IndyCar: Montoya down on double points after defeat

Juan Pablo Montoya has slammed IndyCar's awarding of double points for its season finale after his season-long championship lead turned into a loss on countback to Scott Dixon at Sonoma.

The Team Penske driver went into Sonoma as the clear favorite for the title, but was dealt a blow when he and teammate Will Power collided just after a restart, dropping both to the back of the field.

In the meantime, Dixon had worked his way to the front, meaning that Montoya had to recover to at least fifth place in order to secure the championship. He finished sixth, consigning him to runner-up, but insisted that unnecessary variables, including the double-points format and a new-compound tire, were to blame rather than the contact with Power.

SONOMA RACE REPORT: Dixon beats Montoya on countback

"We had a good car," Montoya said. "We had a good start, and we did everything we needed to do at the beginning.

"Will overshot, we shot the corner, we got inside and [Power] cut across and I was there, and we touched and that was it. We came from behind and did our best, just wasn't enough.

"It's tough there; tires are going off, and it's one of those days.

"It sucks, but when you make the last race double-points on a road course and you change the tire and you do everything you did for this weekend and you put so many variables, it doesn't even matter what you do all year.

"Dixon had a s**t season all year and had one good race, and we paid the penalty."

Montoya hopes IndyCar reconsiders the double-points system in the future, although he conceded that he holds little hope that it will be changed.

"We'll see if they [IndyCar] change it, but they like the excitement for the last race," he said. "Is it fair? No, but we go into the last race of the year knowing it's a double‑points race.

"Is it fair for a normal championship? No, it's not fair, but it's the rules they want to play with, and if you don't like the rules, don't race."

WHAT DIFFERENCE DID DOUBLE POINTS MAKE?

Actual championship standings:

1 Dixon 556
2 Montoya 556
3 Power 493
4 Rahal 490
5 Castroneves 453
6 Hunter-Reay 436

Montoya's assertion that Dixon benefited from the Sonoma double score is correct, as the Colombian would have held on to his championship lead otherwise.

Standings without double score for Sonoma:

1 Montoya 528
2 Dixon 506
3 Rahal 478
4 Power 467
5 Castroneves 438
6 Newgarden 422

Montoya himself benefited from double points when he won the Indianapolis 500. Removing that advantage brings Dixon closer, but Montoya hangs on.

Standings with no double scores at all:

1 Montoya 478
2 Dixon 474
3 Rahal 448
4 Power 426
5 Castroneves 412
6 Newgarden 399

Originally on Autosport.com