Tiago Monteiro

Despite a relatively late introduction to motor sport competition, Tiago Monteiro immediately proved to have talent and was tipped for possible stardom throughout his junior single-seater career. Glory is taking a little while to arrive, however…

Monteiro was already 21 when he started racing in the French Porsche Carrera Cup in 1997, but immediately showed that he had what it took and, ignoring the entry-level single-seater categories, transferred straight to Formula 3 the following season. Running with the respected Signature Competition team, he took rookie honours in 1998, before switching his allegiance to the equally competitive ASM squad for 1999. The move produced sixth place in the championship and a maiden win at Albi, which encouraged Monteiro to stay put for 2000.

Despite being competitive from the start of the season, taking four victories, he wound up second overall to the Jonathan Cochet. However, a brief European foray landed runner-up honours in the series and a win against international opposition at the formidable Spa-Francorchamps. He also placed second in the Korean Superprix and ninth at Macau.

Determined to win the crown, Monteiro remained in the French F3 series for 2001 but, despite another four wins and six poles, only managed to repeat his runners-up spot. He also took in the French GT series earning two class wins, and mixed up his season with outings in Formula France and the Andros ice-racing series

Finally taking the plunge to move up the racing ladder, he landed a plum seat at Super Nova for the 2002 FIA F3000 series, but largely squandered the opportunity by overdriving. He finished a somewhat lowly twelfth place in the series with just five top ten finishes to his credit. However, he had already been noted by Renault's F1 team as a potential star of the future and was rewarded with his first F1 test at the end of the year.

Disillusioned by his time in F3000, and unable to find a vacancy in F1, Monteiro turned his attention to America, landing a seat in the Champ Car series with the new Fittipaldi-Dingman operation. Pole position in the Mexico City finale was the highlight of a season otherwise littered with mechanical problems, but Monteiro had restored much of his reputation as a racer. With the team not entering the 2004 campaign, and the desire to pursue an F1 drive still burning, Monteiro returned to Europe, joining Carlin Motorsport for the Nissan World Series. A string of strong performances, including five race wins, saw him mount the greatest threat to eventual champion Heikki Kovalainen, as well as earning rookie honours.

His F1 dream was also back on track, as Minardi had offered him the role of test driver for the season. While not running with the team at grands prix meetings, the Portuguese driver did get sporadic outings during the season, and was also involved with the team's F1x2 project. Those performances, plus his relationship with Formula Nissan team boss Trevor Carlin, eventually stood Monteiro in good stead. Following a takeover at Jordan, Carlin was installed as team boss by new owner Alex Shnaider, and Monteiro got the call to partner former World Series rival Narain Karthikeyan in an all-rookie line-up for 2005.

Despite his inexperience, Tiago soon adapted to his new surroundings. Indeed his calm and cerebral approach immediately produced an impressive run of sixteen consecutive finishes. The highlights being a podium place in the six-car United States Grand Prix following the Michelin tire fiasco, and a gritty eighth place on merit at Spa in the wet. Monteiro was deservedly retained in the team when it became re-branded as Midland for 2007, and he was pretty evenly matched with his new team mate Christijan Albers. Indeed the pair locked wheels more than once on the track causing expensive damage to their machines and dismay to the tightly-budgeted team.

No points-scoring finishes were garnered by the likeable Portuguese driver during the campaign (although he came mighty close in Hungary after finishing ninth), and in the end of season take-over by the Dutch Spyker, Monteiro eventually found himself surplus to requirements. Whilst his management still hope to find him a place in Formula 1 for 2007, Tiago accepted an invitation to test a WTCC Seat Leon at Valencia, which could possibly lead to selected race appearances in the future.