Nov.25 (GMM) Fellow McLaren exile Juan Pablo Montoya has backed Fernando Alonso's split with the British team after just one season.



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.



To the Spanish news agency EFE, Montoya described Alonso's star-crossed tenure in 2007 as "a similar situation" to the one he faced at McLaren a couple of years ago.



"I understand where Fernando is coming from. I felt the same," he said.



"He never felt comfortable in the team and the arrival of Lewis Hamilton made it worse," he added.



Montoya said it is right that the pairing has split after a single acrimonious season.



"You can not be where you feel simply bad," he explained. "What he should look for now is a team that can give him back his confidence to be fully competitive again," he advised.