Juan Pablo Montoya?

Question

Why did Montoya leave F1 for Nascar?

Answer 1

.

Rosbif is correct yet again.

Montoya had gone "flat" through Eu Rouge and also "totalled" through Eu Rouge.

After those "Tick Done" moments there was no challenge left to achieve, so off he toddled to NAZZZCAR.

EDIT: Paul S - Your first sentence made me want to have your baby.   :)

.

Answer 2

I DON'T KNOW

Answer 3

He is one of those people who gets bored when he has got the hang of something and has to go and do something else.

Looking at his results in F1, that point came in late 2005; he'd just won 3 races in a short space of time and he couldn't be bothered to make the extra effort anymore as it had all become too easy. Although there were some highlights in the remaining races of his career, it was obvious that he was driving without much caring about it...if he crashed or broke the car, so what?

Nascar is simply a new challenge to him, once he has got the hang of it, then he will move on to something else. The presidency of Colombia is where I see him in 20 years' time...but for one term of office only.

Answer 4

unhappy with the team and kimi was on his way out...shumi was on his way out and kimi going to ferrari and hamilton and alonso coming in and he wasnt going to be a test driver

Answer 5

realised he had blown his chance by brake testing other drivers 2 many times

7 pole positions in 2002 season + no win, some effort...........

Answer 6

He wasn't doing too well at McLaren and he wasn't happy with the team. At that time when he and Kimi made mistakes, Ron Dennis would blame them. Plus, there was a NASCAR team that knew him for some time and was willing to sign him on.

The details:

Montoya's Formula One career effectively came to an end on 9 July when he announced in a public press conference from the US that he had signed a contract to run in the NASCAR series from 2007. On 11 July 2006, McLaren-Mercedes announced that Montoya would stop racing for the team with immediate effect, to enable him to prepare for his future career and take time out with his family. This ultimately confirmed Montoya's exit from F1. However, in the press conference on July 14 at the French Grand Prix, Ron Dennis stated that Montoya was still under contract with McLaren-Mercedes and he would remain in contract with the team until the expiration of the deal. Following further speculation that he could start racing in the NASCAR series as early as 2006, Dennis publicly offered Montoya an early exit from his contract with McLaren-Mercedes, provided that he resigned from receiving any payout to terminate his contract.

Answer 7

He was not happy with his team + he had little success compared with his talent.

Answer 8

He wanted to re-attach his "Pablo"

Answer 9

'Cause he thought he was good enough. Lemme tell ya, he's not. Theres thousands of fans(myself included) that wish he would leave our sport. He causes accidents, then admits he did it on purpose. He's a no talent version of Kyle Busch. If you guys want him back, we'll pay you to take him.

Answer 10

Headsiwin is correct about Rosbif being correct.

I always thought that Montoya was the  Tim Henman of F1 - a very good sports man but lacked that killer thing to want to be champion.

I miss him in formula, I think he had a lot of character in his driving.

Answer 11

Money, fame. America.

Answer 12

i think he just gets bored very quickly. But regarding his exit, at the time, there were already rumours that Ron D wanted him out of the team. At the same time, Chip Ganassi offered JPM a place in his NASCAR team if he was interested. Ron D was not happy with JPM as he expected JPM to contribute More to the team. The fire and ice (JPM and Kimi) combination did not work unfortunately. When JPM was out of contention for the WC,  there was something going about that since he couldn't win it, and he didn't want Kimi to win it either, he helped Alonso by running into Kimi.

Plus, the atmosphere at McLaren is corporate. JPM was used to having an entourage with him comprising of his wife and some buddies. And McLaren wsn;t too happy with that. So during the US GP 2006 (if I'm not wrong), when he had a first corner accident by banging into the back of Kimi's car and taking a few more drivers out, he announced his retirement from F1 and said he was going to NASCAR. Possibly jumping ship before Ron can fire him.

He just wanted to try something new as he felt F1 was boring. No overtaking.... etc

Answer 13

$$$$$$, and less pressure to win

Answer 14

to be in f1 and to bear those g's u need to be really fit or u know if u drive even a go-kart(which may only reach speeds of 80-88kmh) for 10-15 laps u can get tired and may not be able to walk(if u try than u can feel when keeping ur foot on ground like ur bouncing) thats wen ur not fir nw think what will happen to you wen ur driving f-1 car at that speeds and that too for abt 50-78 laps or more sometimes...an unfit guy would passout in the first few laps itself...

and now here is 'Juan Pablo Montoya'(i like this name...really,i liked his drivin too...sad we cant do ne ting) who thought fit means increasing the size of ur tummy not biceps n chest...and then he was d**n lazy to hit the gym to exercise his neck muscles and increase his stamina...and then how could he resist those tasty cheese burgers..pizzas...fried chickens and all those junks...and that money which he was offered by the NASCAR team he wanted to race for...if u wanna see the big picture u will understand that JP.montoya(now am hating his name its so big!!) was getting more money...more ads!!,more junk food...and more sleep no early morning workouts (aaah...that alarm ringing @ 5 in d morning and those tight gym shirts showing off my tummy!!) and those NASCAR's have enough space to fit his big tummy and he can also take a nap while the car goes round and round...phewww!!!

Answer 15

Tilly is correct about Headsiwin is correct about Rosbif being correct... ARGHH  lol  ok, really.  If you look at Montoya's F1 career, there was a moment of great promise that ultimately remained unfulfilled.  Mostly due to his own weaknesses, though given different cirumstances, who knows.

When Montoya joined Mclaren, it was with great promise.  He and Kimi represented a pretty strong driver lineup, and it looked like Mclaren would be a major force.  However, even then I remember thinking "oh, this isn't good."  Montoya was not noted as being detail oriented, and had a bad reputation as being effective in testing and developing the car.  Similar to Kimi's reputation (although he seems to have become better and at least makes an effort since his move to Ferrari).

The result of two drivers that didn't want to be bothered by working with engineers and developing the car was soon seen with a lack of potential pace.  And while Montoya was a very skilled driver, he was quite clearly the lesser of the two drivers on the team... so while Kimi still showed some pace in the underdeveloped car, Juan Pablo struggled more.

As time passed without the results (I seem to recall Dennis comparing Montoya with Senna when they signed him), his standing dropped and dropped and dropped, until Mclaren decided to drop him.  At this point, Montoya still had options in F1, but no options with a potential front runner.  The front runners all had set lineups, and while Montoya still had potential, his record was such that none of the front runners would take a chance to replace a known quanity with someone that it seemed, at best, may simply work out to be as good as what they already had.

So the choice ultimately became, hang around in F1 with a pay cut and a drive with a back marker in hopes of rebuilding your reputation and getting another go with a top team in a few years, or leave F1 for something new and distance himself from what had turned out to be a very unhappy Mclaren job... and thus came NASCAR.