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16/08/2005: "In Racing: Montoya Glad About McLaren Switch"

A man that suddenly looks a lot smarter in the Formula 1 paddock is Juan Pablo Montoya, who chose to trade Williams for McLaren some two years ago besides being contractually forced to stick around for another season in Sir Frank’s squad.

With today’s confirmation that the former BMW factory team will be powered by “boutique” engine builders Cosworth next year (click here for story), JPM - who’s won a single race so far at McLaren - celebrated his decision to go Mercedes’ way back in 2003.

“I feel it was the right decision, even if at first, things did not work out,” he said in a press conference in his home country of Colombia.

However, Montoya’s less-than-stellar championship position - he currently sits fifth with 34 points, 53 adrift of leader Fernando Alonso - can be credited above all on McLaren’s lack of reliability, as the MP4-20 has repeatedly shown it is the car to beat pace-wise in F1 today.

“I would rather be at McLaren and have the car fail while I'm leading, even if I don't finish, than to be at Williams and finish every race in eighth place,” he confessed.

Montoya’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen - who won at Hungary three weeks ago, precisely when the Colombian’s car suffered a driveshaft problem while leading - is considered the early favorite to win this weekend’s inaugural Turkish GP.

(this article was taken from speedtv.com)