Montoya Storms Away with Title Chances Over

Juan Pablo Montoya stormed out of Indianapolis Motor Speedway an inconsolable figure on Sunday after his Formula One Championship dreams were left in tatters.

The Williams man finished sixth in the US Grand Prix and can no longer catch leader Michael Schumacher at the top of the drivers' standings. Barely minutes after the race had ended, with Ferrari's Schumacher still celebrating atop the podium, Montoya hurried out of the Williams hut and away from the grounds, ignoring the waiting media.

The 28-year-old, who began the day just three points behind Schumacher, was left to reflect on a pivotal moment on lap two, when he was given a drive-through penalty after a clash with Rubens Barrichello forced the Ferrari man out of the race.

With rain also starting to fall and Montoya struggling to compete on his choice of tyre, it was an early blow from which he would never recover.

Germany's Schumacher took the chequered flag to move to 92 points, nine ahead of second-placed Finn Kimi Raikkonen with just one race - at Suzuka, Japan - remaining in the season. Montoya was left stranded on 82 points, and so angry he would only issue a statement through his Williams team.

"It's sad to lose my Drivers' Championship chances in this way," it read, "especially knowing that I just needed to finish fifth today to keep my hopes open. It was a disappointing race, basically decided by the penalty I was given for the accident with Rubens."