JULY 31, 2003

Montoya and McLaren

There have been a rush of stories in recent hours indicating that there is no deal being discussed between McLaren and Juan Pablo Montoya. These are not true because even if no deal is possible for 2004, it is very clear that McLaren is looking at Montoya as a possible driver in 2005. The situation at Williams is not very clear but it seems that the team is unhappy at the money that is being spent on drivers, based on deals which were negotiated in a time when the world economy was going rather better than is now the case. Montoya may feel that he is not being as much as he should be being paid by Williams (he gets less than half of the money that Ralf Schumacher is getting). Ralf is not going to get the same kind of a deal in the future (and Williams may try to negotiate down the 2004 deal) but if he is willing to accept more realistic money he may get a new contract in 2005.

Talking to McLaren is a good way for Montoya to try to put some pressure on Williams to offer him a better deal in 2005 but there is a danger that calling Williams's bluff will result in the Colombian being shown the door.

It may be true that there are not going to be any changes in 2004 but it is naive to suggest that there are no talks going on for 2005 and beyond.