Montoya: Perez was under fire 20 years ago

Juan Pablo Montoya said the help that Sergio Pérez gave to Max Verstappen during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix would not have been so widely welcomed in his time.

The Colombian raced in F1 between 2001 and 2006 and is remembered for his fierce battle with the main driver of the time, Michael Schumacher.

Perez's performance at Yas Marina was certainly full of scrappy spirit, and he stubbornly defended a few laps against Lewis Hamilton, which culminated in the Englishman's title battle with Verstappen. While the Mexican's actions have been widely praised, Montoya offered a different perspective because Perez has largely put the interests of his teammates at heart rather than his own.

Finally, Red Bull celebrated Verstappen's coronation as champions, and the Dutch paid tribute to the role played by Perez, believing that this role determined the fate of the title race.

Montoya said: "It's interesting for people to look at this from that perspective now. Oh my God, it's great that Checo got involved to help Max. I think he did a really good job for Max. But twenty years ago, if driver number two had done that, he would have been slammed. If Rubens (Barrichello) helped Michael like that, everyone would say, 'Oh my God, why are you helping Michael?' You give up a win, a position' and today people say, 'Oh, he helped him, he got in the way, he did it well'. ”

Asked what he thinks has changed that perception over the years, the former Williams and McLaren driver said: "I don't know, it's crazy. Honestly, I think if you support Max, you'd think what Checo did was great because it helped him. But if you support Lewis or you're neutral, you'll wonder why he's getting involved. ”