Monday May 14th, 2001
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya has claimed he will not be intimidated by triple World Champion Michael Schumacher following an incident at Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.
Montoya was leading the race, lapping slower than the Ferrari driver, while Schumacher was trying to overtake him. When the German finally tried to pass Montoya, the Colombian overshot the corner and both drivers were forced to run off the track to avoid contact, losing several places.
After the race, Schumacher slammed Montoya, saying: "He basically wasn't looking where he was going, he was looking where I was going to make sure I went with him. That was a little bit silly."
But the Colombian rookie hit back at Schumacher on Monday, claiming he will not be intimidated by his rivals' comments.
Montoya was quoted by Agencia Estado as saying: "If he (Schumacher) thinks he has been granted by divine grace some right which allows him to overtake wherever he wants, I have news for him: he can forget it. He won't intimidate me, because I'm not psychologically fragile as other drivers."