Montoya refutes team criticism

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks the media has blown out of proportion comments made by Williams team members on the subject of his and Ralf Schumacher's performance. Team principal Frank Williams, technical director Patrick Head and chief operations manager Sam Michael have all been quoted as saying the drivers need to put more effort into getting results out of the car.

Montoya, however, denies that the comments were a direct attack on his and Ralf's abilities and suggested the press have made more of it than they should have done.

Juan Pablo Montoya.

Photo by Eric Gilbert.

"I think you should actually ask the people if they actually made the comment," the Colombian told reporters at Albert Park. "They made harsh comments supposedly of myself and Ralf. We both went to talk to them and really, they never said anything."

"If somebody said something harsh, it was the press, not the people, that said it. If they're not happy, they would come and tell me. They wouldn't tell you. And they haven't told me anything by the way."

Montoya also voiced an opinion similar to other Williams members recently, that the FW25 is good but not to expect instant results: "The car does have quite a bit of potential, but you've got to give it a bit of time because it is such a new package," he said.

"I don't know if it will be right for the first race. We're probably about where we were at last year. At the beginning of the year, the car wasn't that competitive but we went on to finish third and fourth in the drivers' championship."