By Graham Duxbury
Formula One from the Inside
Montoya - Formula
One’s big loss
Very few Formula One drivers leave the sport when they’re in a position
to realise their dream of winning the world drivers’ championship.
Juan Pablo Montoya did. He walked away from the McLaren team and
turned his back on F1 in 2006 after an on-going spat with team owner
Ron Dennis became terminal. The acrimonious relationship came to a
sudden halt halfway through the season when the Columbian driver was
effectively shown the door and replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.
Graham Duxbury is a former
racing driver, champion and TV
commentator. He is featured in
the Hall of Fame at the Daytona
Motor Speedway in the USA.
Here, in 1984, he made history
by winning the famous 24-hour
sports car race in an all-South
African team, partnered by Sarel
van der Merwe and Tony Martin.
M
ontoya’s F1 career had, up to
that point, been stellar, with
seven wins, 13 pole positions and
30 podium finishes to his credit. But, like
some young superstars, Montoya didn’t
get on with everyone in his team. He fought
with teammate Kimi Raikkonen on and off
the track – with altercations often ending
in tears and broken cars - and seemingly
missed few opportunities to cross swords
with Dennis. According to a team insider,
Montoya simply couldn’t be tamed.
But his brashness and devil-may-care
attitude undoubtedly made him one of the
most exciting drivers F1 has ever seen.
How different F1 racing history might have
been if he hadn’t headed to the US and
opted a career in American NASCAR racing
instead.
With hindsight, one has to ask whether
Dennis’ stubbornness didn’t play a role
in fracturing the relationship with his lead
driver. In subsequent years he has had
seismic fallouts with Fernando Alonso and
Lewis Hamilton – all to the detriment of
McLaren’s on track performances.
For Montoya, who can list victories in some
of the most prestigious races in the world
on his CV – including the Indianapolis 500,
Monaco F1 and the 24 Hours of Daytona the move to NASCAR was something of a
disaster.
In seven long years he competed in
277 races, winning just three. However,
he placed in the top 10 on more than
60 occasions, demonstrating a level of
competitiveness that promised much but
delivered little. Of course, there can be
no comparison in terms of performance,
drivability or competition between
single-seater F1 cars and the lumbering,
overweight sedan cars that populate the
NASCAR fields.
My former teammate Sarel van der Merwe
- multiple South African rally and saloon
car champion and acclaimed international
sports car driver – satisfied his curiosity by
competing in four NASCAR events in the
1990s. He was less than impressed, his
comments about his cars’ poor handling
and unimpressive responses to throttle
and brakes being unrepeatable in polite
company.
While Sarel’s decision to leave NASCAR
in his wake came quickly, Montoya’s took
time and the intervention of America’s
most famous team owner, Roger Penske,
who offered the Columbian a chance to
reunite with his first-love, single-seaters,
via a drive in his IndyCar team for 2014.
At the age of 38, when most drivers are
thinking about retirement, a much more
circumspect Montoya decided to grasp
this opportunity with gusto. He began
a fitness programme, lost weight and
prepared mentally for the new challenge.
It’s been something of a fairy-tale return.
Not only is his raw speed still there, but
the 2014-spec Montoya has the motivation
of a 22-year-old, reinforced with a level
of maturity that was sadly lacking in his
earlier years.
Montoya’s comeback win last month (July
2014) at Pocono – a superfast tri-oval
superspeedway in Pennsylvania – was
text-book perfect, backing up pole position
in qualifying.
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With almost immediate success in singleseaters, it’s tempting to wonder how
Montoya’s career might have looked had
he not ‘wasted’ so much time in NASCAR.
Ironically, it’s precisely this part of his
career that Montoya credits for his current
performances.
He says NASCAR taught him to look at
the big race picture, to be patent when
impulsiveness might be an alternative
and to take advantage of opportunities
when they present themselves. “I think 90
percent of open-wheel drivers never look at
the bigger pictur e,” says the reincarnated
Montoya. “I probably lost Formula One
championships as a result. It’s a shame you
can’t turn back time.”
There is another side to the new Montoya:
His Australian teammate Will Power says
Montoya is a consummate team player,
his ideas and input helping fast-track the
team’s development programme.
Montoya, for his part, gives all credit to
Roger Penske. “Having the opportunity
to run for Roger is unbelievable,” he
is reported as saying. “He’s head and
shoulders above anybody else.”
Will Juan Pablo’s stance
change when the honeymoon
period ends, or are we
witnessing a new, reenergised, yet mature driver
capable of more race victories
and even a championship win
in 2015? Personally, I won’t
bet against it.
september 2014