Would Montoya have won the WDC if he stayed in F1?

[Chatters]

I think 2007 is going to be a good year for McLaren. I'd assume that if Montoya didn't leave then he'd be teammates with Alonso, so I think that he would've been in with a definate chance of winning the WDC had he stayed at McLaren. Of course he is only 31 and may return eventually but who knows? Maybe he's blown his only chance of winning the WDC by going to NASCAR...

Do you guys think Montoya could've won the WDC had he stayed in Formula 1?

[Knowlesy]

Montoya wouldn't have been at McLaren as both parties were unhappy with each other.

On the basis that he wouldn't have been in a top class car (unless Red Bull turn out as world beaters quickly), you'd have to say no. Not that it matters, as very few win the damn thing anyways.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Chatters

Maybe he's blown his only chance of winning the WDC by going to NASCAR...

....In NASCAR Montoya knows he can make the difference,something he tried to,but couldn't do in F1.Maybe if he'd been in a Renault or Ferrari...maybe,maybe,maybe.

[Gt_R]

JPM may win the WDC, but the same applies to many other drivers.

It is dependent on the car, the team and the competition... and a dose of situation playing in favour.

As a driver/racer, JPM is as quick as any who will be racing next year. He doesn't lack racecraft either. In terms of being a complete driver, he only has a few guys ahead of him, most notably Alonso and Kimi.

If he stays on at Mclaren (which is unlikely given the r/s with Ron), he will have to compete with Alonso and it's unlikely he will triumph in normal service. If he moves, it won't be to any other top teams. And hence the answer will be no.

Unless he landed a Renault seat, or got himself a seat at BMW/RBR which surprisingly built a rocket...

[ralf fan]

Depends on what drive he'd have got. He would not have stayed with Mcaroon because it seems quite obvious that relations had soured with ol' Ron. Even if he did stay Alonso wouldve beaten him quite easily because Alonso i think is now on a different level than the other drivers.
Based on the other options JPM had you'd have to say no he wouldnt have been champion.

[SALEEN S7R]

Would Montoya have won a WDC? Personally I dont think so. Could he have won a WDC? Yes, providing he had the best car and a team that were flexible to his way of doing things. That though is true of a lot of drivers at the front of the field.

[Peter Mallett]

Nope.

Wrong attitude and whilst he is talented, no mental stamina.

[Armco Bender]

Put me down for a nope too.

[Peter Mallett]

*waits patiently for Mr V and Knowlesy to bite*

[locco]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Nope.

Wrong attitude and whilst he is talented, no mental stamina.

ditto, if he wanted the WDC badly he would've stayed in F1 even if it wasn't with McLaren, my opinion

[Suze]

Nope don't think so - don't believe McLaren would have been able to put it together for him from a team perspective, and don't believe he personally could've strung it all together and got the results.

[Born Racer]

Renault didn't even consider Montoya for 2007 did they?

Instead they were daft and chose Fisichella again.

[Dan Fielden]

I feel he had the potential to win a number of world championships but i think when he knew he was going to McLaren in 2005 he lost his motivation to succeed with williams and never regained it. A shame really he was a pleasure to watch.

[Doc Hollywood]

I say yes, maybe not with McLaren but I think he had it in him to win it. Could have taken a big attitude change though.

[Sodemo]

Well, he came close in 2003, so on the basis of that, id say he "had what it takes", but looking at his options after 2006, the chances of landing a top drive were virtually zero.

[Bononi]

No he wouldn't, I wouldn't and I'm sure you wouldn't.

Unless there's a alternative timeline universe we'll never know...

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by The Monster

Well, he came close in 2003, so on the basis of that, id say he "had what it takes", but looking at his options after 2006, the chances of landing a top drive were virtually zero.

Yes I would say the same thing on balance.

It was largely circumstances out of his control, that 'lost' him the 2003 title (other than a couple of silly spins in Melbourne and Hungary, costing him a few points).

