SHOULD HE HAVE WON A TITLE? A Look at Juan Pablo Montoya's F1 Career 

" I have one question for Juan. Just a hypothetical one, Juan. As the wonder kid, the rising No.1, Juan, one wonders should Juan only win one in one year, would Juan want to have won that one in round one, Juan?"

"You gotta be blind or stupid" while the Michael was right there explaining himself was GOLD.

After Villeneuve left Williams, I had been waiting for a worthy replacement and the day JPM ran Schumacher off the road after the restart in Brazil, I was like, "This is our boy..."

He is a motorsport legend. F3000 champ, Cart Champ, 2x Indy 500 winner, Daytona 24hrs winner, Nascar winner, He was world class no doubt about it.

Why does the 2003 German GP win never get the credit it deserves. If it had been Kimi or Schumi had doing that, people would be loosing their minds about how phenomenal it was.

That cameraman bumping into Juan was funny as hell & I'll never forget it. His girlfriend trying her best to cover his mouth before he said something beyond the line 😂

I always remember David Coulthard's comment when asked about Montoya's injury (having just taken the seat from DC), and the rumours of tennis vs motor bikes. He looked at the camera, smiled, and said " well, fat people do tend to injure themselves when training "

I like JPM too, Fun facts. JPM won 2 NASCAR cup races. 1 at Wstkins Glen and the other at San8ma. He won 2 Indy 500 races. He holds the record for longest time between Indy 500 wins. His 2nd Indy 500 win was in 2015. He was always fun to watch in any series.

Montoya was the reason Horner stopped racing he said he was driving behind Montoya and then took a corner and saw Montoya pull away from him and he saw that he couldn't do what better drivers can do and he decided to stop racing and hire Montoya

I’m a massive fan of JPM, he’s the definition of a racer and a guy who put him in ANY style of car and he’ll make it dance whether it be endurance, Indycar, NASCAR, f1. Like him or hate him. He arguably is one of those guys who had the stuff to be a champion but unfortunately didn’t become one .

I was not a fan of JP back then, I'm more Mika and later Kimi kind of guy. But boy JP was _FAST._ One of the fastest on pace alone. I think one day he should try his luck on the top LM Hypercar team to complete the triple crown. At least as qualifying merchant JP would be fantastic.

JPM was part of a lineage of balls to the wall, hard charging, sometimes sublime, sometimes their own worst enemy and always entertaining to watch drivers who just didn't get awed by the big superstars and would take them on: Since I started watching F1 that's been Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Keke Rosberg, Nigel Mansell, Jean Alesi, JPM and Fernando Alonso. I'm not sure who fulfils that role now.

My two favourite drivers cut out of the same cloth, Mansell and Montoya, aggressive exciting ballsy, taking no shit either reputation or name

When he showed up for the first Indy 500 he had little respect for the rookie process, he kept speeding on the orientation portion. And he said the car was slow, I believe he referred to is as a tractor, his crew placed a John Deere sticker inside the tub. Marshall Pruett retells the story on his podcast.

Still the driver with the most raw talent I’ve ever seen. He’s won in everything he’s driven. Had he *really* applied himself in F1, multiple champion - or even had he just stuck out for one more year, 2007 champion.

Montoya was incredible, a wild animal in the car & had a fun personality who didn’t care, loved or hated, you had to give him respect. not winning a world title in F1 & winning 7 races, shouldn’t be fooled by his CV. My fun fact is in his debut season in 01, his first pit stop didn’t come till round four at Imola & that’s despite leading three quarters of Brazil

He was fast. Very fast. But he was also very impetuous and inconsistent. He could have won a championship, and probably should have, but his personality let him down.

Considering the skill he had inside F1 and a very successful career outside, he definitely had the ability (and deserved) to win F1 championships. Sadly his BMW engine wasn't always the most reliable and in battles against formidable teams like Ferrari, McLaren, Sauber, and more it was needed.

for the next driver can you make a Look at Nick Heidfeld's F1 Career =)

I miss Juan running into cameras and shouting "You broke my ********* head!" Fun times.

