Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya “Helmut Marko is still angry with me”[F1-Gate.com]

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has spoken about working with Red Bull F1 motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. In early January it was announced by Helmut Marko that Sebastian Montoya had joined the Red Bull Junior Team. It’s not Marco’s first time working with Montoya. His father, Juan Pablo Montoya, raced for Austrian F3000 team RSM Marco in 1997.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who won two British Formula 3 races in 1996 and finished 5th in that year’s championship, won the Formula 3000 championship from RSM Marco the following year (there were several rounds in the F1 pre-show at the time). Participate in. He won three times in Austria and was in contention for the title with Ricardo Zonta. He handed the championship to the Brazilian at the final race of the season, but his performances were noticed in the F1 paddock. That same year, he tested a F1 car for the first time at the Barcelona circuit at the invitation of Frank Williams, after which he worked as a test driver for the British racing team until 1998. “It was difficult at the time, but in the end it made me a better driver,” Juan Pablo Montoya told Motorsport-total about hiring Helmut Marko as team boss in 1997. “He was always yelling at me that I had a lot of problems and that I was crazy. But he did it with the right intentions. He always pushed me to be a better person.” Juan Pablo Montoya said that their personalities sometimes clashed. “One time I was invited to lunch at his house. He served me a salad, but I didn’t eat vegetables at the time,” said Juan Pablo Montoya. Helmut Marko wasn’t happy to learn that his student wasn’t eating healthy. “Then he ran me to the office. He made me run for over an hour. But in retrospect, that was what Marko did to push me forward. Including my life in Graz. It was a good experience for me. I didn’t have much money at the time, but Helmut took good care of me.” I still have old regrets. “He’s still angry with me. He thinks I deliberately missed the championship in the final race at Mugello,” said Juan Pablo Montoya. Juan Pablo Montoya finished third on the Italian tarmac ribbon. Ricardo Zonta won that race, so the Supernova driver secured the title with only one race left at Jerez. Juan Pablo Montoya denies wrongdoing. “I just set the top gear wrong. Every time I put it in top gear, the engine would roar. I had Jason Watt in front of me. But when I got into top gear, he moved away from me again, and it continued throughout the race, which was very frustrating, but Marko thinks I’ve let go of the championship.” , related to Juan Pablo Montoya’s post-season transfer to Supernova, who defeated Nick Heidfeld to become champions in 1998. “But the Supernova was much later,” says Juan Pablo Montoya. “After Zonta became champion, I won the final race at Jerez and Frank Williams asked me to go see a Formula 1 race and he offered me a Formula 1 test in Barcelona. After it was decided that I would be there as a test driver after that test, I got an offer for that seat in Supernova, and the F1 test was in December, so it was a month or two after that Mugello race.” Despite Marco’s tough approach, Juan Pablo Montoya looks back on working with the Austrian in a positive light. “Most teams treat their drivers as stars and spoil them completely, but Helmut wants to make them stand out and believes that if you want to achieve something, you have to fight for it. says Juan Pablo Montoya. With his son Sebastian Montoya joining the Red Bull Junior Team this year, Juan Pablo Monroya believes the Red Bull Junior Team is the right learning ground for his son Sebastian. . “I think it’s great that Sebastian has been given this opportunity, where he can learn so much and the training program is good. I am here for him. I’m here and I’ll try to help as much as I can, but it’s up to him,” said Juan Pablo Montoya. “We all know how Red Bull works and he has to perform. We hope Bastian will perform well and grow within Red Bull. But in any case, It will be a great learning experience for him and a lot of benefits.” For Sebastian Montoya, his Red Bull career started when the Colombia branch wanted to do something with him. “But when he asked the Austrian headquarters for permission to do so, it turned out that he wanted to be a Red Bull athlete, so he made a direct deal with ‘Austria’.” Juan Pablo Montoya explains. “Then at 5pm on the day Sebastian decided where to race this year, I got a call from Helmut saying what he could do if Sebastian joined the Red Bull Junior team. “Okay, perfect.’ So the deal is done.” “Of course I can pick up my phone and call a few people, but I think it’s important that he knows how to take chances on his own. Handed over on a silver plate. Sebastian Montoya will enter FIA-F3 from Hitech GP this year. In preparation for this, 17-year-old Sebastian travels to Dubai, Quarter…