(born
September 20 ,
1975 ) is a
Colombia n
Formula One Motor Racing driver. He was born in
Bogotá where he was taught the techiques of
Karting from an early age by his
Father Pablo, an
Architect and
Motorsport enthusiast. He has enjoyed great success, most famously in top
Open-wheel racing series. The highlights of his career include an
International F3000 title, a world title in the
CART FedEx Championship Series , and race victories in the
Indianapolis 500 and
Monaco Grand Prix .
Montoya began racing karts in
1981 at the early age of six, and by age nine he won the Children's National Kart Championship. In
1986 , he won the junior division of the National Championship. For the next three years, he won many local and national titles in the Kart Komet Division. Montoya capped off his karting career by winning the Kart Junior Championships in
1990 and
1991 .
Montoya moved to the Copa Formula (a series in which he won the title). As his success continued year after year, Montoya came to be known for his uncanny ability to win
Pole Position s (as well as races), in some cases taking 80% of a
Season's poles. For the next three years, Montoya raced in various divisions, continually progressing upward. He raced in the
1995 British Formula
Vauxhall Championship, and in the
1996 British
Formula 3 , as well as taking part in events in
Zandvoort ,
Netherlands and at
Silverstone .
As a youngster resident in
Austria Juan Pablo Montoya struggled to save enough money for his basic needs. At this stage of his life he recalls having no money even for public transport; instead he used roller blades to go from one place to another. Retirement from motorsport seemed likely, but a call to take part in the
1997 Formula 3000 season was the blessing he was praying for. He finished second in the championship in his rookie season, The
Williams Formula One team noticed his potential, and signed him to a multi-year testing contract from 1998. Alongside his Formula One testing duties for Williams he competed again in F3000 and took the title in a close contest with
Nick Heidfeld .
Renault ,
Williams Engine supplier for most of the 1990s, left Formula One at the end of the 1997 season. With no major engine suppliers available, Williams were forced to sign a contract to run customer engines for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In 1998 the team failed to win a race for the first time in a decade. For the 1999 season, in the hope of attracting more investors to the underperforming team,
Sir Frank Williams agreed a driver swap with CART team owner
Chip Ganassi , in which Ganassi’s 1997 and 1998 CART champion driver,
Alessandro Zanardi , would return to
Formula One and Montoya would take his place in the competitive American series.
While Zanardi had a miserable year in Formula One, Montoya, with
Honda power and a great
Reynard chassis at his disposal, took the American motorsport scene by storm. He took the
1999 title in his
Rookie year, something accomplished six years earlier by former
Formula One Champion ,
Nigel Mansell .
The season that saw Montoya crowned as the youngest ever
CART FedEx Championship Series Champion at the age of 24 was closely fought, especially with
Dario Franchitti who led the championship going into the final race in California. Montoya won the race - both drivers finished the season with equal number of points but having won seven races to the Scotsman's three decided the title in the Colombian's favor. Montoya's tally of wins, pole positions and fastest laps meant that he was considered the fastest driver in a series which lacked electronic aids such as traction control, adaptive suspension or automatic gearboxes. However, the CART rookie also attracted criticism - notably from
Michael Andretti and his team - for his aggressive style of driving.
Montoya still had a contractual relationship with Williams and after his impressive rookie season the
Grove -based team were keen for him to drive for them in Formula One. However, the young Colombian decided to race in the US for one more year.
In 2000 the Ganassi team switched to
Toyota engines and
Lola chassis. The package was strong for ovals and high speed tracks, but was less well suited to street and most road circuits. Toyota’s engines were not yet reliable and often failed the team. Despite this, Montoya led more laps than anyone else and took the maiden victory for a Toyota engine in the series. He was also the most popular driver, but in a season where he failed to finish more than 60% of races he was out of contention for the championship.
