Juan Pablo Montoya has revealed the driver that he found the toughest nut to crack during his time racing in Formula 1. The Colombian driver raced in Formula 1 between 2001 and 2006, and was a constant contender for race wins and even a World Championship tilt during his years with Williams and McLaren. Montoya fared very well alongside Ralf Schumacher at Williams, but was eclipsed completely at McLaren by Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn challenged for the 2005 title, but Montoya believes it was the German who was the tougher prospect. "Kimi [Räikkönen] and Ralf [Schumacher] were both very strong, but Ralf was the guy that made my life most miserable," Montoya revealed in a column for McLaren ahead of the Indy 500. "Kimi was very, very good, but what made it difficult for me when I went up against Ralf was that I really hated the car. "I was really uncomfortable in it, so that made my life even harder. When I joined Williams, I would drive the car as fast as I could and then Ralf would go out and he was like seven tenths quicker. I had nothing. You’re left wondering what to do next: you can either sit down and cry or get on with the programme and figure it out." Having left Formula 1 behind 15 years ago, Montoya has rejoined the McLaren stable for an Indy 500 attempt this year, and said that he views a current teammate as being similarly tough. "It’s a bit similar now with Pato [O’Ward] as my team-mate," Montoya said. "He can adapt to whatever. You could put the wheels on backwards and he’d still run the same freakin’ laptime. I’m more about making sure the car is doing what it needs to be doing first and then the laptime comes. I think that’s something that comes more with age. When you’re young,you just drive the car and if it gets sideways it doesn’t matter. I don’t mind getting it sideways, but why get sideways if you can drive it straight?"
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