Montoya is highly committed, says Dennis

Montoya had a difficult start to the 2005 season, missing two Grands Prix due to a tennis injury and struggling to settle down at McLaren.

The former Williams driver was thoroughly beaten by his new teammate Kimi Raikkonen, but Montoya was able to bounce back and had several strong performances in the latter half of the season, winning three of McLaren's ten victories.

Going into 2006, however, Montoya faces uncertain future as he yet to sign a deal for 2007 with either McLaren or another team, and with world champion Fernando Alonso already confirmed for one seat at McLaren, the Colombian needs to prove his value within the next couple of months.

Dennis, for one, is certain Montoya will perform much better this season than last.

"Since the end of last season, I can honestly tell you that I've never - never - seen a driver work harder than Juan Pablo is now," Dennis said in a lengthy interview with F1 Racing magazine.

"In and out of the car, his commitment not only to his physical condition but also to the process of making himself a better racing driver - by availing himself of those things within McLaren that can help him become that - have been impeccable.

"Inevitably, by mid-December, when he received the news, as did Kimi, that we'd already chosen one of our drivers for 2007 [Alonso], his reaction was, well, predictable.

"But that reaction lasted less than 24 hours, which was fantastically uplifting for everyone, including me. He just started working harder, and I'm very sure he'll have a much better season than he did last year."

Montoya is currently sixth in the drivers' championship points standing, having finished fifth and fourth in the first two rounds of the season.