Penske set to make decision on Montoya IndyCar future in next month
Penske expects to make a decision on Juan Pablo Montoya's future with its IndyCar team in the next month
The ex-Formula 1 driver won the Indianapolis 500 and tied on points with champion Scott Dixon in the 2015 standings, but he struggled at times this year, taking one win on his way to eighth in the championship.
Montoya is out of contract at the end of the year, and his future has been a major talking point in recent weeks.
"We haven't made a decision yet and we said we're not going to make a final decision on all of our drivers until after the season," team boss Roger Penske was quoted as saying on the IndyCar website.
"We've probably got the next four or five weeks to make a decision."
Penske president Tim Cindric, who added "I don't make any decisions without him [Penske]", said the team has "another 30 days or so to see how it sorts out".
Montoya remains relaxed about his future, believing both he and Penske have choices on the table for 2017.
"They haven't made a decision. I haven't made a decision," said Montoya, who added that retaining a full-time presence on the grid for next season is "the goal".
"They're probably looking at a lot of options - I'm looking at a lot of options. It's good.
"There is no reason [why he shouldn't get a deal for 2017].
"The championship was tough, but I had a win this year.
"I won the Indy 500 last year and I should have won the championship last year.
"If you look at all the tough things that happened this year, to actually finish where we did in the championship is pretty good.
"We just didn't get a break this year. We put ourselves in difficult positions that you've got to drive over your head to make something happen.
"When you start doing that, you start making mistakes. It's just tough."
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