Juan: (asked if he'd return to F1 for a drive at Red Bull) Nothing in the world could make me return. In NASCAR I am ten thousand times happier than I ever was there. I told them that I would have to be crazy to go back.
Juan-Pablo: (on NASCAR) The racing is what drew me to this. It's amazing. You are always racing somebody. The more that I'm into it, the more excited I am. Are these the greatest cars in the world? No. Are these the fanciest places in the world that we go to? No. But the fans and the racing, you don't get it anywhere.
Juan-Pablo: I ticked everything I wanted to do in F1. Yes, it would have been nice to win a championship, but it wasn't worth it in the end. If you want to run like you're behind the safety car, go ahead and do it, but I want to entertain myself.
Mark Blundell: (on Juan-Pablo Montoya‘s final season in F1) Juan Pablo Montoya is, for me, one of the best drivers' behind the wheel in terms of car control. I was left frustrated though because I am a big supporter of him in terms of his abilities, but he never quite gave us 100 per cent. I think in the end that was his downfall. We saw 95 per cent of him, but the last 5 per cent is what is required to compete at the very, very top of F1. I don't think we ever saw that from him and it is a crying shame, because I think he had a lot, lot more to offer.
Juan Pablo: (on his retirement from F1, effective from the 2006 French GP) I know that it will be a tough transition but I'm really excited about the opportunity to move into the NASCAR championship. I have enjoyed most of my time in Formula 1 and I'm grateful for this opportunity to settle my personal life and concentrate on my future career.
Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren (DNF): "That was a bit of a mess. I was battling with Nico Rosberg in the opening laps and was next to him, but then we touched. I thought I had damaged the nose and as the Safety Car came out I went into the pits. The team did a precautionary tyre change and changed my race strategy to give me the best chance of a strong finishing position. I had a good battle with DC and then with Ralf and was making progress. The car was great, but I was sliding quite a bit as I had lost a deflector and consequently was a bit light on downforce. I was trying to make up positions, but then I touched the wall and damaged the rear and that was the end of the race for me. It was a shame as I think we would have been competitive, but the incident with Rosberg really ruined things for me. There is no point in saying who is to blame. I now look forward to Indianapolis where hopefully our competitiveness will continue to improve." Canadian GP 2006
Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren (6th): "A big shame that Villeneuve lost control and hit the side of my car as we were coming into the first corner at the start, as our car and strategy would have seen us have a much stronger race. The impact created a big hole in the sidepod and consequently I struggled a bit with the balance throughout the race. Apart from that the race was relatively quiet as there was not much I could do. I was able to conserve my engine which is positive coming into Canada where we aim to continue our progress." Silverstone 2006 after race
Juan Pablo: (admitting his fear of heights) My apartment is on the 36th floor and I’m afraid of heights! If I’m inside and I look down its fine, but if I stand in one of the corners on the terrace it always make me go ‘wooaah’!
Juan Pablo: (when asked by Louise Goodman if he follows any sport outside of F1) Not really – I’ve been to one football match at Real Madrid which was good fun, but that’s it.
Juan Pablo: (on the 3 drivers he would have loved to have raced against) Senna, Jackie Stewart and probably Fangio or Jim Clark. Senna was like a God for me. People loved him in Colombia. But I would love to race against Stewart. We did an event together at Oulton Park in the UK in 1995 with some road cars. It was shocking how effortlessly he was driving. It was really annoying! He got in the car and he started shifting really slowly, braking really slowly, and you were thinking ‘he’s just slow’. Then you looked at the times and you said, ‘no’. He just blew us all away!
Juan on his higest finish of the season: Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren (2nd): "I'm pleased with today's result as it’s a reward for everybody at McLaren and Mercedes who have been working hard for the past couple of weeks to improve our competitiveness. As is often the case in Monaco I really struggled with traffic and lost too much time to Fernando to be able to mount a challenge when I had a clear track ahead of me. The car was good, and I think we could have won today if things had gone our way. However Monaco is such an unpredictable race where you have to be in the right place at the right time. We now want to work hard to continue our progress. There is still some way to go, but I'm really looking forward to the British Grand Prix."
Juan Pablo Montoya's thoughts of why he failed to make the top ten at the Spanish GP 06: Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren (12th, 1m 15.801s): "I'm really disappointed. There was a problem when I came in to get my car refuelled and my tyres lost a lot of heat, and we should have changed to a new set. However these things happen and whilst they are frustrating we must now focus on the race tomorrow and see what we can do."
