Montoya sympathizes with Alonso’s McLaren struggle

(GMM) McLaren refugee Juan Pablo Montoya says he can understand if world champion Fernando Alonso is struggling to fit in at Ron Dennis' team.

The Colombian winner of seven grands prix, scored mostly for Williams, was considered one of formula one's very best drivers until a less than two year stint at McLaren sent him running for cover in NASCAR.

In the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Montoya – who was paired at McLaren with Kimi Raikkonen until mid last year – compared his star-crossed McLaren tenure with Alonso's current struggle alongside rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton.

"I can see that Alonso is very uncomfortable with Hamilton, especially with respect to Hamilton. It is just like what happened to me," he said.

The 31-year-old said he felt comfortable and competitive at Williams, "but I never felt good at McLaren".