It's shame JPM never won an F1 title but at the end of the day he won at both Monaco and Indy. Hell he basically won in everything he ever drove.

I’ll never forget watching Montoya dive down on M. Schumacher into turn one in malaysia in his rookie year.

FYI Montoya admitted he fell of a bike in his Beyond the Grid interview a few years ago. Fantastic episode as always Aidan. This is the best and most informative F1 channel on RU-vid by a long way.

JPM is one of my favorite drivers. He definitely had the talent to be world champion. But as we all know, success in F1 depends so much on your circumstances.

If you haven't already done so, another driver that would fit this "series" is Olivier Panis. Won that race in '96 and seemed to be in the ascendancy in '97 until the accident at Canada.

I miss him, he had his flaws but he was one of the most spectacular and determined drivers ive ever seen

Was one of my favourites also. No one else has speed like him on his day. Shame that 2003 Williams took too long to get going.

Always liked Montoya, very fast driver! The lap at Monza was an absolute killer!

Monty is one of my favorite all time drivers, but his rage against the cameramen is by far his best career moment

I loved him, he was my favorite back then. I live in the States so I got to see him race in CART too.

I always loved montoya in 2006 mclaren it looked just right & had he stayed for 2007 he could off gone to renault or red bull since they both wanted him.

Loved Montoya, was at Monaco the year he won, he was blisteringly quick that day

Ron Dennis was crazy thinking he could get JPM to fall into line - i remember from the time, Dennis said in an F1 Racing article that from afar, he noted traits akin to Senna in Montoya and thought he could help a Latin driver harness his talents better than Williams could....

Great video. I would say Montoya was underated as a driver overall as he has raced and been succesful in multiple types of racing and not so many have, particularly now a days

I remember Montoya at the time, but people seem to gush about him more now than they did back then.

I think in 2003 Monaco GP, there was a potential oil pressure issue and had to limit the revs. In his interview in F1 Legends, he said that he asked his engineer: " I need more revs!!!"

Its always fun to look at these career videos and consistently see so many of the familiar names in the lower categories and thinking to myself "Hey, I remember that guy". At this rate, odds are I will only have maybe 3-4 people I won't recognize by the time I see the other similar videos.

These videos are so informative. Tho I have watched F1 for years, I was never aware of what was going on in the background. It's so different now with the SKY coverage and the internet. Cheers Aidan :)

It would have been amazing to see JPM and Micheal on the same team. JPM had the skills to be a champion, no question.

Shame he didn't win a Title in 2003 season was his best chance to win a drivers title the Car was very good the best car Williams had designed with BMW power. The car suited Montoya driving style he said it was his favourite car to drive.The Car was very good much improved from 2002 and very Powerful Engine.

4:53 - Given how Dan Gurney was the only driver Jim Clark ever feared, I'd consider being called another Dan Gurney a compliment.

JPM is a proper wheelman. Mad to think he could have also been F1 champ and maybe won a Le Mans. For me he was capable of both.

Oh yes! The man himself. I adored Montoya and I really wish he'd stuck around F1 longer because I think he would've won a championship eventually. Sadly I think his attitude, which was the thing I loved him for the most, was also the reason he had to leave F1....You couldn't accuse him of being corporate. An amazing talent and still one of my all-time favourite drivers.

Fun Fact: Montoya's teammate at Marko in F3000 was one Craig Lowndes

Montoya's 2001 Monza pole lap... That's the one which finally broke Keke Rosberg's highest average speed lap record set way back in 1985? Amazing how long that record stood for, so easy to underestimate how insanely fast Silverstone was, given that even then it was a high downforce track dominated by corners not straights. And iirc it was even set on a slightly damp track! If Monza hadn't changed the first chicane, I wonder how long Rosberg's record would have lasted?

