Former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Gene Haas’s plan to run a team from the United States is “mad” when the nerve centre of the sport is on the other side of the Atlantic ocean.
Juan Pablo Montoya, former Formula One and NASCAR driver, does not believe in Gene Haas’s plan to launch the first American Formula One team in almost thirty years. For the Colombian driver, his project is “completely mad”.
The driver, who made his return to IndyCar in late March after a 13-year break, says the project “makes no sense” as it will be impossible “to get people from England to move to Charlotte”.
For Montoya it appears that the true heart of Formula One lies in Europe and that it should remain that way. “That is where the original fans are, where the car fans are” he stated adding “Formula One should be careful not to discard Europe too much”.
With 8 races out of 19 taking place in Europe, it seems that the FOM is favoring oversea track instead of European ones. Something that does not sit well with Montoya, “I know other places will give them more money to go but if you take the British GP, or the Spanish GP away, imagine that. There are a lot of big races [in Europe] and you don’t want to screw that.”
As for Haas, he reaffirmed his confidence regarding the success of an American team. “I firmly believe that we have the right tools to go forward on this and be successful at it” he claimed before adding “I’ve been pretty successful at taking on projects that other people say you can’t do.” Indeed he created a NASCAR team from scratch that went on to win a Driver’s championship in 2011.
