Montoya remembers Senna
By ZoomF1.com
Ayrton Senna remains Montoya's hero. © Allsport
Spain, Apr 30 (ZoomGP.com) - The late great Ayrton Senna's name comes to the mind of Juan Pablo Montoya when the topic of Formula One heroes gets brought up with the Colombian. The 2001 Spanish Grand Prix runner-up revealed that despite Michael Schumacher's supremacy in driving, he could never replace Senna.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Montoya out maneouvered Schumacher at the first corner to take the lead for most of the race, before crashing out after he was hit from behind by Jos Verstappen. He added that the move would not have been made if he had regarded Schumacher as his hero.
"It was just like passing anybody else when I passed Michael Schumacher in Brazil," said Montoya.
"He was never really my idol or my hero even though he is a hero in modern Formula One to a lot of people."
"My idol and my only one was Ayrton Senna, big time really," professed Montoya.
Senna died tragically in a crash seven years ago on May 1 at Imola when his Williams smashed head on into a wall outside the Tumberello corner.
"If Schumacher had been a hero of mine I possibly would have thought of not passing him in Brazil"
With his podium finish in Spain, Montoya looked forward for the greater challenges up ahead.
"I need to learn how much I can really push the car," he added.
"It is a bit more difficult [than CART] as there are a lot more electronics. There are a lot more things you can do to the car to make it better. But at the same time, you can get lost a lot easier."
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