His remodelled BMW Williams stunned Juan Pablo Montoya at first, but the Colombian ace believes it will carry him to victory this year.
”I thought: ‘Where is the nose?’ And I said: ‘Are you sure this thing is going to work?”’ Montoya told sports daily L’Equipe, describing his initial shock at the smaller, lighter new Williams FW26, with its shorter nose.
”At first glance, it’s so strange — difficult to believe that the car is really like that!” Montoya said in the interview published on Wednesday. ”Then, when you look at it in detail, you see that it is a very good solution for the front section.”
”If the package is as good as its wrapping paper, it will be a winning car,” Montoya said.
Last season’s Williams FW25 was ”very difficult to drive”, he added.
With the new model, launched on Monday, ”we are ready earlier and have scheduled twice as many tests”.
Montoya said one of two goals he set himself when joining Williams in 2001 — winning races — ”is done”.
The other goal is winning his first F1 title.
”I still have a season to achieve it,” said the 28-year-old who is switching to McLaren in 2005.
”I want to be champion this year before leaving,” he said.
Montoya said money didn’t provoke his departure, although he acknowledged that ”I didn’t like the idea” that fellow Williams racer Ralf Schumacher earned ”more than me”.
Instead, Montoya said he is moving because ”I wanted something different, to have new adventures with another team”. — Sapa-AP