Analysis: Alonso move can fire up Montoya

Either the Colombian or Kimi Raikkonen will have to make way at the end of the year for Renault's young Spaniard and the obvious assumption is that Montoya's future depends on his Finnish teammate.

It could be that Raikkonen, the outstanding talent on the driver market, moves to Ferrari or Toyota. Indeed, some assume that was the main reason why McLaren boss Ron Dennis announced the Alonso deal a year early.

Even if that is not the case, Montoya still has plenty to play for.

There is every prospect of a no-holds-barred battle between the McLaren teammates over the coming months, with both nurturing realistic championship hopes at a team that had the fastest car last year.

If Raikkonen stays, Montoya is unlikely to be troubled much by the sort of strategy that forced him to help his teammate in the latter stages of last year.

If Raikkonen leaves, the Colombian can look forward to joining Alonso in the comfortable position of having two years at the team under his belt while the Spaniard adapts to his new surroundings.

'Consummate Professional'

Raikkonen would be top of any team's shopping list, with seven wins last year and his second season as overall Championship runner-up.

But Montoya did not do himself justice after a mystery shoulder injury in March wrecked his chances. He should have won more than three races and now he must prove it.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, talking to reporters only days before the team dropped the Alonso bombshell last month, spoke glowingly of the Colombian's talent and expected a far more competitive driver to emerge in 2006.

"(The injury) was a massive psychological blow for him," said Dennis. "It took him a couple of races before he was completely fit and devoid of pain.

"And with the Championship as it was, like a sailing race with the wind blowing from the beginning to the end of the season, any time you took the sails down you were going to fall back.

"There was no way he was going to catch up. And to his credit, he was the consummate professional in the last six races. He did everything that the team asked him to do in the last six races. He drove really well.

"We'll see how this year goes. I, and the whole system here, have a lot of time for Juan Pablo. He's a very nice human being, he's got great values, he can do the job and in different circumstances he'd have had a much better season.

"He might struggle to control his diet and all these things... but at the end of the day his motives and his attitude out of the car is sensational."

Even at the end of the year Montoya still had padding on his shoulder. The Colombian did not make a big issue of it but he was in pain far more and far longer than he let on. That is history now.

Worst Enemy

There were also times last season when Montoya, never a man to be accused of low self-esteem, seemed to be his own worst enemy on the track.

His wins at Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos were impressive but he was sent to the back of the grid in Monaco for causing an avoidable accident in practice and was disqualified in Canada.

Regardless of who was to blame, he had costly collisions in Turkey, Belgium and Japan.

In Germany, he spun off in qualifying at the last corner while trying to pip Raikkonen to pole position and started at the back of the grid.

"Am I here to finish second or am I here to try to win races and win championships?" he said at the time.

"I made a mistake trying but that's what we're here for and if they are looking for somebody to be second then they need to look for a different driver."

Everything suggests Montoya will start the year determined to make up for the disappointment of 2005 and give Raikkonen far more to think about.

"His commitment at the moment is exceptional," said Dennis. "He's doing a lot of things by choice to try and put himself in a position where he hits the ground running."