There was the wheel cock up in Imola,
The engine failure in Austria costing him a a win at a point in the season that Ferrari were the team to beat.
Then the France nonsense when the quicker driver had to stay second, costing him 2 (which Ferrari wouldn't have allowed to happen),
And that ridiculous drive through in Indy which i've never understood, which added to his difficulties in spite of the dodgy weather that day and many points were lost that day too.

His driving that year was more than enough to win the thing.

No point going over old ground though!!

The team formation Ferrari have favoured this decade with superior equipment suggests that If Montoya had had a clear number one status at Williams in 2003 he would have won the title and also at McLaren in 2005, if he hadn't missed a couple of races.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, in 05 and 06 McLaren were unable to promote the interests of both their drivers properly because both were difficult men in a way and the direction the team took wasn't very clear.

What is totally clear is that in both 2004 and 2006 he would have been heading into the first races of the season expecting to challenge for the title after his form in the previous seasons, yet in both years the equipment patently wasn't upto it. This is bound to create a rather negative effect on ones momentum and confidence!

More to the point he was an exciting driver to watch trying to do it!

[Kieran20]

he definaltely had it in him, but whether it would happen because of who hed be driving for i dont know.

[PitlaneAuctions]

Nope, a modern Alesi, great talent but not the temperament to make the most of that talent

[outflat]

It's a bit like when Rosberg became Prost's team-mate and realised he wasn't as good as he'd previously thought he was.

Montoya became Raikkonen's team-mate and found the game was harder than he'd ever realised.

[N I Tram]

Rubbish outflat. Rosberg didn't get on with the car McLaren built that year. Prost beat Lauda by an even bigger margin in 1985, does that mean Lauda was no good?

Given a competitive car in a team that suited his personality, JPM had the talent to win the title. He was hugely unlucky in 2003. For car control, determination and flair, no other driver since Alesi has had as much.

The thing is, he would not have got such a drive for 2007, and any future chance would depend on him developing a team's casr to lead it forward (probably not his strength, as he came from a series where you just race, rather than do the technical stuff, and he never seemed to take to it), or one of the many up and coming stars flopping. Circumstances didn't quite fall his way.

[PitlaneAuctions]

Originally Posted by N I Tram

Rubbish outflat. Rosberg didn't get on with the car McLaren built that year. Prost beat Lauda by an even bigger margin in 1985, does that mean Lauda was no good?

Lauda was a has been by then, bad comparison

[Born Racer]

Was Alesi ever much good in F1? I sometimes feel he had an image that led to him being rated higher than his ability should have allowed.

[outflat]

"Car control" is a funny thing.

The driver's who are best at controlling a car are the likes of Alonso and Schumacher - the fastest - their car control is so good you rarely see it out of shape.

The drivers who are generally hailed as having good car control - the likes of Montoya and Alesi - usually got the praise for catching the car from a big slide or whatever. But it was their lack of "car control" that surely got them into those situations in the first place!

Lets not praise drivers who make a lot of mistakes but catch them as having as good car control as those like Prost who always kept it smooth in the first place. In my opinion.

[Knowlesy]

2003 was the big chance really and he was probably the people's champion that year (which counts for sod all I know!).

I've always maintained that JPM had the capability in all areas to win a title. But it's linking it all together with circumstance and external factors that is the key. 2003 was closest, but a poor link in the chain, an external factor (which it probably isn't best to discuss right now) came along to break it. After that, he never really seemed the same in a way.

You need everything in F1....the right team environment, the right frame of mind. Mere driving talent can't carry you along like in other series. He beat the best quite often, so he can't have been all bad, but....

And I think he was in a position to become number one at McLaren. He had impressed Ron greatly with his commitment and he was doing OK in some difficult first races for McLaren in 2005. But he, and he alone, blew the big chance by breaking his shoulder. After that, any chances at McLaren were always going to be a little thin. It was the worst time possible to go and get injured!

Still, I don't personally care. I derived a great deal of enjoyment through Montoya's F1 career, through all it's ups and downs and it has been a pleasure to watch him. And he had the common decency to win at Silverstone 2005 whilst I was there too. Discussing what may have been is just depressing, so I'll just look forward to Daytona in February and more of the same madness!