Montoya settles for fourth
Juan Pablo Montoya admitted that fourth spot in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix was the best the team could hope for.
The Colombian made a great start to move from seventh on the grid to fourth, but it wasn't enough to get by Renault's Fernando Alonso who went into third following his own quick getaway.
While Montoya lost time behind the Jaguar of Mark Webber, preventing him from catching Alonso, the Colombian was honest enough to admit that it would have been difficult to overtake the Spaniard anyway.
"I think we made the best of the car today and we could not have asked for more," he said. "After my first pitstop I lost quite a bit of time behind Webber and this prevented me from getting closer to Alonso later on, but I don't think we could have passed the Renault today, maybe we could have just given them a harder time!"
Team-mate Antonio Pizzonia, who is subbing for the injured Ralf Schumacher, equalled his effort at the German GP last month to take seventh spot and two championship points for the team.
"I had a poor start, it was also the dirty side of the track," the Brazilian said. "The handling of my car was pretty difficult especially in the beginning but we made some changes in the pitstops and the situation improved. For most of the race I was behind Sato, trying to get close enough to pass him, but I never had the right opportunity to do so. We nearly got him at the last pitstop but I had traffic in the pitlane. All in all I scored two more points today and this is what matters."
The team brought back its conventional nose at this weekend's race to replace the 'walrus' look introduced at the beginning of the year. Technical director Sam Michael was happy with the car's improved performance.
"It was a good race for the team," the Australian said. "We have made a step forward, but it is obviously a long way to go to where Ferrari is with their two cars dominating. Juan made a good start and recent improvements made in this area are starting to pay off. Generally things have improved with the aerodynamical and mechanical changes we made to the car."
NASCAR bans Chastain Martinsville wall-ride manoeuvre
NASCAR has decided to ban the wall-ride manoeuvre made famous by Ross Chastain at Martinsville that secured him a place in the Championship 4.
Gasly: Mindset for Alpine is "completely different" to Red Bull F1 move
Pierre Gasly says he has a "completely different" mindset for his Alpine Formula 1 move thanks to lessons taken from his failed stint at Red Bull in 2019.
GTD Pro win a “proper send-off” for retiring IMSA stalwart MacNeil
Winning the GTD Pro class at the Daytona 24 Hours was a fitting way for Cooper MacNeil to retire from racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, says team-mate Jules Gounon.
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.