Former seven-time grand prix winner Juan-Pablo Montoya says he sympathises with Fernando Alonso, as the Spaniard’s heart-wrenching season at McLaren-Honda is going from bad to worse.
The double world champion returned to Woking in the hope of clinching the third F1 title he has been seeking for nearly 10 years. Pre-season testing already proved to be very tough and culminated in Alonso suffering a bizarre crash that made him miss the season opener.
While the 35-year-old has been be able to nick the odd points finish, his progress has been plagued by Honda’s recurrent power unit woes, including at last Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix. Already starting from the back because of another engine grid penalty, Alonso’s race lasted less than a lap, due to an issue with the rotational sensor inside his MGU-H.
“Fernando is my hero, I have no idea how he hangs on,” Montoya is quoted as saying by Spanish publication As. “I would not bear this situation, it must be very hard for a driver like him.”
“I totally understand his frustration, he is an extraordinary racer. What happened in Japan with these radio messages [Alonso likened his power unit to a “GP2 engine” during Honda’s home race] was logical. I would have done the same. I understand.”
Montoya, who was in attendance at Austin and Mexico, knows one thing of two when it comes to being exasperated in F1. The feisty Colombian joined McLaren in 2005 only to part ways with the team halfway through the following campaign.
Part of Montoya’s frustration grew from Ron Dennis announcing in December of that year that a certain Fernando Alonso would race for Woking in 2007, which meant either he or then team-mate Kimi Raikkonen would have to leave the squad.
After a so-so seven-year spell in NASCAR, Montoya returned to single-seaters in 2014 when he signed with Indycar powerhouse Team Penske. After a decent first season, the 40-year-old came very close to winning the title this year and was only beaten on countback by Ganassi’s Scott Dixon. Montoya still managed to secure a second career victory at the Indianapolis 500, 15 years after his maiden triumph.
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