Montoya: Schumacher Will Crack Under Pressure
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya has appealed for his rival Formula One drivers to break down the confidence of World Champion Michael Schumacher so his crown can finally be wrestled away this year.
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya has appealed for his rival Formula One drivers to break down the confidence of World Champion Michael Schumacher so his crown can finally be wrestled away this year.
Five-time title-winner Schumacher has struggled in the opening two races of the year and Williams driver Montoya believes he could be humbled this season if the rest of the grid can keep chipping away at his morale.
"If everyone keeps the pressure on him he will make mistakes," said Montoya. "He has had it easy for the past two years but now we have proved he can be beaten. People make mistakes and they start to crack under pressure."
Despite losing the opening two races in Australia and Malaysia to McLaren-Mercedes drivers David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari start favourites for this Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix. But Montoya is confident that he and his Williams team, not McLaren, will be the ones who can produce another defeat for Schumacher and the Italian team this time.
Montoya's German teammate Ralf Schumacher finished fastest in the pre-event testing at Barcelona and, after criticising the team for their design of the latest FW25, Montoya now believes they are finding the car's true potential.
Montoya threw away almost certain victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix when he spun his car in the final laps and he missed out on fighting for victory in Malaysia when his car was damaged in a first-lap crash.
But he heads to his home continent with renewed hope of success and admitted: "For us to be quickest at Barcelona was amazing and it makes it pretty exciting going into Brazil.
"I like the track, we've got better balance, better grip, the stability is much better and this year we're getting the work done better. I really think we've got a good chance here."
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