Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher had intense battles during the early 2000s when Ferrari was at its peak. Montoya recently appeared on the Beyond the Grid podcast and discussed what it was like competing against the legendary Ferrari driver. He mentioned that while he had a strong package during his time at Williams, it was almost impossible to beat Schumacher. Montoya compared the challenge of beating Schumacher and Ferrari back then to beating Max Verstappen and Red Bull now. Montoya and Schumacher fought for the Championship in the early 2000s.
Montoya also mentioned that competing against Schumacher required him to be at his best every race week, as Schumacher was always on top of his game. This comparison seems fair, as Verstappen and Red Bull currently appear just as unbeatable as Schumacher and Ferrari were in the early 2000s. During the podcast, Montoya also discussed Schumacher’s traits as a competitor. He found it annoying that no one would race against Schumacher during his time at Ferrari, as other drivers held him in high regard. This resulted in very few wheel-to-wheel battles with Schumacher when he was coming from behind. Montoya admired Schumacher’s resilience, and he and were the only drivers who could compete with the German until his reign ended in 2005.