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How good is Juan Pablo Montoya ?  

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Juan Pablo Montoya entered Formula 1 with a bang and has been hailed as the golden boy, a megastar and a future champion.

Montoya has shown moments of brilliance, most notably the overtaking move on Michael Schumacher in Brazil and the fact that he would have won the Brazilian Grand Prix had he not been pushed off the track.
He has so far done more overtaking (for position) than any other driver this season. He has amazing starts given his ability to control the car on cold tyres and he doesn't respect or fear any driver out there and says that no one is unbeatable.
But with 1 finish out of 5 races and being out-qualified in every race this season by his team-mate Ralf Schumacher, one has to wonder just how good is Montoya.

Even though he is considered a 'rookie', one cannot compare him with Raikkonen or Alonso. He was a test driver for Williams, he is an F3000 champion, a CART champion and an Indy 500 winner so he's got a wealth of racing experience. The only thing missing is knowledge of the tracks and there are simulators that make it easier to learn them. 
Comparing qualifying times, In Melbourne he was almost a full second behind Ralf, in Malaysia he was 0.7 seconds behind, in San Marino he was 0.8 seconds behind, in Spain he was 0.6 seconds behind. Only in Brazil that he was up there close to Ralf only 0.075 seconds behind. At this rate is it fair to wonder when he'll start to make an impression. He is on a honeymoon with the media but if results don't start showing he'll be on the other side very quickly.

In the last few years 2 CART champions have come across to Formula 1 and all into the Williams team, Alex Zanardi in 99 failed to make an impression after failing to score a point while Jacques Villeneuve in 96 put his Williams on pole in his debut race, he won his 4th race, took the championship challenge to the last race of the season and won the title the following year.

Which way will Juan Pablo Montoya go ? Why do you think so ? How good do you think he is ? -  Have Your Say   (What others are saying)

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What others are saying:

We are talking about Juan Pablo Montoya, right? What a stupit thing to ask other people if he are good! Juan Pablo is the best Formula 1 driver ever, better as M.Schumacher, better as M.Hakkinen, better as Senna and Prost!!!!!!!! I am also Juan Pablo's no.1 Fan of the World!! Guess what? I even got a personal message from the great Juan Pablo Montoya and he is very, very nice with me!!! Just remember a few things, never ever ask again such a stupit question like "How good is Juan Pablo Montoya?" because he is the BEST Formula 1 driver ever and I am his no.1 Fan of the World!!!! - Lizzane S - South Africa
(It has been one of the more popular topics with differing opinions, perhaps it is not so stupid afterall! - Ed)


I am sorry if this offends, but I do not believe that in only nine races anyone can declare him a future champion.  We all know that it is not just a driver that can do this but a good reliable car is needed too.  If anyone is in any doubt please remember last year when they were shooting from the rooftops about Button, where is he now?  JPM needs more experience and I also feels he needs to be a little bit more diplomatic when dealing with others in the F1 Racing World - Margaret - Scotland


Para nosotros los Colombianos el orgullo que tenemos de Juan Pablo Montoya va mas alla de ser o no el campeon de la f1, a muchos nos devolvio la esperanza ya que el ha dejado el nombre de Clombia muy en alto demostrando asi que Colombia es mas que lo que mucha gente piensa, que existe mucha gente que se esfuerza tratando de salir adelante y tratando de demostrarle a el mundo  que los Colombianos luchamos y estamos haciendo un gran esfueso para mejorar esta situacion por la que estamos pasando y que hay personas como Juan Pablo que lo han hecho dejando una gran huella en el automovilismo y logrando que Colombia en cada carrera se una alegrandose con sus sustriunfos.
Juan Pablo los Colombiano creemos y esta orgullosos de ti - Ines E - Colombia
(to translate, copy the above text, go to this web site and paste the text into the translation window)


all l have to say is that every f1 champion l have seen all have great sounding names. like senna prost luader mannsel pique fangio next montoya. you see a champ can't have a name like ervine, wurz,button,berger,dela rosa, get my drift well what ever happen's montoya will out do us - Wayne S - Australia


Sorry, but I just Cannot believe that people are already comparing this guy Juan Pablo Montoya with Ayrton Senna! For starters he's been constantly out qualified by his colleague Ralf. I can't remember this ever happening to Senna. Or, if J.P is this good then don't quite a lot of people owe more than a passing apology to Ralf who is therefore proving to be far more talented than many have given him credit for.

I also totally disagree with the notion that he will only become a world champion if he swaps his seat for one with McLaren or Ferrari. Obviously whoever believes this must have a very short memory and poor understanding of their teams and people that run these teams if they can dismiss Williams as future champions. In fact, in my opinion, J.P. is currently sitting in the best seat, if not for the rest of this season, but definitely for the next. I believe and predict that Williams and BMW will be THE team to beat next season.

More important than a J.P. vs Michael showdown will be a J.P. vs Ralf showdown as Ralf should not be underestimated - Alvaro S - Chile


Montoya is good enough to get a hot air balloon air borne! - George Z - Lebanon


Juan Pablo Montoya is an excellent driver and has done very well so far as an F1 driver. Only time will tell if he will go on to become a future champion - Dik - Finland


Juan Montoya is a future Champion. As Chris said give him time to finish the season and get used to all the tracks then we will all see the results. The fact that he was leading at Interlagos and got to the podium in Barcelona proves it all. Though, I would rather see Jenson Button with Ferrari instead of Montoya next year. What about that article that said that rumours had it that Jos Verstappen might live Arrows for Ferrari. I guess that was bullshit! I am also very happy for Jacques Villeneuve to see him in the podium after 3 years and to give the B.A.R. 4 valuable points. I think he looked funny with the long hair and beard.