This reminded me of Gonzalo Rodríguez. He seemed set to be the next superstar to come from F3000 after Montoya, until his tradgic death.

4:23 Montoya got 3 wins during CART 2000. Also just to confirm it was 2009 Kobayashi made the move on JB and 2015 Verstappen made the move on Nasr

It would be great if you could do a video on 2006 McLaren. They finished 2005 clearly with the fastest car on the grid, and I hoped that they would be able to build on that. Instead, they were nowhere with MP4-21 and that puzzels me up to today.

His win in the 2003 german GP was probably the most dminating F1 race I've seen. Another great one was the 2000 Michigan 500, were he beat Andretti on the final lap.

I wonder what could have been if Zanardi had stayed in Cart for 1999 and Frank had put Montoya in the seat instead. Montoya's personality was already evident in F3000. But maybe having two years in less competitive F1 cars (ones which could get regular podiums, but not realistically challenge for wins) could have helped him, given Frank some time to get him settled into F1 without so much pressure. Unlikely to have changed Montoya's personality. But maybe it could have swung the 2003 title, maybe those two years would have been enough time for him to establish himself as the better driver in the team. (Then again, BMW & a German team mate...) If Montaya had won the 2003 title would it have changed his approach to F1? Probably not, likely would have reinforced his view that he didn't need to be super fit or dedicated. And would winning either title in 2003 have saved Williams? Would be nice to think so, but it wouldn't have magically made the 2004 car less of a dog. Or changed Mario Theissen's ambition to become a team principal. Instead of satisfying BMW it probably would have made them push even harder to be allowed to buy into the team (or buy it outright). Although if it gave Frank the confidence to send BMW packing, and given someone like Mercedes a reason to offer them an up to date engine supply as a second string to their bow (they must have been getting pretty sick of McLaren's reliability)... Nice idea, but that still wouldn't have fixed Williams' structural problems.

Raikkonen at McLaren next?

On a completely unrelated topic, did you see the move Giovanazzi made on the Porsche sandwiching the GT3 car approaching turn 6 at interlagos yesterday?

One of the most interesting interviews was Montoya talked about Red bull offering him a contract and Montoya essentially replied "Why would I come back? I'm having so much fun right now" In regards to trying to lure him from nascar. It was apparently a hefty contract but he opted to stick in nascar because he was just having more fun there.

In another universe, the 2004 Brazilian GP was a sign of epic championship fight to come between two future McLaren team mates, with Kimi and JPM battling for supremacy in 2005 (and maybe later years as well). As it turns out, it was about the last time they went properly head to head. It's crazy to think how short Montoya's career was, compared to some other top and midfielders of the time (and especially some who stayed in the sport way beyond their best before date).

The 2004 Williams Car lacked Downforce wasn't fast enough round the corners. I didn't know he lost weight before the 2005 season with McLaren. MP4-20

A driver I saw everywhere and didn't really know much about, but I did know he was Quick. The NASCAR bit was particularly new to me though.

Didn't expect to hear a childhood TV jingle when I clicked on this vid

I truly believe that if Williams had developed the 2003 car for 2004, instead of trying to get clever with the Walrus nose, then JPM could have run Schumacher a lot closer. They got the car right, finally, after they changed the nose, but by then Schumacher was too far off in the distance. It was also a massive mistake to leave for McLaren when he did, because with Ralf leaving at the same time he could have tried to mold Williams around him the same as Schumacher had at Ferrari.

Thank you for the video...from a fellow Boston Bruins fan :)

Montoya's 2000 Indy win was epic, and very Montoya-esque. No one could believe how much speed he could carry on cold tires. It was a high risk, high reward strategy that relied heavily on his innate talent -- so, a classic Montoya performance.

F1s Mr. Excitement as I like to refer him as. "F**king, f**king Raikkonen! What a f**king idiot!" - one of my favourite quotes. And I'm a Kimi fan 😂

Fast, fearless and a bit mental, exactly the kind of wildcard character F1 needs. Beyond F1 that he is one of the rare drivers that can get into any car in any category and find a way to win. Kind of feels like he was a driver who belonged in a different era. Definitely last of his kind imo.

watching him turning right on ovals had my heart doing back flips during his early cart days!

