He said: 'I will be taking only a short break before getting back to work on next year's car and making a serious title challenge.'
His boss, Ron Dennis, who believes second is the first of the losers, was almost dismissive of yesterday's results, saying: 'We're pleased for David, but we are already concentrating on becoming more competitive in future.'
Montoya's drive, including an early wheel-to-wheel battle with Barrichello, was an accomplished finale to a season in which he has declared his intent to become a future champion.
Gerhard Berger, the former driver who now works for BMW, said: 'Juan was mistake-free and proved yet again that he might cause Michael problems. He has gained a lot of experience over the past few months that will make him an even more formidable rival next year.'
Certainly more formidable than Ralf Schumacher, who appears to have been fazed by his team-mate and can forget any notion that boss Frank Williams would ever agree to his suggestion about declaring a specific team No.1. Just as well. It certainly would not be the German, despite his three wins.
Jean Alesi's 201st race and F1 driving career ended in a big crash with Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber) but both emerged unscathed.
Mika Hakkinen, taking a year's sabbatical and possibly retiring, gifted Coulthard third place. Jenson Button clinched an encouraging seventh place for Benetton and can now look forward to a fresh challenge under the Renault banner when the team is expected to be more on the pace.
