Despite spending a comparatively short five and a half years in Formula One, Colombia's Juan Pablo Montoya will long be remembered for his feisty aggression, uncompromising speed and no-nonsense attitude, as a challenger for race wins right from the word go. Despite racing in F1 during the era of Schumacher domination, Montoya was one of the only men to take the fight to the German on-track, more often than not being let down by the quality of his machienary than the quality of his driving.

Montoya made his Formula One debut with Williams in 2001, one year later than originally scheduled after spending an extra year racing in America. In his first race, he came close to a podium finish before an engine failure stopped him in his tracks, and spun out of his second race in monsoon conditions. In only his third F1 race he took the lead of a Grand Prix, thanks to a heroic overtaking manoeuvre on reigning champion Michael Schumacher, before being cruelly punted from the race by a backmarker. Retirements became all too familiar for the Colombian over the course of the season, with him failing to finish 11 of the year's 17 races, usually due to reliability problems.

Despite the problems, Montoya took a much-deserved maiden victory later in the year, converting a dominant pole position into victory in Monza. By that time, he had already taken two pole positions and two podium finishes, with his first podium coming in Spain after a lucky drive from 12th to second. He then rounded the year out with second place at the Japanese Grand Prix, capping a stand-out debut season.

The increased dominance of Ferrari in 2002 put paid to any chances Montoya had of challenging for the championship, but to his credit he was the only man to give Schumacher a run for his money. In qualifying, he took seven pole positions, five consecutively, but was unable to convert his hard-earned grid positions into race wins. Nevertheless, he finished on the podium seven times, with mechanical failures and a collision costing him valuable points. In the end he finished the championship in third place, beating team-mate Ralf Schumacher.

Montoya's one and only true challenge for the title came in 2003, as Williams closed in on Ferrari with a quick and reliable car. A poor start to the season saw Montoya claim just one podium finish in the first six races, but his fortunes soon turned around. Victory in Monte Carlo began a run of eight consecutive podium finishes, including one of the most dominant victories in F1 history when he won the German Grand Prix by over a minute, coming close to lapping the entire field.

Second place at the Italian Grand Prix brought him to within three points of championship-leader Schumacher and four clear of third-placed Kimi Räikkönen, but at the following United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, Montoya was cruelly penalised for colliding with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello, a penalty which ultimately cost him the chance of fighting for the title. With Schumacher winning the race, Montoya's sixth-place finish meant he mathematically dropped out of contention, before retiring from the lead at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix with hydraulics failure.

Ferrari returned to dominating the sport in 2004, and with a comparatively poor car, Montoya was confined to points finishes, with three top-threes. Qualifying was again his forte, and although he wasn't able to take pole position, qualified inside the top ten on all but two occasions, taking second place on the grid four times. He then took a surprise victory at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, coming from second on the grid to snatch the win after a superb battle with future team-mate Kimi Räikkönen. The win, Williams' last of the decade, secured him fifth place in the drivers' championship, and ended his Williams career on a high, despite an otherwise disappointing season.

Montoya's move to McLaren for 2005 to partner Kimi Räikkönen was seen as a master stroke by the Woking management, but despite a strong car, he was unable to reproduce his Williams magic. He was immediately put on his back foot by missing the third and fourth Grands Prix through injury, and went the first half of the year without a win, slumping to 11th in the championship with just 16 points compared to Räikkönen's 45. By the time he took his first victory of the year at Silverstone, a superb drive under pressure from Alonso, he was well out of contention, but rallied with a further four podium finishes, including two victories. The first of those wins came at Monza where he led every lap of the race, before winning again in Brazil after another close battle with Räikkönen.

Montoya's once-promising F1 career came to an abrupt end mid-way through the 2006 season when he announced a move to NASCAR for 2007, while being sacked from his race seat at McLaren. The news came following a poor first half to the year, where Montoya had scored just two podium finishes, and crashed out of four races. Second place at the Monaco Grand Prix was the highlight of his half-year, but his disenchantment with F1 was all too clear in the announcement of his NASCAR move following the United States Grand Prix.

Decade highs:
Awe-inspiring overtaking manoeuvre on Michael Schumacher in Brazil 2001, his third F1 race
Five consecutive pole positions mid-2002
Run of 8 consecutive podium finishes in 2003, including wins in Monaco and German while challenging for the title

Decade lows:
Poor reliability of 2001 costing points and podium finishes
Losing out in the fight for the championship in 2003
Premature end to F1 career mid-way through 2006 with McLaren

2010s?
In 2009, Montoya finished eighth in the NASCAR sprint cup series after a strong season, and is likely to stay challenging for the championship for many years to come.