Monty Business
The news that Juan Pablo Montoya has decided to switch to NASCAR, followed by McLaren's announcement that the Colombian has left the team, effective immediately, must be the biggest story of the year thus far. Shocking as it seems, however, there was little surprise in the news. Dieter Rencken analyses the affair and also looks at the potential impact on NASCAR's popularity
Juan Pablo Montoya always was an enigmatic character. The Colombian would be blisteringly quick on occasion, then appear no more than extremely ordinary, with hardly an in-between in his repertoire. In many ways he reminds of fellow-South American Carlos Reutemann, who, too, won but a fraction of the number of the races his talent promised, and ultimately left Formula One unfulfilled and in somewhat strange circumstances.
'Lole' won 12 Grands Prix in a 146-race F1 career for a 'strike rate' of 8.2%; Monty won seven in 94 starts, giving a similar 7.4%. Both men had their happiest days at Williams, and both had (multiple?) championships buried deep within their souls, titles that even the best team managers were unfathomably unable to unlock.
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