The picture at 04:56 time stamp in the video has him sitting in front of a car with the Nortel Networks logo on the front. Nortel Networks was for Canadians, what T Minus energy drink was for Nigerians... That is a sponsor more than worth a video...

Man i love jet dryers

Friend of a friend was in the press room at Interlagos in 01. He said that as soon as the SC appeared, everyone started getting shouty, except the Italian contingent, who all bleached LOL. "Hello Mr Schumacher, my name is Juan Pablo Montoya, you outqualified me, prepare to die" Or the classic..... "Help us Obi Juan Mon Toya, you're are only hope"

"The rising number one of formula one, Juan, One wonders, should Juan only win one formula one one year, would Juan want to have won that one in round one , Juan?" GOLD from a presser at the 2001 OZ GP.

I remember a quote from the time of his injury. “He fell off his tennis racket “.

JPM is as talented as he was hot headed. He didn't care about feelings, and didn’t care what position he was running - if you wanted to pass him, he made you work for it. It's a shame his most well-known NASCAR momemt was when he crashed into a jet dryer under yellow - an accident that wasn't even his fault. (The suspension literally collapsed.) While Juan was in mediocre equipment, at the road courses, he and Marcos Ambrose were a force to be reckoned with on the road courses. He was also incredibly fast at Indianapolis. (I still think he got robbed at the 2009 Brickyard 400...) In NASCAR, luck did not seem to be on his side. Despite his mediocre equipment, he would often finish well ahead of his teammates, and there were several times where he should have probably won, but lost simply due to bad luck. I hope he can manage to get a win at Le Mans. If there is any active driver who deserves to accomplish the Triple Crown, I think Montoya should be one of them.

i saw those F3000 races in 97/98 (they were at the FIA GT weekends Silverstone and Donnington) i feel...ancient...

The fact that you have "Catching Schumacher with his pants down" right after he came out is priceless 😂

Yesyesyes i wanted this vid❤ Even talks RE now. Points are scored, mr legend!

I think it was just unfortunate his time in F1 was when The Michael was inseparable from Ferrari. Montoya in many ways seems like the quintessential Ferrari driver; only cares about driving at maximum attack at all times, fiery temperament, and doesn't understand the meaning of playing it safe. I can imagine Enzo Ferrari watching the 2000s era from the heavens seething at why Jean Todt isn't signing Montoya and why Ferrari are letting this German guy call the shots regardless of the results, because this is Ferrari. There's a recent video of Montoya driving the 2007 or 2008 Ferrari round Mugello and it just feels so right, and you can see he's even sort of pushing it as well. Just makes you wonder what could've been if he held his tongue to Ron for the 2006 season until The Michael announced his retirement at Monza and been all over Ferrari. I can only dream of Montoya at Ferrari from 2007 until 2011/12 or so.

So a few things, 1. Am also a JPM fan. A league I used to race in in GT7 did a radical championship and I did a trio of JPM tribute liveries on the car. BMW Williams, Texaco Nascar Dodge, and the Penske Acura DPI. Also I was there in person for his British GP win. 2. JPM became a nearly man in nascar too. CGR was a midfield team so never had the pace for Hendrick and Penske etc. So his two Road Course wins are pretty special but he came very close to being a title contender one year, and so close on so many occasions to winning on an oval. (The pitlane speeding penalty for that one Brickyard 400 still hurts and is still BS). 3. Even though he's now at the other end of his career I still desperately want to see him in an LMDH car so he can get a Le Mans win and the triple crown. Please. 4. Best of luck to his son Sebastian whose in the junior categories atm.

I froze for a few seconds when you did the DC cook bit

Aidan is this your full time job? Well done. It’s great content.

