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
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