Montoya backs Pizzonia

With the former Williams test driver's place in the Jaguar team under threat, Montoya spoke out again in Spain, saying: "It's not my call but you have to give the guy a bit of time. He's done four races without even getting to understand how everything works and they are trying to sack him. Sad to say, but it's very typical Jaguar. It's not the first time they've done that, is it?"

Jaguar split with driver Luciano Burti just three races into the 2001 season, replacing him with Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa.

With Alexander Wurz touted as a possible Pizzonia replacement, however, Montoya added: "The guy (Pizzonia) tested with us and he was very quick. Webber seems to be a bit more experienced and wiser than Antonio and mentally he's done a better job. That's been hard for Antonio because he's probably more concerned about why and where Webber is quicker than him than about realising that if he makes the car go quicker he will benefit.

"But, instead of telling Antonio that he's not doing a good job, the team should be guiding him, telling him to calm down and supporting him. Lose your mental battle as a driver and you're done. For maybe six months or more. It depends how strong you are."

BMW WilliamsF1 Team technical director Patrick Head also backed Pizzonia's cause when he explained: "He did 14,000kms of testing for us, he was instantly fast at every test and all the basic signs of a good racing driver were there. There was just one silly accident that did very little damage and he was equally quick if not a bit quicker than our two racing drivers.

"I don't think a racing driver changes from being fast to being slow so suddenly. They'd do better to look inwardly at supporting him with more reliable equipment. I suspect Antonio will pull through this and have a good career in F1."