Poll: Montoya in 2007

[Stephen]

A poll to gauge your views on Montoya and his future...

[darwin dali]

He's gonna stand in pitlane and put his squeegee to good use by wiping KR's helmet and BE's a$$ (the order changes depending on BE's morning mood). He's got to make new friends since RD is dumping him for another biatch.

[R00DIT]

He's gonna stand in pitlane and put his squeegee to good use by wiping KR's helmet and BE's a$$ (the order changes depending on BE's morning mood). He's got to make new friends since RD is dumping him for another biatch.

Ur humour always makes me laugh out aloud!!!!

Think its game over for him. Too many talented young drivers and too few seats.

[darwin dali]

Humour??? I'm dead serious!!

[F1Poser]

Don't you think this is a bit harsh Stephen? Montoya is a fighter and I don't think he can be made an example of everytime he injects some excitement into an otherwise boring race weekend. Although I do except that ramming your teammate off at the first corner wasn't the greatest thing to do.

[simac]

I think he'll struggle to find a top drive, you could forgive him the odd mistake if the rest of his performances where good but it looks like the "spark" has left him these days.

He could get another drive, somewhere like Toyota maybe ?

[darwin dali]

Yup, Toyota is an option: test driving the new Prius model - with his shunt record, that'll become some darn safe hybrid car

[Marco]

Who else is at risk of being dropped, usually DC is in this bracket but he's been some kind of hero since joining Redbull.

I still don't understand why Fisichella is still in F1, let alone Renault.

[Selcouth_Feline]

Who else is at risk of being dropped, usually DC is in this bracket but he's been some kind of hero since joining Redbull.

Or superhero at any rate

[Selcouth_Feline]

Well, I guess this ends all the speculation!
A bit of a shock announcement - JPM is off to Nascar next year, despite having no Nascar experience. JPM will be driving for Chip Ganassi in his No. 42 Dodge for the next couple of years. He is the first ever F1 regular to move to Nascar. JPM has driven for Ganassi before - he won the 2000 Indy 500, although Ganassi has said that JPM will not be doing the Indy-Charlotte double.

Apparently, the car he will be driving is one of the best seats going at the moment. JPM himself heard that the current driver had defected to another team and actually rang Ganassi to put himself forward for the job next year.

Ganassi appears to have a lot of faith in JPM saying that he adapts quickly although it's not going to be easy for him, particularly as he has no stock car experience and will therefore have to go through a tough regime to ensure that he gets approved for the 2007 start race - the Daytona 500.

"'It is a matter of three years down the road, will you [excited] doing what you're doing?'. I will be a lot happier here."

Perhaps last weekends action was JPM getting in a little bit of practice

Good luck to him....I'm sure he'll do well

[simac]

This is what autosport has to say about it:

Juan Pablo Montoya has decided to turn his back on Formula One at the end of the season and will make a switch to NASCAR next year, autosport.com can reveal.

The Colombian's future has been the subject of intense speculation for months, as it appeared his options to remain in grand prix racing were narrowing, but Montoya has now inked a deal with Chip Ganassi Racing to compete in the Nextel Cup. autosport.com understands that it is a long term deal.
Montoya enjoyed a successful relationship with Ganassi when he captured the 1999 CART championship and the 2000 Indianapolis 500 crown.

Recently Ganassi said he would be interested in re-recruiting the driver, but it had been thought that this was for his Indy Racing League outfit.

However, sources close to Montoya have revealed that talks between the driver and his former team boss have focused on a move to NASCAR, with Chip Ganassi Racing having been looking for a replacement for Casey Mears.

Those talks have culminated this weekend in a deal being signed, with Montoya taking over the number 42 car from the start of next season. On Saturday night, Mears captured his first Busch victory in the car at Chicagoland.

Although Montoya has never raced a NASCAR, he did spend some time behind the wheel of Jeff Gordon's Monte Carlo during a promotional activity at Indianapolis in June 2003.

Sources close to Montoya have indicated that Montoya became excited by the option of NASCAR when it became offered to him. "He's just glad to be going back home," said one source.

Montoya said recently that he was far from concerned about his future in motor racing - and admitted that 'anything was possible' in terms of where he would be racing.

"Well I am quite relaxed," said Montoya when asked about his feelings on getting a deal for next year. "I am looking at my options and we will see what happens. I am not too worried about anything. Nothing is sure but I am pretty happy."

When asked if he was confident he would remain in F1, Montoya said: "I don't know. I am looking at all my options and we will see what happens.

"I am not too worried about it. I am trying to put myself in the best position of where I am going to be happiest."

Ganassi was unavailable for comment about the deal, but speaking recently he said that his target for Mears' replacement would be in simply signing the fastest guy possible.

"You have to take the best guy that is available to you, whoever he is, wherever he is, whatever he is," he said. "There are a lot of teams looking for drivers.

"Am I happy about this? No. Am I happy to be in this situation? No. Is it a disaster? No, it's not a disaster, either. It's just part of the business."

Single seater drivers have had mixed success in making the switch to NASCAR. Former Champ Car champion Jimmy Vasser competed in a few Busch Series races before calling it quits, as did Paul Tracy who subsequently signed a five-year contract extension to remain in single seaters. Michel Jourdain Jr. left Champ Car for NASCAR but failed to make an impact in Busch or the Truck Series.

The one exception to the rule is former IRL champion Tony Stewart, who has two Nextel Cup championships to his name and shares the same kind of aggression on the track that is a hallmark of Montoya.

Only last weekend, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve said that he would consider a switch to NASCAR once his F1 career was over.

"Going to NASCAR might not be such a bad career move because it's the most exciting race series in the U.S. and it's a very different discipline to F1," he told The Red Bulletin. "I would not consider it a step down. Would I consider a move to stock cars? I would."

autosport

[darwin dali]

Guess who cast the single vote for 'another series': moi!

[Stephen]

Guess who cast the single vote for 'another series': moi!

Yes yes well done etc

So whose going to be with McLaren next season?

[Selcouth_Feline]

Lewis Hamilton for sure.
The other seat? I don't know...

[darwin dali]

Uh, since there will be only 2 seats at McLaren (no third drivers anymore in 2007) and one seat is already firmly taken by FA, I'm not sure what 'the other seat' might be. The Woking shuttle bus?