Will the Colombian be able to catch Micheal Schumacher?

After an impressive debut season in F1 many feel Montoya is the man to put a stop to the German's dominance of the sport.

With four pole positions already clocked up in the 2002 season the future looks bright for the Williams driver.

And this new deal puts him in prime position to replace Schumacher at Ferrari in 2005, should the German leave the Italian team at the end of his current contract.

Does Montoya have what it takes to become a F1 great?

This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below.

I think if Schumacher retires next year, as the rumours are supposed to have said, then Montoya will be World Champion (assuming Michelin manage to make a half-decent intermediate tyre before then!).

Montoya has a slight air of arrogance about him, and is often compared to the legend of Senna. Personally I think he is the fastest driver out there at the moment after Michael Schumacher.
Ian Emery, England, UK

I have to say that event I am not a big fan of his, he's a very talented driver with a lot of guts. But guts alone are not going to make him a great driver. He has to start finishing races in a more consistent manner and be less erratic, especially under attack, as we all saw this past Sunday.

He is driving for the second best team in F1 and has a very good team mate that will push him at every single event. Sometimes I wonder how races and championships Michael may have won had he come up with a first class team, back in '91!
Otto, US

It's common knowledge amongst those who actually take the trouble to follow the sport that most of the drivers in F1 are as easily as good as Montoya. They wouldn't be driving in F1 if they weren't.

It's the cars that make a driver appear good. People forget far too easily that Jenson Button had a great first season because he was in a Williams and he had a bad second season because he wasn't! He wasn't suddenly a 'bad' driver.

For sure Montoya has had a rubbish season so far, but this is mainly because the tyres on his Williams aren't as good as the tyres on the Ferrari. It's nothing to do with the man himself. Ok, let's put Montoya in a Ferrari, but as luck might have it the cars will have reached their peak by then and others will be winning. But who will care?

Montoya will be yesterday's news. The couch-potato pundits will have already found others to build up and knock down in the time-honoured tradition of the 'British disease'.
Muzikin, UK

If Williams can get the car to be reliable & as competitive as the Ferrari, Montoya has more than enough in him to win the championship.
Martyn Edwards, England

Montoya is the first out and out 'racer' to come along since the great Gilles Villeneuve. To illustrate this, JPM is only interested in racing and is level-headed and not at all political.
Joti Plahay, UK

This season, it's more to do with chassis/engine/tyres than pure driver skill. If BMW Williams can find Ferrari's levels of reliability, then JPM has the talent to rain on Schumi's parade. If McLaren can do the same, then DC, although not as fast as JPM, can also challenge.

I would love to see Ferrari/McLaren and Williams on an equal footing performance/reliability wise, so that pure driver skill played more of a part in the end result.
Doug, UK

Montoya is by far the better driver just give him the car to do the job!
Paul and Anna, England

The Monster will be the best. Compared to the current crop of staid drivers he's a breath of fresh air, and anyone that doesn't cower to Schumacher gets my vote. A world champion certainly, and possibly the next Schumacher - but with character!
Rob, England

The answer is a simple no, as Schumacher is simply a genius. That is not to say that Montoya isn't talented, but here we are talking about arguably the greatest F1 driver of all time, who has a rare combination of incredible brilliance, consistent performance, dedication and ruthlessness.

I'm afraid Montoya isn't up to Schumi in any of those three categories. Best of the rest perhaps, but he'll have to wait until Schuamcher hangs up his boots to win anything.
Allen, USA

No. Montoya is already blaming his team mate for his errors, and he is neither clever nor determined enough. It's no coincidence that he keeps failing to finish races.
Craig Goffin, England

I do not understand why Montoya is not likened to Ayrton Senna more often. Senna was also reckless and sometimes dangerous, but many will agree he was the most talented driver of all times, and way ahead of Schumacher. Look out for Montoya - he's the real stuff.
Matt, France

Montoya has shown how quick he can be in qualifying by outpacing both Ferrari drivers in the last four races, but he needs to turn this outstanding level of performance into victories. I am a big Montoya fan and can see him being a real threat to Schumacher, but Williams need to improve their car and reliability to give him a realistic opportunity.
Mark, UK

Montoya has the talent to be a very good F1 driver, but he falls short in terms of his skill. Mental cunning and the ability to push the envelope to the extreme are required from an F1 legend. Schumacher has shown these capabilities time and time again, which is why he has secured his place in F1 history.

Montoya has so far not shown any signs of possessing the qualities and skills that would take him to the level of a legend, and therefore I don't think he can cause any problems for Schumacher.
Alizay Hamid, Pakistan

Well he certainly has the speed and determination; however he will need to engage his brain more often and in a consistent manner. Once he starts to do this, only then will we be able to discover his potential to be a 'great', as it may well be that he cannot combine the two sets of attributes.

JPM isn't the only potential champion out there, after all we only talk of him now as he is in the Williams car which at the present time presents the only realistic challenge to Ferrari, also JPM is not the only driver at Williams, Ralf has shown that he can combine both brains and speed albeit on an inconsistent level - should he gets things together, then JPM will eat his dust!
Ed, England

Montoya might have some of what it takes to become a F1 great, but he also has plenty of what it takes to put himself in hospital for a long stretch. Montoya is fast but he does not drive intelligently.

His potentially lethal combination of gung-ho recklessness and hot headed driving will almost certainly curtail his career and prevent him from emulating the success of the great F1 drivers.
Chris B, England

There's no doubt that Juan Pablo is the next big thing in F1. But as long as Schumacher keeps driving the 'Red mist' he will be unbeatable over an entire season. Schumacher is a living F1 legend probably the best the F1 has ever see in its history and it takes great commitment bravado and determination to beat a driver of his calibre. Unfortunately I don not see Schumacher being beaten in the foreseeable future.
Ronnie Mirza, India

There is no doubt that Montoya is capable of becoming a 'quick' driver. He is still learning the art of F1, where qualifying and the occasional fast lap are not sufficient. Consistency, sustaining the pace for one and a half hours and nursing home underperforming cars is the key. Lest we forget, in only his second season he has surpassed the feats of many who tried and failed to make the jump from CART. Time will tell.
Paul Day, Scotland

Only time will tell if Juan Pablo is destined to be a F1 great. I see a reflection of the young Michael in today's Juan Pablo's image, the only difference being Michael will go to the extreme to win at all costs. Juan Pablo may be a hard racer but he isn't no Schumacher.
Ronnie M [f1-expert], India

Montoya has a lot of potential, but he may not become one of the all-time greats. These drivers have something more about them, something mystical, and at present I don't see Montoya having this.
Gary Jenkins, UK

Montoya has got what it takes to catch Michael Schumacher and become an F1 great: he's got a good car, he's well disciplined and knows how to 'keep his toys in the pram', as they say. Potentially he's the best driver to come to F1 since Senna.
Graham Rodhouse, The Netherlands