Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes the majority of European drivers he faced during his time in the sport were ‘mentally weak’.
Montoya spent five full seasons in F1, racing against the likes of Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and even partnered Michael’s brother Ralf during his time at Williams.
The straight-talking Columbian won seven races during his time in F1, his last victory came at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix.
In an interview on F1’s official YouTube channel, Montoya said: “I learned a lot from Ralf [Schumacher], he was really quick, but European drivers are very ‘weak’ mentally.
“You can get in their head really easy, I think that plays in what you’re seeing today and what you always see in F1.
“When things go your way, you’re really strong, I mean when Lewis [Hamilton] is winning, he’s unstoppable, but when something goes wrong, the spiral down is huge.
“If the cars were closer together, I think you would see different people winning.”
When asked if Michael Schumacher was one of the mentally weak drivers, Montoya replied: “No, I think Michael was one of the few guys that were really strong.
“You could get in his head, but he was really strong.
“Ralf on the other hand, was a guy that to beat him was nearly impossible, but if you could beat him on his A-day, you could get in his head.
“It was tough, we all have a weakness, you just got to figure out which one it is.”
Montoya was also asked if he wished he had of stayed any longer in the sport. “Hell
“Hell no,” added the 41-year-old.
“I don’t regret it for one minute, it would have been nice to finish that [2006] season because we had just come out with a new suspension part that they ran for a long time, that I helped develop, I think we would have ran a lot better.
“But ifs and buts don’t count.”
The former Williams and McLaren driver also went on to speak about who of the current drivers on the grid impressed him the most.
“I would say, probably Vettel, he is one of the most complete guys and I think Fernando, I ran with Fernando in my career.
“I think those are the two are overall the best drivers, I think Lewis does a really good job, but they’re in the best cars.
“It’s very easy to think a guy in the best car is the best driver, but the question is, if they’re not in the best car, how would they handle things, I think Fernando and Sebastian have endured that and I think they’re the best.”
