Unlucky Montoya Stays Positive

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was philosophical as his Williams team licked their wounds following a dismal Japanese Grand Prix.

Montoya, who was already out of the running for the drivers' title, led the early stages of the race until he was forced into retirement after 12 laps in a blow that effectively killed off Williams' hopes of a Constructors' Championship.

"There's nothing you can do, this is motor racing and these things happen," said Montoya of his retirement. "I was very pleased with the way the car was performing and we had a really good strategy. Then, bad luck, on lap nine I felt a loss of some controls and that was it.

"With hindsight, I'm not that displeased that I was no longer in the battle for the Drivers' Championship, because retiring at the last race, in this way, would have been much harder. If I look back at the season, I am very, very happy with the job I made. I learned a lot from last year and I have matured as a driver."

Montoya finished third in the standings, 11 points behind World Champion Michael Schumacher. His Williams team, meanwhile, left Japan with nothing to show for and finished in second place in the standings, only two points ahead of McLaren.

Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher also endured a disappointing race full of incidents. He went on to finish in 12th position after losing his front wing in a clash with his brother Michael.

"I am obviously massively disappointed about the result of this race as the outcome could have been completely different," said Ralf. "I started the race from a difficult last position and I was able to pass several cars getting into the points positions but in the end I didn't take any reward from it.

"The whole team has not been rewarded for their great effort, in the end."