Racing driver Sebastián Montoya makes a racket about padel after completing 2025 Formula 2 season
Racing driver Sebastián Montoya recently completed 10 rounds of his 2025 Formula 2 season and has earned a well-deserved break, during which his passion for padel has come to light.
Sports News Blitz writer Shameeka Voyiya explains more…
Playing padel with other drivers
“I love golf and padel. Padel a little bit more because it's a little bit easier to play, and I don't travel around with my golf clubs, but I do travel around with a padel racket,” Sebastián Montoya told the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
“For example, in Australia I played twice, in Bahrain I played, in Jeddah I played, it's quite cool and it's quite nice because there are a lot of F1 and F3 drivers that play, so we kind of get together sometimes, which is kind of cool.”
The 20-year-old is currently ranked ninth for the 2025 Formula 2 season after stepping up from 17th position during the 2024 Formula 3 Championship, moving to Formula 2 with PREMA Racing.
“So for me padel is really nice. It's grown quite a lot,” he added.
“F1 drivers usually play with themselves or they will invite an F2 driver.
“For example, I got invited to play with Lando, Bortoleto, and Ollie Goethe in Jeddah. But they texted me 30 minutes before a padel match I already had booked for three hours.”
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F1 drivers’ passion for padel
Indeed, many F1 players have been spotted playing padel together, with prominent figures like Oscar Piastri sharing his love for the sport on the Stompcast with Dr Alex George podcast.
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have become team-mates on the court, as a few of their matches have been subject to public interest by fans on social media.
“At the end of the three hours, I ran into Yuki, and that was quite interesting,” Montoya continued.
“For example, Lance Stroll in Bahrain, he goes to one specific place, and I was there I think 30 minutes, and then he had a match, and we were there for three hours.
“Usually, we play with one other person, because usually it's myself, my dad and my trainer, Roger. So we will play together, but I'd say it's a lot easier to grow that bond between drivers from different categories through padel.”
Growth of padel
Padel fever has spread across the world, with many celebs, influencers, and ordinary individuals looking to have fun with the accessible sport.
New padel courts are popping up all over the globe, with popularity spreading from its home country of Mexico (and Spain, depending on who you ask) to the rest of Europe and America.
“In Monaco, you can play quite easily, you can play with friends, also sometimes when I am in Spain, I play with my family and in Colombia, they are starting to play more and more, so when I got back there, it’s always nice to play with friends,” said Montoya.
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