Juan Pablo Montoya wants Max Verstappen muzzled. The Colombian told the BBC that drivers ripping F1's 2026 power unit rules — Verstappen famously called the new cars "Mario Kart" — should be slapped with license points until they're "parked." Seven or eight points, Montoya suggested, and watch the tone change in a hurry.
It's a terrible idea. Drivers are the people best positioned to flag what's wrong with the machinery, including safety concerns, and the FIA is already scrambling to revise the 2026 regs precisely because the criticism has merit. Banning Verstappen from a Grand Prix for honesty would gut ticket sales and hand F1 a censorship scandal it doesn't need. A RaceFans poll backs that up: 95% strongly disagree with sporting penalties for criticism.
Heading into Vegas and the season's American closing stretch, expect Verstappen to keep talking — and the paddock chorus to grow louder.
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