The Colombian is a regret of the Austrian manager
Years later, several interesting anecdotes are emerging about the conflicting relationship between the then very young Juan Pablo Montoya and the inflexible Helmut Marko. The Colombian raced for the Austrian manager’s team in F3000 in 1997, achieving three victories, finishing second, and then winning the title the following year before moving to the United States for two years in Formula CART – winning the title in 1999 – before arriving in F1 in 2000 with Williams.
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Montoya recently recounted that Marko even sent him to a healer in an attempt to help the Colombian to channel his ‘energies’ correctly to make the most of an overflowing talent that, according to Marko, was frustrated by a lifestyle not entirely suitable for a professional driver.
“As soon as he arrived in Graz, he told me he immediately scouted the fast food restaurants, found four, and was happy with the menus and hamburgers – said Marko, interviewed by Die Zeit – I invited him to dinner at my house, I live in the hills, we ate salad and then I didn’t call him a taxi to go home, I made him walk and it took him an hour. Which driver was my biggest disappointment? There are a few who are candidates. Montoya didn’t exploit his abilities, and that was a real shame.”
