Monteiro: MF1 deal never in doubt

Portuguese Monteiro, who made his Formula One debut with the team last season, took the initiative to announce the continuation of his deal with Midland at the end of last year.

The team, however, did not confirm the deal and speculation arose over Monteiro's future.

The driver, however, said there was never a doubt he would stay with Midland, but admitted the situation was confusing because of the team's decision not to make an official announcement.

"When I signed with Midland last year I had a three-year contract, subject to an option on their side as usual," explained Monteiro.

"On 2 November the team took up my option and we signed a new deal for the 2006 season. They didn't think there was a need to announce it like they did for Christijan because Christijan was a new driver to the team, [whereas] for me it was just a continuation.

"They announced it to the people they thought they needed, and I wanted to do something for my sponsors and the fans in Portugal. So that's why, with the agreement of the team, we did everything in Portugal, and that's it.

"I must say, maybe it was a bit confusing for some people because it wasn't very clear. We never got into detail because for us... when you're so focused on getting the car ready, working so hard on the new car and so on, sometimes you tend to forget that the people outside the team don't have the same information.

"So maybe it was our fault that we didn't communicate well enough what was going on. For us, it was so normal and simple because I was just continuing with the team that it didn't strike us as a problem.

"But for me, as I said, on 2 November my deal was done, and I've been working towards this year since then."