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Adapting between teams and chasing the perfect balance: How I Race with Sebastián Montoya

3 April 2026

Sebastián Montoya is back for another season in Formula 2, with the sole aim of winning in 2026.

The PREMA Racing driver is always one to watch when he is out on track, but what do we know about what he is like in the cockpit? Well, recently we sat down with him to talk all things driving style in the latest instalment of How I Race.

CHASING A BALANCE

“In a perfect world, I want a car that is as fast as possible. I brake, I don't have to brake that much, I get off the brake, I turn, the thing turns, it grabs and I smash the power and I'm gone.

“For a high-speed corner, everything is flat. For a medium speed corner, a little bit of overlap, a little bit of brake and then I just smash the brake for the slow speed corners, turn, smash the power and I'm gone.

“Surprisingly, I am not someone who likes a lot of oversteer. I think there's a fine line, like everyone says the car has to be oversteery.

Montoya became the latest driver to share how he likes to set up his race car

“If you're drifting sideways it’s not great because eventually you have to go forward. I think there's a fine line, there's a balance. Obviously, you can't just be waiting for the front to turn all day.

“But at the same time, if you can't get off the brake, if you can't carry the speed because you're going to spin, the guy that gets off the brake can go quicker.”

ADAPTING BETWEEN CARS

“I think each team has its own philosophy. There's good things and bad things with every car. But in the end, you see it in F2, different philosophies work, especially because the track changes so much, as do the tyres and the conditions.

“Sometimes one's better, sometimes another one's better, but it doesn't mean it's wrong. You just need to adapt to it as a driver and do the best you can. For example, with Hitech in F3, it was a driving style that was not really natural to me, and that's why I think it was so difficult.”

“So I had to force a lot to change my driving style. Then when I went to Campos, it was more of my natural way, but not fully. Then obviously when you go to PREMA in F2 from Campos in F3, it was a big difference. Especially from what I had worked on all year with Campos.

The Colombian driver explained the difference he has felt driving for different teams

“It was really funny because with Mari we talked about it because we did the same step, but he did it with the new car in F3, and I did it with the old one. There were a lot of driving adjustments that I had to do last year.

“With the new tyre, with the smaller sidewalls, like all these things make a big difference. I think I have had to make a lot of changes, but in the end, they've all worked, so I'm not complaining.”

ADAPTING ON AN F2 WEEKEND

“I think in F3, everything is a lot more like one lap, you have to go now, it's so focused on quality, which is a little bit the same with F2.

“It’s just that you have a little bit more time to process everything in F2. There is also a lot more information that you need to process, but I've enjoyed a lot more the F2 race weekends.

“I think there are some people that prefer the F3 ones, but everything that's F2 I've really enjoyed. I really fit into it quite well.

Montoya also shared how his approach to a weekend differs from other drivers

“Before the weekend, you do a lot of work with the team to help you prepare. I think every driver does it differently. I have a certain method to do it, my teammate last year had a different way of doing it. Kimi Antonelli had a different way of doing it when he was in F2, Ollie Bearman as well.

“The biggest tool that you have is the simulator and data from the year before, and you just have to go off that in the end.

“In F2 there are sometimes where you can do, instead of doing one lap, you do two or three laps, so you just kind of build up to that second run. So when you get into the car for the second run, you're able to perform at the highest level.”

RACE MANAGEMENT

“As I said, in Hitech, it changed quite a lot. I had to change a lot of my driving and that helped me a lot in Campos. But then obviously once you jump into F2, it's a completely different car, completely different brakes, completely different tyres.

“So just the way of driving has to change a lot, but the philosophy is more or less the same. Like the way you have to manage the tyre energy, it changes quite a lot.

The PREMA Racing driver also shared how he approaches Qualifying and the races

“Red Bull helped me a lot in that as well, and I understood it quite quickly. After a lot of work in the sim, it becomes a little bit easier once you jump into the car. In F2, I think you have to push at times a little bit more, especially on the prime, because it's so hard, so you can really go for it.

“But then there's also a balance that you can't burn it off. Then you have the Option where you need to go as fast as possible, but then at the same time, you have to make it try to last either six laps, or if you're doing it at the end, and you have to get through people.

“But you can't be setting fastest lap, fastest lap, and then drop three seconds the next lap. So, it's fun. I've really enjoyed it, especially because the racing is so close, it's usually quite a lot of fun.”