Making his debut in F1 in 2001 with Williams, Juan Pablo Montoya quickly established himself as a fan favourite in the pinnacle of motorsport.
The Colombian joined F1 off the back of winning the CART series – the top level of American open-wheel racing at the time. Partnering with Ralf Schumacher, Montoya looked to challenge for the title.
The 49-year-old won seven races and grabbed 30 podiums in his F1 career racing with Williams (2001-2004) and McLaren (2005-2006). Damon Hill says would have paid to see Montoya in action over Juan Manuel Fangio, labelling him a ‘brilliant’ driver.
Montoya became one of Michael Schumacher’s closest rivals for the championship in the early 2000s, finishing third in 2002 and 2003. He lost the title in 2004 after Montoya was hit with the ‘most unfair’ penalty at Indianapolis when his car stalled on the grid.
The Colombian was never able to get over the final hurdle and win the title despite his potential. And speaking on the AS Colombia YouTube channel, Montoya admitted he damaged his teammate’s career while at Williams.
Juan Pablo Montoya admits he ‘did a lot of damage’ to Ralf Schumacher’s career
When Montoya joined F1 in 2001, Michael Schumacher’s brother Ralf Schumacher was entering his third season with Williams and fifth overall, having started his career at Jordan.
The German had grabbed a handful of podiums heading into the 2001 season – and it was then that he began to step up another level. Schumacher won three races and finished fourth in the standings.
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But with Montoya as his teammate, many assumed the Colombian would be faster and overlooked Schumacher. The 49-year-old was beaten in the standings by his teammate over the next three years.
Montoya feels Schumacher would have had a ‘spectacular’ career in F1 had he not joined the sport. He said the German helped him ‘rise to a much higher level’.
“I tell you the truth, if I had not been in Formula 1, Ralf’s story would have been very different.
“In the sense that he would have had a spectacular career in F1 and he had a good career, he won races, he did a good job.
“But Ralf helped me to rise to a much higher level than it was hard for me and at the same time I did a lot of damage to him.
“If you look at Ralf he was always very fast, but Ralf, people did not see Ralf. People always assumed that I would beat Ralf”.
Ralf Schumacher finished his F1 career with Toyota
Schumacher’s time with Williams ended on a disappointing note. He finished ninth in the standings in 2004 after missing six races through injury caused by an accident at Indianapolis.
The German moved to Toyota in 2005 and would spend the next three years with the Japanese manufacturer. Schumacher finished sixth in the standings with consistent points finishes.
But Toyota began to regress in performance over the next two years, with several retirements plaguing the 49-year-old in 2006 and 2007.
After scoring points three times in 2007, Schumacher left F1 at the end of trhe season. The German managed just six wins and 27 podiums across his career, leaving many to wonder who could have been had he shown his pace consistently.
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