Montoya disappointed by penalty.

Juan Montoya has expressed his disappointment at being sent to the back of the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix, following the stewards' decision that he was to blame for a three-car pile-up in Saturday practice.

Although the Colombian was able to qualifying as normal on Saturday, the officials decided to impose the penalty before the second timed session, rendering any involvement in Sunday's qualifier pointless. With no recourse to appeal, Montoya sat out the session to preserve his fuel and tyres for the 78-lap race around the trickiest circuit of the season.

Juan Montoya has expressed his disappointment at being sent to the back of the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix, following the stewards' decision that he was to blame for a three-car pile-up in Saturday practice.

Although the Colombian was able to qualifying as normal on Saturday, the officials decided to impose the penalty before the second timed session, rendering any involvement in Sunday's qualifier pointless. With no recourse to appeal, Montoya sat out the session to preserve his fuel and tyres for the 78-lap race around the trickiest circuit of the season.

"It goes without saying that we are disappointed with the decision of the stewards yesterday," the Colombian sighed, "We have a strong package, as Kimi's performance has shown, but I know that my race will be hard work. However, there is nothing we can do but to get on with it and do our best to score some points."

"The decision to conserve the tyres and fuel on Juan Pablo's car was the logical step following yesterday's announcement by the stewards," team boss Ron Dennis reflected, after seeing his charge sent to the back of the grid where he will line-up alongside Ralf Schumacher - the man he impeded to trigger the Saturday shunt.

Read More

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter

Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox