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The Colombian traded the relaxed atmosphere in CART for Formula One, which allows for few friends in the paddock.
By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 29, 2001
Juan Pablo Montoya has learned plenty as a rookie in the highly charged Formula One series, including the difference between friends and competitors.
In F1, the two don't mix.
A happy man during two successful seasons in CART, Montoya traded comraderie for a full-time ride in one of the world's most technically advanced cars. After seven months, he has one victory, three poles and precious few pals.
"In CART, the atmosphere is a lot more friendly. Everybody talks to everybody," said Montoya, a 26-year-old Colombian. "Here, you don't even exchange a word with anybody. You're there by yourself, and you've got to work with the people around you."
How glad, then, is Montoya to be back in America for Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis? Plenty. Not only is he returning to the scene of his greatest professional triumphs -- the 1999 CART title and 2000 Indy 500 win -- but he is back on friendly turf.
"This is for me like my home race. It's not only about the Indy 500, but everybody that I worked with the past two years," said Montoya, who drove champ cars for Indianapolis-based Chip Ganassi Racing. "Indy is very close to home."
American open-wheel fans should be equally glad to see Montoya again. Popular in his brief CART career, he -- along with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, another former CART star and Indy 500 winner -- is the closest thing to a hometown favorite in the international field. There are no Americans driving in the F1 series.
Montoya hopes to become the first driver to win the Indy 500 and the U.S. Grand Prix, which is run on a 10-turn, 2.606-mile circuit that combines a portion of the track's oval with an infield road course.
"I think first I have to win it, but I think it would be something really special," Montoya said. "It would be just fantastic. But from saying it to doing it is a long way."
Montoya won seven races as a CART rookie in 1999 on his way to becoming the series' youngest champion at 24. He led 167 of 200 laps in the 2000 Indy 500, his first race sponsored by the rival Indy Racing League.
Then, as suddenly as he arrived in America, he left.
"I came to America, achieved what I wanted to achieve and more," Montoya said. "I thought, "You can stay here and do the records even greater, yeah. Or you can move yourself into Formula One and it would be a new task and a new challenge.' I decided that was the best way."
Montoya, who drives the No. 6 BMW for the resurgent Williams team, had much to learn about F1, where every lap is run with the intensity of a qualifying lap. After failing to finish a number of early races, he has been on the pole for three of the past four and is coming off his first victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Montoya is fifth in the FIA World Championship with 25 points, 23 behind Williams teammate Ralf Schumacher. Needless to say, Montoya's relationship with Schumacher is a bit different than with former Ganassi teammate Jimmy Vasser. Montoya and Vasser were friends. "With Ralf it is quite a bit different," Montoya said. "I think he is the person I talk to the least."
That revelation likely will do nothing to endear F1 racing to American fans, many of whom are accustomed to the kinship shared by teammates in Winston Cup, CART and the NHRA. But Montoya said the frosty conditions between he and Schumacher have not hampered the success of Williams.
"He does his job; I do mine," Montoya said. "We work together in the car with the engineers to make the car go quick. Because I don't talk to the guy or he doesn't talk to me doesn't mean that we're going to slow down the car because of the attitude. We're doing a professional relationship."
Though his two years in America were among the happiest in his career, Montoya has no regrets about switching to Formula One. Possessing the charisma of a superstar, he said he hopes one day to be mentioned in the same breath with F1 greats Alain Prost, the late Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, who recently clinched his fourth championship.
"All my life, since I remember as a kid, I dreamed of being in Formula One," he said. "I had a great opportunity to come to Williams and those opportunities don't come along every day.
"I think I will end my career as a Formula One driver. It could change in five years' time, but at the moment, this is what I want to do."