Juan Pablo Montoya today questioned Michael Schumacher's right to be considered the best driver in Formula 1, stating that the Ferrari car was the real champion. He said, "Michael is the guy that can win the most races, because he is the guy with the best car and he is using it in the right way."
He went on to claim that if Schumacher drove any car which wasn't a front runner his victories would dry-up, "If you put Michael in a Toyota, a Minardi or any car that is not a front runner then he wouldn't win," insisted the Williams-BMW driver of his Ferrari rival.
"It is not a question of how good Michael is but how good Ferrari are. It's not a question of just the driver, but the whole team from the engine manufacturer to the tyres. People sometimes forget that. It takes more than the driver to win, the car is more important than the driver. Just look at Rubens Barrichello. When he was at Jordan he was not getting results but at Ferrari he puts the car on the podium nearly every race."
Montoya then insisted that he wasn't overawed by the challenge presented by Schumacher but didn't expect to be a front runner for this year's title, he continued, "You cannot focus on beating one man because that will take your focus away from what you are doing. I am not worrying how fast Ferrari is, just making sure I have got a good car and getting the maximum out of it. If the best of what we have got can beat Michael then we will beat him. There is still more work we can do on the car, but I am confident we will be very competitive. But I can't say that I am going to challenge for the title."
The new Formula 1 season begins this weekend and comprises of seventeen races starting with this weekend's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
