Interview: Montoya Belies Latin Hothead Caricature

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya is anything but the caricature of an over-aggressive highly strung Latin driver.

The 26-year-old Williams driver arrived in Sao Paulo for the third race of the season looking and talking like a veteran, even though the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend will be only his 20th race in Formula One.

With 12 points from two difficult races this season, Montoya is second behind Ferrari's World Champion Michael Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship and he will be hoping for more of the same at Interlagos.

"You want to try to score points in every race. Just try to race the best you can, to give the best of what you have. It's simple," Montoya told Reuters in an interview.

"You can get involved in the bullshit of Formula One very easily, but I seem to have been able to keep my mind in the car and all is going all right. The pressure is higher in F1 but it doesn't seem to affect me," he said.

A year ago, the Colombian's spectacular move in overtaking Schumacher on the "Senna esses" - a series of curves on Brazil's Interlagos circuit - confirmed for many that Montoya was the heir apparent to Schumacher.

Few moments could have been more symbolic: four times World Champion Schumacher being outsmarted by the man who would be king on a corner that carries the name of the late Ayrton Senna - the driver from whom the German inherited the throne.

But Montoya said he could not care less about who it is he was passing.

"When I am passing Michael, I am not trying to put on a good show. I pass Michael because I want to beat him. Simple. Just like anybody else," he said.

Montoya has admitted he and his teammate Ralf Schumacher are not friends but said he has no particular problem with the German or his brother.

"It's the same for me if I beat Ralf or Michael I get no special pleasure. I just want to win," he said.

Montoya sees the new Williams car as a better machine than last year's and believes that his team is going to be competitive in all 17 Grands Prix of the season.

Work Ethic

He has had little problem fitting into the work ethic of the Williams team.

"The more work you do, the better results you are going to get," he said. "If you work harder it is going to pay in the future. Believe me I prefer to work five hours with the engineers than to sit here with you."

Montoya has a straightforward style very much like Senna when he is dealing with journalists or fans. He even has the touch of thinking for a while before dealing with tricky questions.

"I am not here to look good in a picture. My job is to drive the car," he said.