JPM out early, PDLR in for France

By Karl King
July 11 2006

It's sad to say that the destruction that was Juan Pablo Montoya's US Grand Prix (and those around him) is to be the Columbian's last in F1. Yesterday it was announced that Montoya would quit the F1 scene at the end of 2006, heading to the NASCAR series, however that eneding has been brought half a season forward.

Instead, driving the number 4 car at the French GP and beyond will be Pedro de la Rosa, after a mutual agreement between JPM and the team to prepare for his entry to NASCAR.

Pedro has made one previous race appearance with McLaren, at the successful Bahrain GP last year.

Here's all the team quotes you could possibly want from the team's press release:

"Juan Pablo is an exciting driver and immensely likeable character who will undoubtedly make a successful transition to the NASCAR scene," said Ron Dennis, CEO and Chairman of the McLaren Group. "We have agreed that with so many things happening in Juan Pablo's life right now, he should take some time out of the car and prepare professionally and personally for the future."

"We believe that Juan Pablo's decision to move to NASCAR is very important for him professionally and we will give him every support to ensure that it is a successful transition," said Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

"I know that it will be a tough transition but I'm really excited about the opportunity to move into the NASCAR championship," said Juan Pablo Montoya. "I have enjoyed most of my time in Formula 1 and I'm grateful for this opportunity to settle my personal life and concentrate on my future career."

"I'm of course extremely thrilled to have this opportunity to race the MP4-21 – a car in which I'm really comfortable," said Pedro de la Rosa. "I know the MP4-21 better than anyone else and I'm confident that I can achieve important World Championship points for the team."