That season the Ganassi team also competed in the prestigious
Indianapolis 500 race, part of the rival
Indy Racing League (IRL) series. Media and drivers were critical of the way Juan Pablo approached the ''Brickyard'', many IRL drivers labelled him as crazy and predicted an early retirement from the race. In the event, the Colombian star claimed top honours at the end of the 500 mile race, taking an easy victory. In doing so he matched the performance of another former Formula One World Champion,
Graham Hill , and became the first Colombian to accomplish the feat. His compatriot
Roberto José Guerrero had previously finished twice as runner up.
Over the weekend of the 2000 Indianapolis 500,
BMW.Williams announced a two year deal for Montoya to partner
Ralf Schumacher starting in 2001. His entrance was very much anticipated by the Formula One Community due to the talent and raw speed showed in the America's based series.
Montoya showed great potential from the beginning. Critics and fans alike anticipated that he would challenge for the
World Drivers Championship . During the first half of his Formula One career he consolidated as a fast driver and race challenger becoming a title contender during 2003 but the hope of fighting for more titles has gradually faded as stronger and more consistent challengers for the title have arisen.
Although he revitalized Formula One with his brilliant overtaking maneuvers — which are considered extremely difficult under the current formula — he has been criticized during his Formula One career for his unreliability and tendency to make costly mistakes. His driving style is too characteristic of the
80's Formula One Era . In this matter it is difficult to build a car that suits him well as
Engineers and
Aerodynamicists have adapted their work to build
Chassis that are more appropriate to a more fine and soft, and perhaps less live, driving style.
Entering his sixth season, in
2006 , it is evident that Juan Pablo Montoya has not developed into the title contender that racing fans and the media had predicted. In particular after five full seasons the necessary consistency is still not present. However, he often challenges for race victories and was voted top
Latin American driver at the Premios
Fox Sports awards in 2003 and 2005'' Formula 1 Driver Juan Pablo Montoya Named Premios Fox Sports Athlete of the Year; Esteban Loaiza, Adrian Fernandez, Carlos Valderrama among Athletes Honored at Inaugural Show''
www.hispanicprwire.com Retrieved April 29 2006''3rd Annual Premios Fox Sports Shines Spotlight on Latino Athletes From the United States and Latin America''
www.hispanicprwire.com Retrieved April 29 2006
Montoya made his Formula One debut for the
BMW -powered Williams team on
March 4 ,
Australian Grand Prix . Less than a
Month later, he shocked
Michael Schumacher — and the F1 world — in
Brazil by overtaking the
World Champion in a daring move. Montoya was on course to win the race when backmarker
Jos Verstappen collided with him. Verstappen claimed he didn't know who the race leader was. In his first season in Formula One Montoya established himself as a natural racer and a favorite with fans and commentators. Although Williams struggled with reliability that year — Montoya only finished six races — he nevertheless won three pole positions and stood on the podium four times, including his maiden Formula One victory at the
2001 Italian Grand Prix at
Monza .
Montoya was the best of the rest as
Ferrari 's dominance left available no better place than third. Schumacher and
Rubens Barrichello won 15 of 17 races. He was the sole driver to be able to challenge
Michael Schumacher wheel-to-wheel on the track, but he was not a race winner during the season as were Coulthard and his team mate Ralf Schumacher. For qualifying the
BMW WilliamsF1 FW24 could be set up to use its tires harder than its rivals and generate more grip. With this weapon Montoya was able to win seven pole positions, usually in the very last seconds of the session. He set the fastest ever lap for a Grand Prix during the qualifying session of the
2002 Italian Grand Prix at
Monza .
Although the 2003 chassis was built by the team specifically for Montoya's driving style, the machine needed time to be developed. Problems with
Oversteer were still present, often resulting in 360º spins in front of the crowd, in addition to reliability problems with the
BMW engine.
