Montoya reflects: 'Nowadays I would be kicked out of F1 quickly'

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juan pablo montoya knows that in current f1 he will soon be sent away
13 August at 17:00
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  • Ludo van Denderen

The people who are being guided around the F1 paddock this morning listen and remember every word. Juan Pablo Montoya is not just a standard tour guide either: from 2001 to 2006, the Colombian raced 95 Grands Prix, of which he won seven. To say the least, Montoya was a major player in his F1 days - and actually still after that - who never minced words and regularly took it out on others.

These are the stories Formula 1 fans love to hear, and Montoya loves to tell them. At a lot of races these days, the Colombian is working as a guide, and then he recalls the anecdotes. "There's a lot of them," laughed Montoya later in the day, sitting in the truck of Campos Racing's Formula 3 team, speaking to GPblog. His son Sebastián (19) is currently driving for that team. "Well, it [touring] is fun. We're here already, so it makes it really easy to do."

Montoya the enfant terrible of Formula 1

Take the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix, a race that Montoya had to start from the back because of unsportsmanlike and dangerous driving. In qualifying he drove much, much slower than necessary and braked some 180 metres earlier after Beau Rivage. As a result, Jacques Villeneuve, who was on a fast lap, was scared by Montoya and drove into the back of David Coulthard's car, who in turn could no longer avoid Ralf Schumacher. Therefore, Beau Rivage suddenly became Beau Ravage.

In today's times, such incidents as in Monaco, combined with his outspoken way of communicating, would no longer be accepted in Formula 1. "I would be kicked out of the sport very quickly," Montoya laughs immediately when asked about his behaviour at the time. "What we grew up with was very different. It wasn't me, it's everybody. It was a very cultural sport, and now it's a little different."

Montoya has not been a driver for a while - apart from an occasional cameo - but Formula 1 is still in the blood. If he is not there as a guide, he regularly gives his unvarnished opinion as an analyst. Just like he did in the past. "That hasn't really changed," Montoya laughs again.

This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton