At 47 years old, Juan Pablo Montoya oozes experience. The seven victories and thirty podiums that he achieved in Formula 1, the three titles he won in the 24 hours of Daytona, his two victories in the Indianapolis 500 miles or the 2021 triumph, in the Pro-Am category, in the 24 Hours of LeMans, they could speak for themselves. But if something defines the stature of the best driver in the history of Colombia, it is the inalterability of his love for motor racing.
Between the boy Montoya who raced in a Chevrolet Sprint on the outskirts of Bogotá, the young adult who rode with authority in a Formula 1 single-seater and the veteran who thinks that maybe at some point he would like to compete in a Rally car, there is no there are bigger differences. The only thing different is that for Juan Pablo today his career is not the priority. The objective now is to help Sebastián (Scudería Telmex-Claro), son, pupil and henchman, fulfill his dream of reaching Formula 1; category that he himself left in 2006. That, perhaps, the greatest proof of his passion.
This year, as the heir takes another step on the ladder to the finish line, debuting in his first full season in Formula 3 – a seedbed to reach the top – Formula 1 relives memories in the legendary Montoya.
Fernando Alonso, the 41-year-old Spanish driver, with whom he shared his debut in 2001, is the man who catches the eye, for his great start to the year in the big tent with Aston Martin. And although the fans feel nostalgic to imagine what would have happened if Juan Pablo returned to F1, for him there are no reasons to arouse regrets. This is how he reaffirms it in a chat with EL TIEMPO.
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Juan Pablo Montoya is sincere
How have you seen this beginning of Formula 1 2023?
At the start it has seen a bit of the same as last year. Red Bull is very strong at the moment, they have a very good advantage with the car and they have the upper hand. It has been interesting how fast the Aston Martin is going, for Fernando (Alonso), the timing has been very good and Lance (Stroll) also has a lot to take advantage of and does a great job.
How do you explain this marked dominance of Red Bull?
Since last year they have been one step up with the car, that makes a big difference. Remember that your car was the only one that did not suffer from purpoising (high speed bounce), it was much better and more constant than the others aerodynamically, so their base was much better to start this year. That is why their pace was easier than that of the other teams, I think that they were all trying to solve this problem of purposing, and they took the opportunity to get ahead even more.
Ferrari seems to have also started with the same doubts as in 2022…
There it is time to see what happens with the new organization of the team, with Frédéric (Vasseur) as director of the team, it is time to see what they manage to change. I honestly don’t think the changes will happen very soon, but I also think that interesting things can come, in this we have to give time to time.
And Mercedes, with Hamilton and Russell, how do you see it?
Mercedes is still a little lost with what they are doing, but, let’s see, they dominated for too many years… so it’s also time to give them their place.
(The voice of a legend: ‘Juan Pablo Montoya has everything to win more titles’: Mario Andretti).
How do you analyze the fight in the middle of the table?
It’s tough from second place down. If you look at Williams, for example, you realize that they took a bigger leap than expected and there they are. The fight in the middle will be very fierce, to be frank.
You said it at the beginning, Aston Martin is the revelation; and Fernando Alonso, the best of ‘mortals’… How far will he give them?
At the time I viewed Fernando’s move to Aston Martin with good eyes because he ensures a little more time in the category and Aston has always made decent cars. It’s doing well right now, but it’s hard to say how Aston Martin will end up at the end of the year because what people don’t see outside of Formula 1 racing is how much the cars change between each Grand Prix, and the amount of developments that go on. they make them and the new things they end up bringing to the track.
You would ask for a bit of calm then with Alonso…
It is that last year, for example, Aston Martin started quite well and at the end of the year they were doing very badly because they stopped making developments. This year we will see how much development they have and, if they maintain the advances, how much it will affect them in the car for the following year as well. It will be very interesting to see that process, really.
One or another nostalgic sees Alonso, with 41 years fighting there, and wonders ‘What would have happened if Montoya returned to Formula 1 at some point?’
Nothing… the plan was never to go back there. I left very happy with everything I did. I believe that each one with his story and his story, is nothing more. The truth is that I am quite happy with what I have done and what I have achieved. Honestly when I left I wasn’t enjoying it and I wanted something different and that’s what I did. So I don’t regret leaving Formula 1.
It is not only to be but also the way in which you are…
Yes, I wanted to be in Formula 1 to win and Fernando has lasted many years without being able to win or do anything to continue there. Right now it is very good because he signed with a team that has a very good car, but you never know how things turn out.
Let’s talk about Sebastián, who wants to get there. How has he seen it in Formula 3?
Sebas’ first weekend was very good, he executed very well and scored in both races. In qualifying we had the bad luck that one of the gears didn’t drop in the last corner and we lost time there… that was a bad move for the grid, but that’s how races are. In total, he scored three points, had good passes, ran very intelligent and, like everything else, he always has a lot to improve and several things to work on, but we are doing well.
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With him they are going to race again this year with DragonSpeed, but they changed the United States for Europe this time.
Yes, right now the idea of Henrik (Hedman), who is the one who takes the baton, is to run in Europe. For Le Mans, the race, we are on the waiting list, but we are going to run the LMS (Le Mans Series) championship, which are six four-hour races. Sebastián is very happy with that, the car is similar to the one in F3 and has good power.
In addition, there are tracks that are the same as Formula, so it is learning that is very useful for him.
I don’t even ask what the goal is…
(Laughter) It’s the same as always: win. That is what we work for and we hope that we will be given
ANDRES FELIPE BALAGUERA SARMIENTO
SPORTS JOURNALIST EL TIEMPO
Networking: @balagueraaa
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