Sebastian Montoya endured a difficult season in Formula 3, struggling for consistency over the campaign for Campos.
The Colombian driver suffered a slump during the middle of the year, failing to score a point for three consecutive rounds from Monaco to the Red Bull Ring.
Montoya eventually delivered on his full potential at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing in second place in the Feature Race in the season’s penultimate round.
He is set to move up to Formula 2 in 2025 despite a lacklustre two-year stint in FIA F3 and to acclimatise, Montoya plans to test in an older F2 car.
The championship will be a significant step up as the car is much more difficult to drive, with more power and the added complication of turbo lag.
Juan Pablo Montoya has been critical to his son’s progression up the ladder and explained to AS Colombia that there is one complicating factor affecting the 19-year-old.
Juan Pablo Montoya explained the lack of testing in F2 and F3 makes life tricky for Sebastian Montoya
Both Formula 2 and FIA F3 are very competitive championships with chaotic racing that makes the races very hard-fought over a season.
Formula 3 in particular, is a big step up from F4 and regional F3 championships such as GB3 and FRECA as it is much more expensive.
In both F2 and F3, there is a lack of testing, which can make life difficult for first-year drivers graduating into the championships.
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This has directly affected Montoya during his ascent up the ladder, as the lack of running away from race weekends may have slowed his development in FIA F3.
Montoya explained that his son is planning to run in an older F2 car ahead of his full-season debut next year, if he were to be confirmed in the series.
He said: “We are looking for opportunities, and other people are looking too. The complicated thing about F2 and F3 is that you can’t take the cars to test whenever you want.
“You can’t do a test and say, ‘Let’s go to do 10 days in Barcelona’ to prepare ourselves.’ The F2 and F3 cars can only be driven in the official tests. It is very complicated, so what they do is they take the old cars, organise them, and go around in the old cars.”
Sebastian Montoya will need to adjust quickly in Formula 2 if he makes the step up
Montoya may be racing in Formula 2 next season and will need to hit the ground running early in the season while avoiding consistent errors.
Some rookie mistakes are inevitable, but the first round is at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Colombian has raced there in FIA F3, which may help him adjust quicker in practice on the race weekend.
It will be a steep learning curve in a car that is significantly quicker than in FIA F3. Montoya will also have to learn new tracks, such as the Jeddah Corniche Circuit if he races in the series.