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Montoya sympathises with struggling champs

Mon 06 Jul, 01:41 PM


Juan Pablo Montoya says he sympathises with the current plights of Formula One World Champions Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Montoya, the winner of seven Grand Prix since his debut in 2001, switched to America's premier NASCAR series in the middle of the 2006 season, disillusioned with his situation at McLaren.

"To them (Alonso and Hamilton) I say 'welcome to the club'," the 33-year-old said in an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE from the latest round of the Sprint Cup.

Montoya said the fact that success in F1 is only possible with the very best car had become 'monotonous' throughout his six years on the grid.

Referring again to the struggling former champions, he added: "That it is now happening to them is really sad."

Montoya said other aspects of the so-called pinnacle of motor racing also left him disillusioned.

"In the beginning you fight and you're happy to be there," he said of Formula One. "I did fast times, I got several poles, I won some races. The perfect dream."

"But after two or three years you see how everything in the team works, how it is manipulated. And you see that if you want to win you have to be with a particular team and that's pretty frustrating," said Montoya.

Also frustrating is the fact that, if a team's single-seater is not born competitive, there is "nothing you can do" to return to the pace in that season, he added.

However, it must be pointed out that Renault did just that last year when Fernando Alonso struggled for many races before eventually taking victories in Singapore and Japan late in the season.

 

Comment 1 - 14 of 14

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  1. Why is it that 'non racing drivers' see a­ comment like this as "sour grapes" or­ "whining", the fact is JPM is a racing driver­ and a mighty good one to boot, and he took the race to­ Michael Schumacher on more than one occasion, moving­ away from F1 p1ssed off a bunch of people and proved­ nothing...I recon he would have been better staying­ (but that is probably just my selfishness) whether he­ would have made world champion is unknown but F1 would­ have been a little more interesting had he stayed.

    From Peter c, on Tue 7 Jul 10:04PM

  2. Whine anyone?

    From Walking quiet, on Tue 7 Jul 5:06AM

  3. i mean raikkonens 7 races to montoyas 3!!

    From james, on Mon 6 Jul 9:47PM

  4. didnt montoya have good car in 2005???, i seem to­ remember raikkonen giving alonso a hard time for the­ championship winning 7 races to his 3 that­ year!!

    kimi's manager steve robertson said in­ prefectly! "montoya left F1 with a raikkonen­ shaped boot print on his arse"

    all this carping­ from juan is sour grapes of a bright star that fizzled­ out early

    From james, on Mon 6 Jul 9:44PM

  5. True champion makes the car competitive like Alonso or­ outperforms the car drawing the attention of the teams­ with the best cars. Either way there is something you­ can you, stay motivated and fight to get in a good car.­ Alonso especially understands this, that's why he­ fights mid pack rather than jump ship. In CART Montoya­ was in a top car, easy to stay motivated then.Look at­ Kimi he was in the same car as Juan, he stayed and­ fought, drawing the attention of Ferrari.

    I like Juan­ and what he added to F1, but join the club? He is not­ in the same club a Fernando and Lewis. His teammate­ Kimi is world champion with Ferrari and he is wasting­ away in NASCAR

    From chris_s, on Mon 6 Jul 9:40PM

  6. Now old JPM would blow whinging Hamilton away.

    From IAN T, on Mon 6 Jul 9:26PM

  7. well well well. not in the club you say mate. john­ poblo never had a good car at mclarens. his car was­ like the car hampster got this year. if hampster is in­ the elite how come he aint winning . you wood think he­ might be on a podium some time . if it aint the car i­ guess hes just @#$% for a driver.

    From Francis S, on Mon 6 Jul 9:10PM

  8. Liam L: Sorry, I did mean ovals because that is where­ Juan said he most wants to win.

    From TeamJuanF1, on Mon 6 Jul 8:58PM

  9. He is 100% right. I guess all motorsports are team­ sports, but the driver has more influence in most other­ types of racing. F1 needs the best drivers, but any­ dominating team could probably win with any driver on­ the grid.

    From Tempoe, on Mon 6 Jul 6:16PM

  10. You always have to be with the best or a top team to­ win. Basketball, baseball, football(soccer), NFL. You­ need the best people and/or machine around you.
    Unless­ you play individual sports like tennis, swimming, ping­ pong, etc.
    Hamilton and Alonso are world champions. ­ Montoya's not in their club.

    From Silver N, on Mon 6 Jul 5:52PM

  11. Montoya has been a quick study in NASCAR and as long­ as his team can keep a competitive car under him should­ do very well.

    From sky, on Mon 6 Jul 4:33PM

  12. 1st win? I guess your not counting road cources then.

    From Liam L, on Mon 6 Jul 3:33PM

  13. Montoyas wasting away in NASCAR he should go back to­ Indycars and start winning again

    From Pablo from Bolivia, on Mon 6 Jul 2:55PM

  14. Good on JPM! He did well to go from being a lap down­ two different times in Daytona to finish 8th. He should­ make the chase and pick up his first win soon!

    From TeamJuanF1, on Mon 6 Jul 2:45PM
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