Juan Pablo Montoya stands on the podium with Michael Schumacher after the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix, on June 1, 2003 - Source: Getty
Michael Schumacher questioned fellow F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya's decision to leave the sport to join the American stock car racing competition, NASCAR, in 2006. Speaking in an interview that year, the German driver talked about how he sees F1 as a more challenging sport with better developed cars when compared to NASCAR's vehicles and tracks.
Montoya left Formula 1 in the middle of the 2006 season to race for Chip Ganassi Racing. Although he was supposed to start his NASCAR career in 2007, McLaren and the Colombian driver reportedly decided to part ways after a first-lap collision caused by Montoya in the US Grand Prix in 2006 led to both McLarens out of the race.
In an interview series conducted by Ted Kravitz, Schumacher gave his thoughts about the driver's decision to move from F1 to NASCAR. He said:
