Former McLaren Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen, not renowned for ranting about the faults of his peers, has criticised Williams BMW driver Juan-Pablo Montoya for what he calls the Colombian’s “risky overtaking manoeuvres”.
Former McLaren Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen, not renowned for ranting about the faults of his peers, has criticised Williams BMW driver Juan-Pablo Montoya for what he calls the Colombian’s “risky overtaking manoeuvres”.
During only his third ever Formula One race in Brazil this year, Montoya stunned the F1 world as well as Michael Schumacher, when he passed the Ferrari driver at the very tight first corner after the restart. With their tyre temperatures not nearly at the optimum level, the duo almost touched wheels as Montoya outbraked Schumacher and left the reigning world champion in his wake.
This wasn’t the only time the duo clashed during the season and after Japanese Grand Prix, the Colombian reportedly said: “I’m a bit surprised… This has been my first season and I passed Michael three times and the only time he tried to pass me, he couldn’t. It was brilliant.”
In the meantime, team-mate Ralf Schumacher called on his boss Sir Frank Williams to introduce team orders for the 2002 season.
CARtoday.com reported last month that Ralf was concerned about Montoya’s “recklessness” and he was worried that the Colombian would try to pass him on the track where it wasn’t appropriate and both cars would be out of the race.
“Juan Pablo always counts on his opponents to leave the gap open,” Ralf said. “But one of these days, one will slam the door on him.” The German’s sentiments are not unlike those of four-time world champion Alain Prost, who at the height of his rivalry with the late Ayrton Senna, accused the Brazilian of being “unable to accept that it is impossible to overtake at some points”. Prost also criticised Senna for relying on his competitors to “leave the door open” or give way whenever the Brazilian tried to pass them.
This week, Hakkinen said that he believed Montoya’s on-track antics would eventually lead to an accident. “His aggressive driving style can also lead to an accident. During his overtaking manoeuvres, there is not enough space to fit a sheet of paper between the wheels. Michael Schumacher will not accept that forever,” he said.
Although there has been a lot said over Montoya’s driving throughout his first year in Formula One, the Colombian maintains that his passing manoeuvres are based on “letting the driver in front know you mean business”.
“I see an opportunity and grab it. In doing so, I can assess whether it is going to be a close call or not,” Montoya said recently. “All you have to do is to let the man in front know, that you are being serious about overtaking.”
"I don’t know where his limits are, but he has a lot of talent and car control,” BMW motorsport boss Gerhard Berger said, although he admitted that he had doubts about Montoya at the start of the year, especially after the Colombian crashed out of both the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix.
"I couldn’t see him getting his car right over a weekend. He didn’t use the F1 tools well enough, and for me it was clear that if he didn’t do that he could have all the talent he wanted, but he was never going to beat Michael.
"But he changed. He started to work on the car and on the set-up and suddenly he got up there and got it right. I think it was a conscious decision to do this. He came to F1 as a superstar, and everybody saw him as a superstar.
Everybody also wanted to see him as a superstar because of his charisma. With all that he brought with him from America, it was perfect. Now it is a question of seeing if his improvement continues."
