by Rob Wilkins
Formula One in 2005 was about not only about the battle between
Renault and
McLaren, but it was also about the rise of
Toyota and the fall of
Ferrari. In addition to that, BAR-Honda and
Williams both struggled big time, while by the end Jordan, Minardi and Sauber were all no more, to be replaced, respectively by Midland MF1 Racing,
Toro Rosso and
BMW Sauber.
Red Bull Racing also came into the sport and added some 'fizz'. But did they give the sport 'wings'?
Over to
Crash.net columnist, Mark Blundell as he continues his look back on 2005…
Q:
Mark, looking at the teams, if you had to pick out your top five, who would they be and why?
Mark Blundell:
Renault I think number 1, because of their progression to get to the top of tree within the F1 circus. They built a great car, in terms of pace and reliability - it was bullet proof in many respects when it counted as such. They also elevated themselves to a level where they were there with a supreme amount of confidence and that showed.
McLaren would be second, because they really did turn something on mid-way through the year and got their car working. The outright pace was sensational. The team in itself were on song and knew what they needed to achieve. You have to look at it and say they went for it as opposed to dragging there heels and trying to make the gap smaller, as we would expect with
McLaren - they never rest and you actually feel they are always giving 100 per cent to get where they need to be.
Toyota would be third because of their improvement - and the successful results that they achieved over the course of the season. We have seen it over the last a couple of seasons some inspirational drives and results, but they really did become a solid factor.
You would have to still put
Ferrari in there fourth because of their consistency. Although the pace was out the door, the durability was still there - and they remained a threat in many areas for those mid-result pickings.
I'm not sure who I would put for fifth - tough one…
[pause]. No I don't know who I would put fifth!
Q:
Which team disappointed you most this year -
Williams,
Ferrari or BAR?
MB:
BAR to be honest in terms of disappointment over what we were expecting, because they had come off such a strong year last year and we all felt they would go to the next stage and it never happened - and it never had any inkling of it happening.
Meantime we had the likes of
Renault,
Toyota and
McLaren accelerating themselves away from the rest of the pack and
Ferrari dropped into the clutches of the mid-to-high teams but BAR never capitalised on that either. So BAR were probably the biggest disappointment in many ways.
Q:
Which team surprised you most this year?
Toyota or
Red Bull?
MB:
I would have to say
Red Bull, because they were a team which had a lot of changes, when you look back over the year when it all came about. There was a lot of management changes, there was new people brought in, experience levels were not there at that point in time at that sort of level in the sport and they went about it in a fresh way. They came on the scene with a lot to offer and they produced a great deal. They showed if you can just keep some basics in place and just keep yourself consistent and keep your focus, then there is a lot to go racing with and that is what they have did.
Q:
F1 effectively lost three teams at the end of '05 - Minardi, Jordan and Sauber, which one will you miss most?
MB:
Well you would sort of look at Jordan and go that would be a big miss, because of the charisma of the team itself and the former owner, Eddie Jordan being at the helm. But he has kind of been out of the loop for the year anyway.
