Miami-born Sebastián Montoya ready for a competitive result this weekend

Sebastián Montoya admits it will be “special” to be out on track this weekend, but the PREMA Racing driver insists his primary focus remains firmly on maximising results in Round 2 of the Formula 2 championship. The Miami native is looking to bounce back from a challenging opening round in Melbourne, where he scored just two points after finishing ninth in the Feature Race.

"It feels really nice to be here," said Montoya. "I'm really excited. I think we've done a lot of work with the team since Australia to make some good progress. I think Australia was a bit of a learning weekend for us with all the changes within the off-season, understanding the good things, and the things that we need to improve on."

An emotional return to roots

For Montoya, preparing to race in the city where he was born carries significant personal weight. The proximity to his early racing days adds a layer of nostalgia to the high-stakes environment of the Formula 2 paddock.

"Obviously from one side it's really emotional because I grew up here, I think the first time I drove a go-kart was like 15 minutes away from the track," he reflected. "So to see how far it's actually come is amazing and obviously I dreamed of hopefully one day racing here in F1. I didn't expect to be here in F2 but it is a really pleasant surprise."

For more on the upcoming weekend, check out our Formula 2 Miami Grand Prix preview: everything you need to know.

Mastering the Miami Autodrome

When asked to identify the critical factors for success this weekend, Montoya pointed directly to the strategic use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) around the fast, flowing layout of the Miami circuit.

"I think the whole thing is going straight for DRS. I think that's going to be really important for the races to make sure you can either stay in it or you try to break it," Montoya explained.

"I'd rather be trying to break the DRS from behind, but I think the biggest thing is making sure you can try and use the DRS to your advantage, especially for Friday. You need to make sure you can string it all together, make sure you know where the points of reference are is going to be pretty important because it's such a flowy circuit, you need to really make sure you understand where the car needs to be."

Regrouping after Melbourne

Reflecting on his and PREMA's preparation for Round 2, Montoya revealed that the team conducted a thorough review of their approach following the season opener, identifying areas where over-ambition may have compromised their overall performance.

"I think just maximising what we can do, that's the biggest thing," explained Montoya. "In Melbourne we were in situations where we didn't really have much to do and we just tried to maybe do a little bit too much. We tried to do things that were a little bit out of reach, and that impeded a little bit the results of the weekend."

"But I think the biggest thing is just staying in our lane. We know how good we are, we know how competitive we are and we just need to focus on that and maximise that."

Podium ambitions

Looking ahead to the weekend's track action, Montoya is confident that if he and PREMA execute their plans effectively, a podium finish is entirely within reach. The PREMA driver acknowledges that standing on the rostrum in his home city would be a remarkable achievement.

"Obviously, I would love to say that a win here would be super special," he said. "But for me, on one side it's just another race weekend. We have 14 race weekends, and this is really special. At the same time we can't forget what the goal is."

"We have to keep ploughing forward as we've been doing since last year. I think this year we have a lot of speed, we have a lot of momentum on our side because we've done such a good job since last season to keep improving and making steps here and there."

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"So I think the main thing this weekend is trying to focus on what I can do and then if the first win comes, I'm not going to complain. If another podium comes, I'm not complaining either because I wouldn't be surprised."

"But I'm not going to be focusing too much on that. I'm just going to be focusing with the team on making sure we maximise what we have and usually when we do that it's good enough for a pretty good result. So it's really exciting and I'm excited for what's coming this weekend."