Juan Pablo Montoya leaves F1

It was in the year 2001 when the world of formula one was introduced to a young Colombian called Juan Pablo Montoya. JPM was brought to formula one by Sir Frank Williams from USA where he won the CART racing championship the previous year as a rookie. Soon the fiery Colombian set the tracks of F1 ablaze with his pace. JPM never shied from speaking his heart out which led many people to doubt his temperament and term him as being too hot headed. JPM was equally hot on the track too. He brought excitement to the sport which had almost forgotten about it. When in peak form Juan Pablo was one of the best over takers the sport has ever seen. Many of his daring overtakings feature in video collections of F1 fans. This single ability to perform spectacular over taking manoeuvres won Montoya fans world over.

His debut season in 2001 was a bit of a disaster. The Colombian was marred by bad luck as a series of accidents and mechanical failures meant that he finished in just 6 races. He finished in the podium 4 times and won his maiden grand Prix in Monza.

In 2002 he was denied any victory by the dominant performance of the ‘bullet proof’ F2002 Ferraris. But a consistent performance throughout the year meant that he beat his team mate Ralf Schumacher and finished the season as the third best driver.

2003 was probably the season in which the Colombian was at his best. He consistently outpaced his team mate and finished the season 3rd, just 11 points off the champion Michael Schumacher. Sweet victories were scored in Monaco and Germany. The season was witness to many exciting tussles between the Colombian and Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher.

Montoya’s pace was obvious to everyone and top teams were vying for the Colombian’s services by now. The 2004 season started with McLaren making a shock announcement at the beginning of the season itself that Montoya will be driving for them from 2005.





His move to McLaren in 2005 sparked off expectations of an intense rivalry with team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Everyone in the paddock knew that there was no love lost between the two new team mates. But Montoya struggled with the Woking based team in his first season there. New regulations in the sport meant that tyre changes were not allowed during the race. This added to the Colombian’s woes as it did not suit his aggressive driving style. As he was consistently outpaced by his Finnish team mate, Montoya’s frustration grew. After he became a father in 2005, Montoya seemed to lose some of his aggression both on and off the track. In the beginning of 2006 McLaren announced a major coup- that of having signed Fernando Alonso from 2007. This meant that either Montoya or Raikkonen had to make way for the young Spaniard. As Raikkonen continued to outpace him, experts gave JPM little chance of continuing with Ron Dennis’ team for 2007.

The announcement that Montoya will be racing in NASCAR in 2007 has come as a shock to many of his fans in F1. Montoya was more that just another fast driver. His daredevil driving attracted many people to the sport. In his best form, he knew no fear and was undoubtedly the most exciting driver to watch. With Montoya in the picture you could always expect to watch exciting racing. He would never give an inch. Montoya has also been active in the social scene, helping underprivileged children in Colombia and the world over.

I still hope that he returns to F1 some day. He will surely be remembered by formula one fans long after his departure.

Montoya fans will enjoy this tribute

Half a manager??...Naah...

It’s a start of a new academic year for me. After spending a week relaxing at home in Chennai I came to Mumbai today morning. I was greeted by a wet and drenched city as the monsoon has well and truly set in. It was a complete contrast to the dry spell I had experienced in Chennai. Luckily the local train was not crowded and we reached the hostel soon. Although we had to walk through ankle deep water before reaching the gate, it was better than what I had expected. Just one week into the monsoon and the approach ‘road’ to the hostel already looks like shit. Wonder what’s gonna happen in the months of rain to come.

It is sometimes hard to believe that I’ve completed half my MBA course. If this means that I’ve already gained half the amount of knowledge I will gain from this course then I am in deep trouble. But being a sensible person that I am, I know that I will be putting in more dedicated effort this time. I have to…because there is only 6 more months left before placements begin, and by then I must’ve learnt enough to fool my prospective employers that I know more than what I actually do! Well, I was kidding (partly). The fact that half my course is over has made some seriousness dawn on me. I realise that the next one year is the best time for me to learn about a lot of stuff.

My academics in the past year have been pathetic to say the least. My grades suck. And I cannot claim that “grades are not representative of my knowledge/capability”. Because I’ve hardly learnt anything. I am gonna specialise in finance and I don’t even know financial ratios. Gosh…I am sometimes confused between assets and liabilities! Well…at least I’ve realised the seriousness of the situation and I know, now is the time to buck up. And buck up I will!

What else did I do apart from academics…I participated in a lot of competitions, both inside the college and in inter b school competitions. I managed to get selected for the final rounds for competitions in XLRI and IIM Indore. But since the dates clashed we had to skip XL. We presented a paper in Indore but failed to get any prize. But I savoured the opportunity to visit an IIM and interact with people from various institutes.

My participation in competitions reduced drastically once my health deteriorated. I always prided myself for not having suffered any major illness ever. But the pleasant environment of GR Jani hostel, in which I am honoured to be living for the past year, has been very conducive to friendly bacteria and viruses that helped me through Malaria, Rat Fever and Jaundice. The good part about this is that now I am not at all scared of another attack of malaria since I know what to expect from this illness.

One of my worst regrets has been my interaction levels with my batch mates and my seniors, which have been very limited. My interaction with girls has been extremely limited. I don’t know whether I should’ve expected this. I’ve always been shy with girls. It did not help that my engineering college had a stupid rule that did not allow opposite sexes to interact. When I joined cognizant, I was able to overcome my shyness and I interacted extremely freely with girls. But somehow, when I came here I went back into my shell when it came to interacting with girls. Maybe it has something to do with culture…its difficult to explain, but to me, there is a sea of difference between girls here and girls in Chennai. And somehow I could not come to terms with this difference. I hope in the coming year I come out of my shell and interact more freely with my fellow batch mates and my juniors.

As I look back at the past year various pictures flash in my mind. The crowded city of Mumbai, the daaru parties in the hostel, my first experience in a discotheque, ogling at the attractive girls standing in and around my college gate during the tea breaks, the lush campus of IIM Indore, my illnesses, the class presentations, sweating it out in the streets of Mumbai during the internship, the sleepless nights, the Sunday trips to Matunga for having authentic Tamil food, the longing for home, and many more…

In the coming year I hope to live life the right way. In the end I do not want to regret not having done this or that. I want to participate in competitions. I want to update myself with all kinds of knowledge. I do not want to be lazy!! I want to interact freely with people. I want to do well in academics. I want to experience life in a b school in the true spirit.