Former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya has suggested that Max Verstappen could get a little complacent if his team-mate stops challenging him later in his career.
Sergio Perez has been struggling in recent races, having failed to make it into the final part of qualifying in over two months – and talk has been growing about his future at Red Bull.
Montoya claimed that, while Perez remains the team's best options as things stand, the Mexican might not be an ideal long-term fit.
"Maybe in a few years, two-three years, they need to change and find somebody because Max will go through a phase and that's normal," he said. "He's still going to be amazing but he's going to change a little bit.
"Somebody maybe needs to come in with a lot more hunger at that point to get the job done and that's a part of the deal. The media love poking. It's like a dog with a bone and people will react to the story."
The Colombian also admitted that Helmut Marko is a hard taskmaster, but acts the way he is to try and pull the best out of his drivers.
"The way Helmut works with stuff like this, he's not putting pressure because he wants to fire you but he puts pressure on you to perform," he said. "He's looking to get the most out of you."
"He's not patting you on the back and saying 'you're the best, you can do it'. No, he's like 'get your shit together or you're out'."
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