Juan Pablo Montoya has a fresh idea for Formula 1: pitting drivers against each other in rental karts. The former Williams and McLaren driver believes such a challenge would be incredibly fun and reveal a different side of the champions.
The idea comes after Max Verstappen took part in a unique challenge at Silverstone earlier this month. Red Bull placed Verstappen against 100 other drivers—including journalists, presenters, and content creators—on a bespoke circuit. Starting from the very back, Verstappen needed only 14 of the 30 available laps to overtake 100 karts. Remarkably, he passed 63 drivers on the first lap alone.
Speaking on the MontoyAS podcast, Montoya praised Red Bull's initiative. "It was really, really cool, both the event itself and the idea behind it," he said. "Red Bull normally does things in the mountains, in the snow, and on descents. People start at the back and have to overtake as many others as possible. Sometimes they do that with downhill or endurance. It is really, really cool."
For Montoya, the challenge isn't just about speed. Navigating through a swarm of drivers, experienced or not, is a challenge in itself, especially on a tight karting track. "It is interesting to see how a driver handles that," he added. "They can drive fast, of course, but they can't just drive everyone off the track."
Montoya then suggested the entire current F1 grid—including Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc—take on a similar challenge. He even suggested turning off the cameras so the drivers could let loose. "Personally, I think that would be incredibly fun to see," Montoya said. "It would be very interesting to put all the current drivers in a rental kart and see who would win. Just turn off the cameras and don't record anything at all. If you then give them the karts, they would have a huge amount of fun. That would be really cool. It would be really great for the drivers."
Verstappen himself is in top form. Ironically, his Silverstone victory was his first of the season, as he has yet to drag the RB22 to P1 in a real race. However, his karting antics show that his racing instincts remain sharp.
Montoya's proposal has received positive feedback from fans. Many hope the idea could become a reality, at least as an exhibition event. With the right format, a karting challenge among F1 drivers could be an entertaining spectacle and bring drivers closer together.
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