Montoya 'got bored' with Formula One

Montoya announced last month his decision to leave Formula One to make a switch to stock car racing, joining Chip Ganassi in the NASCAR series.

The announcement was followed by McLaren's decision to replace him for the remainder of the season, despite Montoya's contract not running out until the end of the year.

Montoya, who had last won a race in 2005, says he got tired of fighting for lower placings.

"I left out of boredom," Montoya told his country's El Tiempo newspaper. "I wasn't enjoying the races. I had done everything I had to do and I had achieved almost all the goals that I had.

"I only needed to win a title and I realised my chances were very small. Leaving was the best decision that I could have made.

"The car drove me to boredom. My teammate was finishing fifth or sixth too. We were finishing in the same place all the times. It wasn't me, it was the car.

"Fighting for fifth place is no fun. I wanted a new challenge and NASCAR is just that. Different, fresh. I could be racing for another 10-15 year. It's a different world, it's more relaxed. It's a different story."

Montoya admitted his relationship with McLaren boss Ron Dennis had deteriorated since the Colombian driver broke his shoulder at the start of the 2005 season while playing tennis.

At the time, however, there was considerable speculation that Montoya had suffered his hairline fracture of the shoulder by falling off a bike.

The driver says when he decided to leave Formula One, Dennis and himself did not even speak to each other.

"I wasn't even speaking to him," Montoya said. "When I left, his lawyer called mine and said: 'This is what will do'. That's how it was done: from lawyer to lawyer."

He added: "My relationship with Ron was fine until I broke my shoulder. I called him and told him what happened. The British press made up another story and they started to make fun of Ron for believing my version.

"And he thought I had made him look like an idiot to everybody. From that moment, our relationship was never the same."