Montoya: Mercedes are terrified of Red Bull's pace

Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Mercedes are now genuinely terrified of Red Bull following Max Verstappen's commanding performance against Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Verstappen secured his first victory of the 2026 season at Sepang, converting pole position into a win amid challenging conditions on a damp, drying track. Antonelli came home second to limit the damage in the standings, though the championship leader was only able to get close to the RB22 during Safety Car restarts.

The result proved to be an unwelcome surprise for the Silver Arrows, especially as the German outfit had introduced their second major upgrade package of the season in Malaysia.

Ahead of the weekend, Montoya had expected McLaren and Mercedes to hold a clear edge over the rest of the grid. However, Verstappen was on the pace from the opening session, and the Colombian admitted that the championship leaders were the team that surprised him most.

The Singapore Grand Prix weekend, featuring the final Sprint of the season, got underway with Antonelli leading teammate George Russell by 320 points to 236. The gap widened at Sepang after the Briton suffered a late retirement, and Russell is set to start Sunday's race from the back of the grid after exceeding power unit component limits.

Mercedes showed plenty of fight in Friday's sole practice session, with Russell setting the fastest time, 0.198 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Antonelli ended up seventh after a mistake in the final sector of his flying lap.

Verstappen finished sixth, 0.732 seconds off the top, after spending half the session without radio communication with the pit wall. With both Red Bulls and Antonelli setting their best times on the medium compound, the practice order heading into Sprint Qualifying likely masks the true competitive picture.