Enrique Bernoldi says 7-time race winner was not supportive at all when he joined Formula 1

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Former Formula 1 driver Enrique Bernoldi has admitted he didn’t get the warmest welcome to the sport from Juan Pablo Montoya back in 2001.

Bernoldi was speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast and discussed his start to life in F1.

The 2001 season saw plenty of change on the grid before the season before and during it as well.

There was a lot more instability in the sport, especially financially with teams going out of business much more frequently.

It’s what eventually cost Enrique Bernoldi his place on the grid, as he managed just a season and a half with Arrows before they went bust in 2002.

However, he joined the sport at a golden age for young drivers and had some serious rivals to stay in the sport.

One of Bernoldi’s main rivals was Juan Pablo Montoya, who arrived in Formula 1 through an unfamiliar route.

He was driving in the CART Series and won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 before signing with Williams.

However, he was a ruthless driver and didn’t appear to have too much time for his fellow rookies when he first arrived on the grid.

Bernoldi shares his unwelcome reception from Montoya to Formula 1

Asked by journalist Tom Clarkson how supportive the Colombian driver was when he started with Arrows, Bernoldi said: “Not at all!

“I knew him yes, I knew him and Fernando [Alonso] because I race with him in [Formula] 3000, I knew Kimi [Raikkonen] because we fought for the same seat at Sauber.

“I knew all of them, but let’s say in those days friendships between drivers were not very common I would say.

“You ask about Juan Pablo [Montoya] if he was supportive, I think he was a rookie going against Ralf [Schumacher], he was looking for his own career as I was.”

Bernoldi and Montoya ended up having very different careers in Formula 1.

The Brazilian failed to score a point in his 29 F1 races, with the reliability of his Arrows letting him down on multiple occasions.

Montoya, on the other hand, spent five and a half years with Williams and McLaren before leaving midway through the 2006 season to compete in NASCAR.

He was never a huge fan of the politics in the sport but still managed to win seven races during his time in F1.

His son, Sebastian, is now on his journey towards Formula 1 and racing with Hitech in F3.

They wouldn’t be the first or the last father and son pairing to both compete at the echelon of single-seater racing.

Bernoldi has his stories about that too having come across both Verstappen during his time with Arrows.