Montoya fighting until the end

Juan Pablo Montoya admits that it took him a couple of days to get over the disappointment of Indianapolis, where his championship hopes suffered the fatal blow, but he will give it his all at Suzuka to try and secure Williams the Constructors' ...

Juan Pablo Montoya admits that it took him a couple of days to get over the disappointment of Indianapolis, where his championship hopes suffered the fatal blow, but he will give it his all at Suzuka to try and secure Williams the Constructors' title. Montoya believes the drive-through penalty he incurred for an incident with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello at Indy cost him the chance to fight for the Drivers' title, and he left the circuit in a less than good mood.

Juan Pablo Montoya.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

"I left the track quickly because I was so mad," he told the British tabloid The Sun. "Anything I said would have got me in trouble. "What happened was a big blow. It took me two days to get back to normal and accept it's all over."

"Without the penalty I feel I could have been second or third, which have put me either five or seven points behind (Michael) Schumacher with everything to play for. It would have been great for me, for Williams and the sport had it still been a three-way battle in Japan."

The Colombian took slight comfort from the fact that he was in the championship battle for so long and his sixth place finish in America was his lowest for quite some time. "At least I have shown I am capable of fighting for a World Championship," he commented. "Indianapolis was the first time in nine races I've not been on the podium."

Williams is just three points behind Ferrari in the Constructors' standings and Montoya is putting every effort into securing at least one title for his team in the last race of the year. "My own championship chances may have disappeared," he said. "But I'll be fighting for the runners-up spot and trying to hand Williams the constructors' title."