Yes. 2003 should have been the year, but he fell short and Raikkonen ended up being Schumacher’s closest challenger in the previous year’s McLaren. Raikkonen then beat him again when he thought McLaren was a better option for him. Then he wimped off to NASCAR from what was a championship challenging, race winning car.

JPM was absolute mustard both on & off the track. It’s a shame his career in F1 didn’t yield more, but he was a glimmer of hope that MS could be beaten in that era of dominance. It was Bernie Ecclestone going into the Ferrari motor home that caused that kerfuffle 😂

He was a man on a mission at the 2015 500

JV : "Next time, I'll put you in the wall" JPM : "And you, in the trees!" 😅

15:55 reminds me of Jimbo Jones “I don’t believe in nuthin’ no more! I’m goin’ to NASCAR!”

I found my old btcc programmes from the 90s when I was moving out of my parents house, and I remember being surprised by some of the names in the support races. Montoya was definitely on at least one of those cards

I was a Williams fan when JPM first drove for them, I was not happy when Jos hit him in Brazil.

Montoya might have been a title contender, but he joined Williams when the team was in decline - Newey had left and the BMW engine deal wasn't the failures in chassis decline. Then he jumped to McLaren where he really wasn't as good as Kimi and didn't get on with Ron Dennis.

Love the show, the man, the name. Doo dah, doo dah. 😂. Legend 👍🏻

I can't imagine the dynamic in that mclaren team with kimi..... two very different personalities, or at least public personalities!

Loved JP in a sense, he was different and you knew he always give his all in the car. That he was a character did not bother me, we needed a driver like that back then. However, I must ask. Was he really kicked out of F1? From what I understood, he walked out. McLaren was waiting to see if Kimi was really going to Ferrari, and that's why they waited to pick up the option on JP for 2007 alongside Alonso. That pissed JP off because he did not feel wanted. Also, after the crash at Indy, he decided he had enough and stayed in America because that was close to home. He should have finish off the season otherwise?

I remember 2001 very well. Yes the Ferrari was quick but Williams BMW had the best engine by a mile. The Williams chassis wasn’t up to snuff.

Montoya’s CART defence in 2000 was hampered by poor reliability too. The Lola-Toyota was the fastest of the year (IMO) in his hands. 2000 was a year of an all out power war between Toyota, Honda and Ford. It was mad.

JPM did confirm he injured his scapula off-roading. Can't remember, was either a motocross bike or a quad. He confirmed it on his episode of the Beyond The Grid podcast.

My 3 favourite F1 drivers are: 1. Mika Haikkinen 2. Jenson Button 3. Juan Pablo Montoya Admittedly I was about 9/10 when he joined F1 but his outright speed and to an extent, his attitude are what appealed to me at that age. When he was good, he was very good and it's a shame we didn't see it more often, especially with the wealth of talent that era had with Schumi, Alonso, McLaren Kimi and eventually Hamilton (albeit he didn't race JPM.

JPM almost ran me over with his scooter at Petite Le Mans in 2018. When I realized who it was I was like, "Cool, I almost got run over by Juan Pablo Montoya"!

When categorizing Indy to F1 shifts, don't forget the REAL Andretti - Mario.

Love me a bit of JPM

Loves Montoya but he was his own worst enemy. Lacked the reliability on his behalf to win the title. Still, he had an amazing career in motorsports.

The little plastic hood thingy that is on the front of a camera lens is called a Lens Hood.

Sadly his erratic driving cost him the title in 2003. That was the only year he could have won, but that penalty at Indy destroyed his title chances (even though we know that the rain basically gave the title to Michael)

Please can we have a Hakkinen retrospective!!!

I think Mikko Hirvonen deserves a video

Montoya didn't win a second CART title because Chip Ganassi switched from Raynard Honda to Lola Toyota. Should have switched chassis or engine supplier, not both, especially since they were the only team to run the Lola Toyota combo that year. JPM is still one of my favorite drivers. I just think he was much better in CART than F1.