Mika Hakkinen is still Schumacher's number 1 enemy - Rob - Australia


Juan Pablo Montoya es un orgullo nacional, ni los Colombianos mismo somos capaz de medir la dimención de grán estrella y monstruo del manejo que él tiene. Esto es innato en él y su superioridad es evidente cuando las cosas son dificiles para todos, así lo demostró en La Fórmula CAR, donde rompió todos los record y donde será recordado como el sardino (muchacho) volador, como lo llamamos en Colombia. La historia está aun por escribirse, esto apenas comienza y el pueblo Colombiano, desde los más niños hasta los más viejos hemos encontrado un ídolo en el cual creer y el mundo ha encontrado a su nuevo Airton Senna Latino, esto lo dicen todos, solo él puede mover la silla del rey schumager y seguir sus pasos, ser el sucesor implica mejorar lo hecho o ser uno mas en la historia de una escuderia famosa, Juan Pablo Solo tiene un pequeño problema, desde pequeño siempre quiere ser primero y solo primero si no, no puede dormir tranquilo. Finalmente escuché en PSN a un Argentino diciendo " Sin ningun tipo de duda, Juan Pablo Montoya es el nuevo SENNA con la diferencia que habla Castellano y eso nos encanta pues lo sentimos como más nuestro" y a un Brasilero en O´Glogo cuando Juan Pablo pasó sin atenuantes a M. Schumager en Sao Pablo cuando dijo: " Juan Pablo es un Garoto Maluco a irespetado al rey Schumy" - Jorge A A - Colombia
(to translate, copy the above text, go to this web site and paste the text into the translation window)


I think Montoya will be the next Senna. Senna is his hero I think he has got that much talent - David S - Adelaide - Australia


Juan is called the GOLDEN BOY, why?? if you read his profile understand that this guy is programmed to win, and gives 110% in every race, Williams-BMW has gotten better this season but still a long way.., just give him time, and then all the doubts will be vanished, and guys he'll bring the excitement that often is missing as he did in CART - Ceasar - Boston USA


Montoya has a lot of credit. In such little time he breezed through CART and landed on F1. He is an object of criticism by those who can only talk and watch. I think time will tell and Montoya will prove himself once again, and end the myth that CART drivers can not make it through F1. Viva Montoya!! - Christian A - USA


We have seen drivers come to F1 from Indy before and with not much success.  They may shine for a short time then fade away.  Give Montoya the chance to become familiar with the tracks and the up and downs of the circus that is F1 and I believe once he finishes his apprenticeship he will blaze his way to the top - Ang - Far North Queensland - Australia



Just give him time, you'll see
- Jorge M - USA - Colombia


Juan Pablo clearly has an abundance of talent. Regardless of how you view CART in relation to F1, what he did in his rookie CART year was extremely impressive.

However to be an elite F1 driver takes much more than raw talent. I have no doubt that he will improve, however at the moment he is being out-driven comprehensively by his team-mate.

Time will tell whether Montoya has the potential to challenge for a championship, however those that believe he is the next Ayrton Senna, I fear will be disappointed.

Taking into account the machinery they are sitting in, the performances of two other rookies (Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen) are at least as impressive as Juan Pablo Montoya's, so far.

I believe that Juan Pablo deserves a chance to show his worth at Williams, however such is the competition for an F1 seat these days that, he must start getting closer to Ralf on the grid - Dunder - Hong Kong


I believe Montoya is the next Senna. He has very minimal experience with the courses and is already showing he has skill. This Colombian with no doubt is the future of formula 1 racing - Alex B - USA


JPM is superb driver he has what it takes too be a future world champion. I think next season will be the season that we will see him and Michael Schumacher battle it out. He still has a lot turn learn but watching Schumacher closely will do that for him but if he really wants to hit the record books he needs to join McLaren or Ferrari. Its just a matter of time - Chris - Australia


Although it may seem hard to believe, I think that Montoya's qualifying problem comes from the fact that he is not calm enough. He is not calm enough to be able to focus on that single fast lap during which he must do absolutely everything perfect; you go a little wide over here, you lose the back a bit over there... there go 8 tenths of a second: in no time. Plus, the qualifying session is probably still a challenge for the guy: he doesn't know yet how to take to the track just in time to have a good margin to the other drivers, he doesn't know how to wait and not give others a new time to beat. Furthermore, let's not forget the fact that every time he was a lot slower in qualifying, he had previously lost a good deal of Friday practice time - due to car failure, usually.
Anyway, seeing this guy race makes it clear for everybody that his place is at the top, on podiums. He never hesitates to attempt an overtaking, no matter how difficult it is considered by the other drivers.
I think that once the reliability gremlins will come to an end for the Williams team, we are going to see a lot more of Montoya (and Ralf, too) on podiums. And on front rows at the starts, too - Adrian - Romania


Watching Montoya drive brings back the excitement into F1.  Not since the bitter rivalry between Schumacher and Hill was there such intensity from a single driver.  In Barcelona, he got on the podium without traction control.  I can imaging how he will do once William is able to engage their traction control - David Y - Singapore


Juan Montoya is a superb driver, and could be considered as the future champion. He should be at Ferrari with Michael (what is this guy Barrichello doing with such a superb car?) - GopKumar - India


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