The day Juan Pablo Montoya challenged Schumacher's reign

Monaco 1984 where the young Senna leads the storm to reveal himself on the international scene; Francorchamps 1991 where for the first time the paddock learned to pronounce the name of Michael Schumacher ... It is like that of the Grands Prix which remain forever engraved in the memories, of the hinged Grands Prix which begin a cycle, which open the door to a new world.

Perhaps it is still too early to say that Interlagos 2001 will have the same immortality, but it is nevertheless clear that Juan Pablo Montoya caught the imagination. It's everyone F1 passing by the journalists and the fans who, on Sunday, just like Michael Schumacher, were caught cold by the vista and the determination of the one who will undoubtedly be a great of tomorrow.

For many, the Colombian's coup is more of a symbol than a simple flamboyant racing event. Symbol of a world destined to slowly die out over the years to come and of another beginning its hegemony. The confrontation of these two worlds promises to give rise – which we can already rejoice in – to singular confrontations.

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The great handover between Senna and Schumacher of which we were all orphans on May 1, 1994, is once again upon us. The three-time German world champion still has a few very good seasons ahead of him, which the impatient and impertinent Montoya will want to cut short. He will not be the only one since the generation of Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jenson Button and other Nick Heidfeld will also be keen to claim their due.

This major reshuffle began last Sunday during an overrun that resembled a crime of lèse-majesté. A rebellion that lasted for 36 turns before Jos Verstappen put an end to it in such a brutal and stupid way. By hitting the back of the Williams from Montoya who had just taken a trick on him, the “Dutch Devil” lived up to his nickname.

“I am obviously disappointed, he delivered soont, but it was still a good race where I was able to show a lot of things. Victory was all the more possible as I was on a one-stop strategy. When Schumacher stopped the first time, I pushed the pace a little to, at the rate of 3/10ths per lap, put a little more space between Coulthard and me.

Then I came across Verstappen who was in a big argument with Fisichella. On the straight he moved to the right and I passed him on the left. When braking, I took a big hit from the rear. He just hit the brakes too late. After something like this, I hope he will just come and apologize…”

The day before, during the qualifying session, fate had already dealt him another bad blow when he lost his car on a bump. Returning to the track with Ralf Schumacher's mule (adjusted “strangely” according to him!), he finally set the 4th fastest time but trumpeted: “I should have made this pole. I was 3/10th faster than Ralf in the morning and, in the afternoon, he failed to reach 3/10th of the pole… the calculation is quick! »

Of calculation, Patrick Head did another “This is the third time this year that we've been attacked from behind, and it's starting to get really boring! The worst part is that those at fault always want to make people believe that it is the fault of the car in front which brakes too early. I'm talking about Barrichello who was a bit quick to blame Ralf Schumacher... Maybe he should just watch the footage of the incident! As for Juan-Pablo, he had the race in hand. It was on one stop with quite a bit of fuel on board and, obviously, anything was possible. When someone has just taken a turn on you, you need to stay out of their path! »

“All this is all the more unfortunate, further underlined Pierre Dupasquier of Michelin, that our rain tires were in the mix since Ralf was the fastest in the heavy rain. In that regard, Montoya wouldn't have had a problem either..."

Article from AUTO n°1284hebdo published the 4 April 2001.