen is currently coming off the back of consecutive wins in the 2025 F1 season, cruising to victory by a sizeable margin at Monza and Baku.
Benefiting from the poor showings of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in Azerbaijan, the result saw Verstappen edge closer to the front-running McLaren duo.
His deficit to Piastri at the top of the F1 standings currently sits at 69 points.
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believes Verstappen has to win in Singapore for him to be in contention for the title at the end of the season.
With there being just six rounds remaining after the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, he needs as many points as he can get right now.
The Dutchman is well aware of the risk he poses to Piastri and Norris’ respective maiden titles, with Verstappen telling Red Bull exactly what they need to do in order for him to take the fight to them in Singapore.