
Website: www.jpmontoya.com
Juan Pablo Montoya (born on 20 September 1975 in Bogotá, Colombia) is one of the most complete and recognisable drivers of his generation, capable of winning and competing at the highest level in Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and endurance racing, establishing himself as a truly versatile figure in global motorsport.
After starting in karting in Colombia, Montoya moved at a young age to the United States to pursue his career. In 1997 he won the International Formula 3000 Championship with the Super Nova team, emerging as one of the purest talents in European racing. That success opened the door to CART, where in 1999, as a rookie with Chip Ganassi Racing, he won the Drivers’ Championship and the Indianapolis 500, an achievement that immediately propelled him to global prominence.
His move to Formula 1 came in 2001 with Williams-BMW. Montoya immediately impressed with his aggression and raw speed, winning the Italian Grand Prix in his debut season, finishing fourth in the championship and becoming one of the main rivals to Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari. With Williams he scored seven victories, numerous pole positions and fought for the world title particularly in 2002 and 2003, finishing third overall in the latter.
In 2005 he joined McLaren-Mercedes. The season was marked by reliability issues and a sometimes strained relationship with the team, but Montoya still won three Grands Prix and contributed to the title fight against Renault. In 2006, after a difficult start and a reduced role within the team, he ended his partnership with McLaren prematurely and left Formula 1 during the season.
He thus closed his Formula 1 chapter with 94 Grands Prix contested, 7 victories, 12 pole positions and 13 fastest laps, remaining one of the most spectacular and divisive drivers of his era, renowned for an extremely aggressive driving style and uncompromising on-track battles.
After Formula 1, Montoya returned to the United States and took on a new challenge in NASCAR. From 2007 to 2014 he competed mainly in the Sprint Cup Series, achieving solid results, a non-championship race victory and numerous strong finishes, as well as successes in NASCAR road-course events.
In parallel and in subsequent years, Montoya built a top-level career in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona three times (2007, 2008 and 2013) and regularly competed in IMSA and WEC programmes, standing out for his adaptability to very different cars and contexts. He also returned to IndyCar between 2014 and 2017, once again coming close to victory at the Indianapolis 500 with several front-running finishes.
In more recent years Montoya has continued to race selectively at a high level, alternating IMSA endurance programmes with occasional appearances in the NASCAR Truck Series.
Juan Pablo Montoya is regarded as one of the very few drivers to have won competitively across all the major modern motorsport categories. On a personal level, he is the father of Sebastián Montoya, a driver active in international junior formulae, and remains a prominent media presence in the racing world.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | McLaren | MP4-21 | 26 |
| 2005 | McLaren | MP4-20 | 60 |
| 2004 | Williams | FW26 | 58 |
| 2003 | Williams | FW25 | 82 |
| 2002 | Williams | FW24 | 50 |
| 2001 | Williams | FW23 | 31 |
| Year | Team | Teammate | Win | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes (MP4-20) | Raikkonen K. | 0 VS 17 | |
| 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team (FW26) | Schumacher R. | 8 VS 4 | |
| 2003 | BMW Williams F1 (FW25) | Schumacher R. | 1 VS 14 | |
| 2002 | BMW Williams F1 (FW24) | Schumacher R. | 9 VS 8 | |
| 2001 | BMW Williams F1 (FW23) | Schumacher R. | 6 VS 11 | |
| Total | 24 VS 54 | |||
| Grand Prix | Team | Chassis | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| British GP 2006 | Team McLaren Mercedes | MP4-21 | 6 |
| Monaco GP 2006 | Team McLaren Mercedes | MP4-21 | 2 |
| San Marino GP 2006 | Team McLaren Mercedes | MP4-21 | 3 |
| Malaysian GP 2006 | Team McLaren Mercedes | MP4-21 | 4 |
| Bahrain GP 2006 | Team McLaren Mercedes | MP4-21 | 5 |
| Brazilian GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 1 |
| Turkish GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 3 |
| Italian GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 1 |
| German GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 2 |
| British GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 1 |
| European GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 7 |
| Monaco GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 5 |
| Spanish GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 7 |
| Malaysian GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 4 |
| Australian GP 2005 | West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 | 6 |
| Brazilian GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 1 |
| Japanese GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 7 |
| Australian GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 5 |
| Italian GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 5 |
| Hungarian GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 4 |
| German GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 5 |
| British GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 5 |
| French GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 8 |
| European GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 8 |
| Monaco GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 4 |
| San Marino GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 3 |
| Chinese GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 5 |
| Malaysian GP 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | FW26 | 2 |
| United States GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 6 |
| Italian GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 2 |
| Hungarian GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 3 |
| German GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 1 |
| British GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 2 |
| French GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 2 |
| European GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 2 |
| Canadian GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 3 |
| Monaco GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 1 |
| Spanish GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 4 |
| San Marino GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 7 |
| Australian GP 2003 | BMW Williams F1 | FW25 | 2 |
| Australian GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 2 |
| Japanese GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 4 |
| United States GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 4 |
| Belgian GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 3 |
| German GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 2 |
| French GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 4 |
| British GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 3 |
| Austrian GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 3 |
| Spanish GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 2 |
| San Marino GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 4 |
| Brazilian GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 5 |
| Malaysian GP 2002 | BMW Williams F1 | FW24 | 2 |
| European GP 2001 | BMW Williams F1 | FW23 | 2 |
| Japanese GP 2001 | BMW Williams F1 | FW23 | 2 |
| Italian GP 2001 | BMW Williams F1 | FW23 | 1 |
| Hungarian GP 2001 | BMW Williams F1 | FW23 | 8 |
| British GP 2001 | BMW Williams F1 | FW23 | 4 |
| Spanish GP 2001 | BMW Williams F1 | FW23 | 2 |