Daytona 500 is ‘equally challenging’ compared to F1, says Montoya

Over the weekend, William Byron took victory at the 67th running of the Daytona 500, and plenty of Formula 1 fans have hypothesized what discipline is harder: NASCAR or Formula 1.

Juan Pablo Montoya — a former driver who has competed in both Formula 1 and the NASCAR Cup Series — spoke out before the race about how the two disciplines differ, and why they’re both equally valuable.

Juan Pablo Montoya: Formula 1 drivers would struggle in NASCAR — and vice versa

Colombian racer Juan Pablo Montoya competed in Formula between 2001 and 2006, racing first for Williams and then McLaren. He won seven of the 94 races he started, and he took third overall in the World Drivers’ Championship in both 2002 and 2003.

But Montoya’s career has spanned countless different series, including IndyCar, NASCAR, and IMSA. He won the Indy 500 twice — both before?and after racing in F1 — and is an IMSA champion.

If you need someone to compare Formula 1 to an American discipline, Montoya is the guy to make the comparison. And according to him, those comparisons are difficult because F1 and NASCAR are so different, but both uniquely challenging.

“It’s just a different culture,” Montoya explained to OnlineCassino.br.

The Colombian elaborated, “You can’t compare one with the other. You can’t just say F1 drivers are so much better.

“If you bring the best F1 driver to NASCAR and you put him in an oval, at the beginning he’s going to struggle. It doesn’t matter how good you are. They’re going to struggle because it’s very different.”

Naturally, the track types aren’t the only things that are different between F1 and NASCAR, as Montoya explained.

“The bad habits of the car are very different,” he said. “And [the F1 drivers] going to go out and they’re going to say, this car has no grip. The car is sh*t.

“It is a different animal, it’s a different tool.

“Right now, F1 is all about the tyres and keeping the tires in the window and managing the tires and everything.

“Where in all the [NASCAR] championships it’s all about how fast can you drive them and how aggressive can you be and how hard can you push.”

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Further, Montoya took a moment to specifically address the Daytona 500, which is effectively NASCAR’s crown jewel event, and the one that kicks off the points-paying race season in full force.

“Daytona 500 is always fun,” Montoya mused.

“People in Europe don’t understand restrictor plate racing.

“That’s where between the throttle body and the engine they put a restrictor plate with the smaller holes. They do this to limit the horsepower. So the cars go from making like 750 horsepower to 400.

“So, you’re doing 190 miles an hour by yourself, with the throttle wide open, and 200mph in the pack.

“If you lose the pack of competing cars you lose between one and two seconds a lap.”

As such, the Daytona 500 requires a unique skillset, one that demands you work with your competitors or risk losing control.

Montoya continued, “Being in the pack is crazy. So that’s why you run two or three cars wide and you’re pushing your lane to go forward.

“It’s so amazingly misunderstood I don’t think anybody really understands how challenging and physically and mentally demanding the Daytona is.

“It’s very different from F1 but very challenging — equally challenging.

“It’s so crazy because you need to rely on other people to be able to win.”

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