Juan Pablo: (on where he pictures himself in 30 years' time) I probably won’t be involved with racing 30 years from now. That would be mad, to be honest. There is no way I’ll run a team. You work hard for your money, so why put it on the line? I don’t know what I’ll be doing 30 years from now, but I guarantee that I’ll stop this and take a break from racing! Maybe I’ll be involved if my son likes it, and I will try to help him. But I’ll probably have loads of toys, and I’ll keep playing around either in Colombia or in Miami.
Interviewer: Would you like there to be a race in Colombia? Juan Pablo: Of course I would love to have one, but it’s highly unlikely I would say. We have circuits, but the money wouldn’t be there to do it and get it to an FIA standard.
Juan Pablo: (on having role models) I don’t think I have a role model, to be honest. I was a big fan of Ayrton Senna when I was a kid, but that’s different from a role model. I did look to my father a lot, and he was probably my role model when I was in karting and I was doing the things he did, but not at this level now.
Juan Pablo: (on leaving Columbia) First of all I went to the States. It was hard, because I didn’t speak English. My first year in Britain was in Formula Vauxhall in 1995, when I was 19, and it was a great year. The racing was good, and I won the last four races. I also learned English. In America my father would translate, but he wasn’t with me in Europe. I was living in Milton Keynes. My sister lived with me for half a year, and we nearly killed each other! Actually, we did get on well and I’d cook and clean at home. I’m a normal human being. More so than people would expect, to be honest.
Juan Pablo: (on what started him on his racing career) Well, my father used to do it, and since I remember, I’ve done it. It’s part of my life, it’s what I do. My father used to take me around go-kart tracks on his lap, after he’d raced, when I was six months old! My Uncle Diego raced as well. He drove for Sauber in the Le Mans 24 Hours and finished ninth. He got into race cars, while my father liked go-karts more, so I didn’t really pay attention to what Diego was doing, as I was just racing karts. To be honest, as a guy coming from Colombia you watch Formula 1 because you love motor racing, but you never really think that you’re going to be there, being realistic. Come on!
Juan Pablo: (on having friends and family around him at GPs) You can live in a soap opera or you can live a normal life, and I like to have as normal a life as possible, and I like having somebody around in the evenings to have dinner with.
Juan Pablo: (on his expectations for the 2006 season) I want to be on the top step of the podium many more times than in 2005, and to be battling for the World Championships with Team McLaren Mercedes. I am a racer and I want to win and I am with the team that I can do that with. I think it has the potential to be another great year for the sport, things got really interesting last year and that will hopefully continue.
Juan will host a regular show, each week, on Sirius Radio, a station that does nothing other than discuss NASCAR. Juan will talk about the races each week.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished 19th in the 2007 Daytona 500.
Juan Pablo will drive the #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger in NASCAR’s premier Nextel Cup class as well as contesting a limited programme of events in the second-string Busch division. The only time he has ever driven a NASCAR previously was when he swapped cars with Jeff Gordon at a promotional event at Indianapolis in 2003 and sampled the American’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
In 1986, Juan won the junior division of the National Championship.
When Juan was young he had a crush on actress Andie MacDowell.
Juan Pablo claims Monaco is his favourite circuit as it’s the only street course F1 does and it’s a big challenge.
In 2002, Juan won the prestigous Laureus World Newcomer of the Year award.
JPM's helmet colours are the national colours of Columbia - Yellow, blue and red.
Juan Pablo and Connie are expecting their second child in September 2006.
During his F1 career, JPM raced in 95 GPs. During his F1 career, JPM had 13 F1 pole positions. During his F1 career, JPM won 7 F1 GPs. During his F1 career, JPM had 13 fastest laps in F1 GPs. During his F1 career, JPM had 29 retirements from F1 GPs. During his F1 career, JPM finished in the points 57 times. During his F1 career, JPM finished on the F1 podium 30 times. During his F1 career, JPM finished 62 F1 GPs. During his F1 career, JPM had 1 triple (pole position, win and fastest lap). During his F1 career, JPM had 2 doubles (pole position and win).
Juan Pablo's favourtite music includes Shakira, Juanes and Carlos Vives.
In 2000, Juan won the Indianapolis 500 on his first attempt.
In 1999, Juan became the youngest ever CART FedEx Series champion, with seven pole positions and seven wins.
In 1997, Juan was runner up in the FIA Formula 3000 championship.
In 2003, he was favored to win the Drivers title until a crash with Rubens Barichello at Indianapolis with only two races to go.
In 2005, during his first season with McLaren, Juan missed the first two F1 races of the season with a shoulder injury, and was disqualified for passing a pit-lane red light at the Canadian GP.
Juan made his Formula One debut in 2001, with the Williams team.
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