From the
Monaco Grand Prix the FW25 proved to be the class of the field, allowing Montoya to take victory at
Circuit De Monaco from
Kimi Räikkönen . Although this newly revamped design had proven successful,
Williams often made mistakes, failing to find a correct setup and Montoya gained a poor reputation for setting up a Formula One car. In addition,
Ralf Schumacher had a better relationship with the team, especially with the sporting director, which resulted in several in-race advantages for the German. During the
2003 French Grand Prix , after a misunderstanding with the pit crew, there was a vocal exchange of expletives between the Columbian and his team. This was followed by a formal letter of reprimand from the BMW Williams F1 team. A couple of weeks later the
McLaren Mercedes team announced that they would take on his racing services from 2005.
Bad luck for rivals and excellent on-track performances from the Colombian meant he was a title contender, particularly after a key victory at the
German Grand Prix . Williams, however, was unable to keep pace with the latest developments from
Ferrari . Montoya failed to claim another victory that year. A driver through penalty at the
United States Grand Prix after a collision with Barrichello, ended his chances of a good finish in the last race he would finish in 2003.
2004 was a disappointing year for Montoya. His relationship with the team was strained throughout the season since both parties knew he would be leaving for the McLaren team at the end of the year.
Early season promise faded as the radical looking ‘tusked’ Williams FW26 initially lacked pace and both drivers were frequently left struggling to score points. However, the car was significantly overhauled during the season and the radical nose designed by a former Ferrari aerodynamicist was finally replaced with a more conventional one for the final stages of the season. Montoya left the team on a high note by winning his last race with them, the
2004 Brazilian Grand Prix , which was closely contested with future team mate
Kimi Räikkönen .
.]]
After driving for Williams for four full seasons, Montoya found the
McLaren Mercedes car unpredictable, often claiming it felt like the
Steering Wheel was not "attached" to the rest of the car.
Having been criticised in previous years for his lack of fitness, Montoya began a training program under the direction of McLaren personnel but all the effort was lost when, just after the
Malaysian Grand Prix , he injured his shoulder while in
Spain . The official reason given to media was that he had injured himself whilst playing
Tennis . However rumors stated that a
Motorcycle accident was the real cause.
After missing two Grands Prix he made an early return before he was completely healed. In fact he was often seen with his arm almost motionless for the remaining five Grands Prix even while in the paddock for the British GP.
In practice for the
Monaco Grand Prix Montoya was penalized to start from the back by race stewards for brake-testing his former Williams team mate,
Ralf Schumacher , causing a four car collision. At the
Canadian Grand Prix Montoya was on course for a win, but he was disqualified after being sent out under red light in the pit lane by his team. As a Michelin runner, Montoya did not start the US Grand Prix (''see
2005 US Grand Prix ''). The Columbian was on track for a possible win at Magny-Cours when his suspension failed. He retired from the lead of the
Hungarian GP due to a broken
Driveshaft . His team mate had a similar failure 8 GP before, which shows the differences in
Suspension Geometry between both McLaren's as the torsional forces are carried out in different manner.
During the year Montoya suffered even more from oversteer than he had at
Williams . On several occasions he spun during practice. More seriously he spun in his return from injury at the
Spanish Grand Prix and most notoriously at the last corner during qualifying for the
German Grand Prix . On that occasion he made up for it by climbing from 20th to 8th after the first two corners eventually finishing in a respectable 2nd.
Montoya worked with the team during the year to identify suspension geometry and aerodynamic problems that were making the car unpredictable. It is said that he helped the team to improve the car a lot, benefitting both himself and his team mate.
He had to learn how to cope with a very nervous and oversteery car, in these conditions and after bad luck for his team mate, he scored his first victory for
McLaren Mercedes in the
British GP and in same conditions in
Monza .
For some part of the season the major concerns were the outgoing problems with backmarkers and the Team Orders. Both
Tiago Monteiro and
Antônio Pizzonia collided into him, pretty much like
Jos Verstappen in 2001, and
Jacques Villeneuve forced him off the track in one of the final races of the year. All these issues lead to not completing his main task for the team; to stop
Fernando Alonso and
Renault F1 to further get away in the standings from his teammate and team respectively. As for Team Orders they were evident in Canada, where
Kimi Räikkönen was not allowed to battle him, neither was Montoya allowed to pit first, and in
Spa he was forced to ease off and allow Raikkonen to catch him, although they ultimately changed places through pit stops, not directly on the track, therefore staying within the rules.
