Montoya targeting more improvements for Sunday after P6 finish in Melbourne Sprint

15 March 2025

Sebastián Montoya was pleased to score points on his Formula 2 debut in the Melbourne Sprint Race, but the PREMA Racing driver is still looking at areas he can improve ahead of Sunday’s Feature.

The Colombian driver qualified just outside the top 10 in P11 on Friday, but due to several drivers serving grid penalties, he lined up in eighth place for the Sprint.

Montoya made a good start to get up to seventh but was stuck in a DRS train for most of the afternoon. However, he later capitalised on Dino Beganovic’s spin to move up to P6.

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The 19-year-old looked to make a move on Roman Stanek ahead but in the end, settled for sixth, giving him a solid haul of points to kick of his debut weekend.

“It was intense,” said Montoya, recapping the race. “Obviously being the first race you always have a little bit of stress, but honestly, we've been going well with the team.

“I think I had everything quickly in my mind about what I had to do today, and the car has been really quick this weekend. Yesterday, in Qualifying, I made a few mistakes, so I got quite lucky that I was able to start near the front after all that.

Montoya stuck in a DRS train for much of the afternoon in Melbourne

“So, honestly I was just trying to keep my nose clean, score the points, and learn what I could do for tomorrow.”

While also trying to get ahead of Stanek for fifth, Montoya did at one stage come under threat from his teammate Gabriele Minì. As well as that, the Campos Racing duo, Josep María Martí and Arvid Lindblad, watched on just behind, looking to make their move.

Montoya explained afterwards how difficult the race was when trying to strike up a balance between attacking and defending his position.

“It's really hard to manage,” said Montoya. “Gabi was really quick. He was really quick yesterday, and he was able to maximise the pace very well. Today as well, the pace was really similar, so as soon as you make a small mistake, the gap behind you falls.

“After the Safety Car restart, I was missing a little bit in the front tyres and once they switched on, I was able to put the pressure on the cars in front. Honestly, I think our longer run pace is a bit better than are short run pace.

“So, we will take a look at that, see what we can get for tomorrow. The weather is going to be interesting, so we’ll try to learn as much as I can today, understand what I can improve, and make that step for tomorrow.

Montoya says he has work to do overnight to prepare for the longer Feature Race

“The weather is a bit unknown. Some people say it's going to be pouring wet, others say it's going to be 50/50, so let's see.”

Montoya is not against the idea of his first Formula 2 Feature Race being in the rain. But even if it is, he says he has a lot of studying to do before the 33-lap event. He pointed to his lack of experience in the longer format compared to his rivals, although he is happy with their race pace.

“I would love to say it gives me confidence,” said Montoya when asked about their long run pace heading into the Feature Race. “But tomorrow is a new day and it's my first Feature Race, and a lot of these guys, even though they are rookies, they also did a race last year.

“They have that experience over me. Of course it's the first time, so of course I'm going to sleep on it tonight and kind of see what I can do differently and do better.

“Probably the chances are if you get stuck behind a car, it's going to form a DRS train. It happened last year, it happened today in the Sprint Race, so we will see tomorrow.

“I just want to look into everything, see what we can improve, and tomorrow when we show up on track, we will have a better idea of what's going on.”