Colombian F1 race driver statistics
Here are some stats from all of the Colombian Formula 1 drivers combined:
| Columbian F1 Drivers | |
|---|---|
| Number of F1 drivers | 2 |
| World championship titles | 0 |
| Grand Prix competed in | 115 |
| Race wins | 7 |
| Podiums | 30 |
| Pole positions | 13 |
| Fastest laps | 12 |
| Drivers on current F1 grid | 0 |
Formula One world championship drivers from Colombia
In the history of Formula 1 there have only ever been two Colombian drivers who’ve started a Grand Prix.
They are Roberto Guerrero and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Below are some stats and career highlights for both of those drivers. As you’ll see, one of them makes up almost all of the total statistics shown at the top of this page.
Roberto Guerrero
- Previous teams: Ensign, Theodore
- First season: 1982
- Last season: 1983
- World championships: 0
- Wins: 0
- Podiums: 0
- Pole positions: 0
- Number of GP starts: 21
- DOB: 16th November 1958
- Hometown: Medellin, Colombia
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Roberto Guerrero was the first Colombian driver ever to compete in Formula 1.
He did so in 1982 racing for the Ensign team, but unfortunately didn’t qualify for the first two rounds. So he debut eventually came as the United States West GP which he retired from.
In his first season, of the 15 events he entered he only finished one of them, taking an 8th place finish at the German Grand Prix.
That was to be the best finish of his F1 career. For 1983 he moved to the Theodore Racing Team and managed four finishes, but his best was a 12 place.
After lacklustre results he left F1 at the end of 1983 and moved to the CART Indycar World Series where he competed for the next 11 years.
1987 was his best season, taking two IndyCar victories. He came close to winning the Indy 500 on a couple of occasions, finishing runner-up twice, but never made it to the top step.
Juan Pablo Montoya
- Previous teams: BMW Williams, McLaren Mercedes
- First season: 2001
- Last season: 2006
- World championships: 0
- Wins: 7
- Podiums: 30
- Pole positions: 13
- Number of GP starts: 94
- DOB: 20th September 1975
- Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Juan Pablo Montoya is legendary not just in his home country, but in the Formula 1 and motorsport worlds as a whole.
He’s a very aggressive racing driver with a fiery temperament who relied hugely on natural feel and reflexes. He was undoubtedly one of the quickest drivers of his era.
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Before he made the step up in to F1 he’d already won the International Formula 3000 series.
In 2000 he won the CART (now Indycar) series. He also managed something his fellow countryman Guerrero never achieved, winning the prestigious Indianapolis 500 the same year. He became one of only 6 Formula One drivers to win both a F1 race and the Indy 500.
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
2001 was his first season in Formula 1, driving for the BMW Williams team. A combination of poor car reliability and his sometimes overly-aggressive driving meant that of the 17 races that season he retired from 11 of them.
From the 6 he did finish he scored 4 podiums including his first win at the Italian Grand Prix.
Despite all his DNFs he placed 6th overall in the standings.
The next two seasons were much better. He improved his consistency, taking 16 podium finishes including another 2 victories over those two years. In both 2002 and 2003 he finished third in the standings.
2004 would be his final year with Williams and it wasn’t quite so impressive. One more win and two other podiums were only enough for 5th place at the end of the year, and for 2005 he moved to the McLaren Mercedes team.
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2005 was his best year with McLaren, taking 3 victories, one of which included lifting the prestigious British Grand Prix trophy, and 2 other podium finishes. He had to miss two rounds of the championship due to an injury but still finished fourth overall.
2006 was to be his final year in F1. He already had a strained relationship with team boss Ron Dennis, and after he caused a huge crash at the United States Grand Prix he left the sport mid season.
Montoya was far from done with racing. He went back to the USA and raced NASCAR and Indycar, winning the 24hours of Daytona 3 times.
In 2015 he also won the Indy 500 for the second time. He still holds the current record for the longest time between Indy 500 wins; 15 years.
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
