Juan Pablo Montoya had a fascinating career during his time in Formula 1.
The 2001 F1 season saw Juan Pablo Montoya make his debut alongside Kimi Raikkonen, Enrique Bernoldi and future two-time champion Fernando Alonso.
Bernoldi and Alonso were youngsters at Arrows and Minardi respectively, while Raikkonen had to earn special dispensation from the FIA to compete for Sauber that season.
Alonso’s Minardi campaign was incredibly impressive, even if he failed to score a point, but Montoya’s background was far more established.
The Colombian driver had already won the International Formula 3000 series and the 1999 CART Championship with Chip Ganassi.
Grand Prix starts94Pole positions13Wins7Podiums30Fastest laps12Points307Best championship result3rd (2002, 2003)Juan Pablo Montoya’s Formula 1 career
Williams had already lined up Montoya before his 2001 debut, with Jenson Button the driver to make way for him upon his arrival.
Four seasons with Williams, including two third-place finishes in the drivers’ championship, followed before making the switch to McLaren.
However, by the end of the 2006 F1 campaign, Montoya had already made his return to NASCAR.
He’s now explained why his partnership with 2007 champion Raikkonen didn’t quite go to plan.
Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty ImagesJuan Pablo Montoya says he quit F1 because McLaren treated Kimi Raikkonen like Lionel Messi
Montoya was talking about his Formula 1 exit on the MontoyAS Podcast and explained: “What happened was that I wasn’t happy.
“It’s very complicated because it was like working against the current.
“It’s like it was complicated. Imagine a sport like football, so people understand it a little bit better.
“Imagine taking [Radomal] Falcao, and you develop some special shoes with Adidas, some boots that are spectacular and help him hit the ball 20% or 30% harder, and to be more precise and to be able to score more goals and develop everything.
“And when they have it ready, they give it to [Lionel] Messi, but not Falcao.
“And then Messi looks like the tough one, and Falcao doesn’t. And Falcao says, ‘Hey, I developed this,’ yes, but we only have a couple. That was my experience at McLaren.
Photo by Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images
“What happens is that, when you’re not the chosen one, even if the contract says everything is equal, that’s how it is.
“It’s part of Formula 1 and that’s it. All I did was work harder and harder and develop more parts.
“But, for me, it’s complicated because the truth is I reached a point where my passion for racing died.
“I didn’t leave Formula 1 because they kicked me out; I left Formula 1 because I got bored.”
Juan Pablo Montoya reminded about being a ‘team player’ with Kimi Raikkonen before McLaren exit
Raikkonen and Montoya were teammates at McLaren for 27 Grand Prix before the Colombian quit and was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.
In that time, Raikkonen beat Montoya 16-11 in qualifying, and 15-10 in races they both finished.
The Finnish driver, who finished his career with 21 Grand Prix wins, went on to leave McLaren at the end of the 2006 season to make way for Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, who had an even more fractious relationship.
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren CEO at the time, told Autosport in 2006 when asked about Montoya’s position in the team: “Yes, there were some talks before this weekend about being a team player, and I think Juan actually did a good job here.
Grand Prix starts349Pole positions18Wins21Podiums103Fastest laps46Points1873Championships1 (2007)Kimi Raikkonen’s Formula 1 career
“In Australia, he was frustrated with the situation and frustrated with himself. We had a bit of frustration as well, and we also had a chassis back at base with the floor ripped out of it. So we were a bit disappointed too.
“I think JPM is a very passionate individual, an enthusiastic individual, and a brilliant driver. But sometimes that passion overflows into saying things that were not the right or smartest thing to do.
“So everyone knows that about him, but even so, some comments aren’t helpful and don’t do him or anyone else any good.
“He knows that, and he is an intelligent enough individual to recognise that. He went to Imola with a point to prove, that he can play a disciplined team game, which is exactly what he did.”
Ultimately, McLaren couldn’t even repair their relationship with the rapid Colombian, and his time in Formula 1 ended sooner than many would have liked.
He was one of the last drivers after the likes of Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Andretti to make the switch from IndyCar to F1, a path far less well-travelled these days.