Motorsport is a fickle business - Montagny (Q+A)

Franck Montagny is reflecting on how his life has changed. He’s gone from unemployed racing driver to Formula 1 star in less than a week. "Motorsport is a fickle business", he says, as he munches on a bowl of Cornflakes in the Dorint Hotel, overlooking the pit straight at the Nürburgring.

After two years as Renault’s test driver, Montagny left the team at the end of last year. He wanted to race again. He tested a Bridgestone shod ChampCar over the winter in the hope of moving to America, but the deal fell through. His immediate future looked unsure, and he certainly didn't expect to return to F1 in the short term.

Now, though, he’s begun a new chapter in his career. Montagny has made his F1 debut with the Bridgestone-shod Super Aguri F1 Team – and he has become the first Frenchman to contest a grand prix since Olivier Panis retired at the end of 2004.

The initial call from team boss Aguri Suzuki came on the Monday prior to the European Grand Prix. Montagny had just returned from a gym session when Aguri called to ask if he could drive the team’s third car during Friday practice. He accepted and reflected on the memory of doing exactly the same job for Jordan at last year's race.

Montagny’s deal then got a whole lot better, when, following advice from the FIA, Super Aguri decided to rest Yuji Ide until the Japanese has more experience. Montagny was asked on Wednesday if he'd like to contest the race.

"I was very surprised to say the least," says Montagny. "But I was also very pleased to be given the opportunity to show what I could do. Every driver wants to race in Formula 1."

He had attended the opening two races of the year as Super Aguri’s reserve driver, which would help him to hit the ground running. He knew the key members of the team, including chief technical officer Mark Preston and race engineer Antonio Cuquerella.

"He's a really good guy to have around," says Preston. "You can tell that he’s been a good test driver because even after his first installation lap in the car, he was giving us feedback about the engine and traction control. It was very impressive, when you consider that he had never driven the car before."

This was also a good weekend for Montagny to join the team because the SA05 featured several new parts. A new front wing improved front-end grip, and the cars were using Bridgestone’s latest-spec tyres.

"The car was faster than I had expected," said Montagny. "The balance was okay, so I was pleasantly surprised."

It took him half of the opening session to get on a par with team-mate Takuma Sato. He then improved to end the practice just 0.1s shy of the Japanese. In the afternoon, Montagny was 0.4s slower than Sato after his progress was hampered by a hydraulic problem.

Saturday morning proved even better, when he ended the session 0.3s faster than Sato. But he couldn't repeat the form in qualifying due to various problems.

"There were no serious problems with the car in qualifying," said Montagny, "but various things happened that stopped me setting a proper lap time. First of all, I lost time after the FIA weight check when the starter failed; then I was in the middle of a good lap when the red flag came out, so the team told me to slow down."

He started the race in 21st place (Nico Rosberg was 22nd, having dropped 10 places after an engine change) and he drove well until a recurrence of the hydraulic problem on Friday afternoon brought it to an end on lap 32.

"It was disappointing not to finish my first race for the team," said Montagny, "but that's motor racing! Until I had the problem, I was having quite a reasonable race and the car's handling was not too bad."

Montagny is waiting to hear whether he will get a second chance with Super Aguri in Spain this weekend.