At the final stages of the season it was clear Montoya finally adapted to the car and the car was adapted to him, the driver often attributes that the effort done by the
McLaren Mercedes Team in order to tune the car to his driving style was beyond anything his previous team did. Finally it all worked well at the
Brazilian GP , the closest thing he has to a home race, where for the first time in the season the two McLaren Drivers were allowed to race with no restrictions until the final pit stop then bringing the first 1-2 result for McLaren in years with Montoya on top and the newly crowned world champion
Fernando Alonso in third. But after that point Montoya was unable to further show his worth as for the final two races race incidents and more bad luck prevented him from finishing. In Japan he made contact with
Jacques Villeneuve on lap one, while in China part of the surface of a
Kerb rose up and hit his car, damaging the suspension.
Montoya started his 2006
Formula 1 World Championship campaign learning that the 2005 Formula 1 Champion
Fernando Alonso had been contracted by his team
McLaren Mercedes for the 2007 season, that at the same time refused to take on the option to hire him, while his teammate, Finnish driver
Kimi Raikkonen 's remained a free agent for the 2007 season.
During the first three races, Montoya consistently underperformed on the track, not managing to improve his position from the start at the Bahrain and Malaysia Grands Prix. Problems with his engine mapping also contributed, resulting in poor straight line performance.
In the Australian Grand Prix, he drove an excellent race that sadly featured a few critical mistakes. His car spun near the end of the warm-up lap, caused by too much throttle whilst warming the tyres, and if not for Fisichella stalling his Renault before the start of the race that triggered another formation lap, Montoya would have started at the back end of the grid. He did manage to regain his grid position though, which angered other team managers. His race ended when approaching the end of the race he hit a kerb on the exit of the final corner, whilst chasing Ralf Schumacher hard for third place. The impact triggered an automatic electronic device in the McLaren MP4-21, shutting down his engine as it went into safety mode.
In the San Marino Grand Prix, Montoya was forced to use the team spare car for the qualifying session when it was learnt that his car had a fuel pressure problem. Luckily for him, the engine was fitted into the team spare car, thus saving Montoya from a 10-place grid penalty. He managed to qualify in seventh place ahead of his team-mate,
Kimi Raikkonen . The race however was very undramatic for him and a steady performance saw him finish third and thus he earned his first podium finish for the season.
Together with his wife, Connie Freydell (a native of
Medellín ,
Colombia ), Montoya founded the
Formula Smiles Foundation as part of his duties as a
United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. The foundation's main aim is to help children in popular neighborhoods by building or improving sports facilities and infrastructure. Montoya organizes several events for the foundation, such as ''
Échele Cabeza Al Casco De Juan Pablo Montoya '' - a helmet painting competition in which children can design a new pattern for Montoya's racing helmet. The winning design is worn in the
Brazilian Grand Prix each year. The most famous event organised by the charity is the ''
Race Of Stars '', a kart race disputed by international stars of the motorsport scene. The invited drivers, mainly from Formula One and the IRL, attend in the hopes of raising money for children in poor neighborhoods. The race is run on a street course in the historical center of the city of
Cartagena De Indias ,
Colombia , which features high levels of humidity and temperature, making it a tough driving exercise.
- 2001: 6th, 31 points, 1 win, 3 poles ( Williams )
- 2002: 3rd, 50 points, 0 wins, 7 poles ( Williams )
- 2003: 3rd, 82 points, 2 wins, 1 pole ( Williams )
- 2004: 5th, 58 points, 1 win, 0 poles ( Williams )
- 2005: 4th, 60 points, 3 wins, 2 poles ( McLaren )
- 2006: 5th, 15 points, 0 wins, 0 poles ( McLaren )
TOTAL = 296 points, 7 wins, 13 poles
