They are definitely re-grouping with a world championship winning driver installed in their team, in the shape of
Fernando Alonso. They also have a young rookie coming in -
Lewis Hamilton, who is going to have a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He has been groomed over the last nine or so years with McLaren and that is what it has taken to get him to this point. There is going to be a lot of commitment and dedication going in to make sure they progress. But it is going to be tough, that is for sure. It isn’t easy when you come off the end of the table and then you have to climb back up the table leg to get into the middle and be first on offer. It is not going to be an easy task for McLaren - full-stop.
Q:
Honda in contrast did manage to win, have they turned a corner now?
MB:
They might turn up and surprise a few people down the pit lane next year. We have seen some progress throughout last season that will give them a good baseline to go and get stronger. We saw that a couple of seasons ago though and then they faltered and had a hiccup. They have just got to get over the top of that mountain now and if they do that, then they are going to make an impact. Even in the off-season testing we have seen some relatively strong performances by them. It is however, a massive deal to try and keep the momentum going - and to try to produce results weekend in and weekend out at grand’s prix. You see the level of commitment what is required and the level of motivation from people like
Ferrari and
Renault and even the drop off with
McLaren, it is amazing to get to that level. Honda has got the makings of it, but whether it will show in ‘07 we will have to wait and see.
Q:
How impressed were you by the ‘new’
BMW Sauber team? BMW’s influence made a big difference didn’t it?
MB:
BMW had a definite influence in terms of stability and providing resources. They gave the whole outfit a bit more direction. They started to really step up to the plate and now they have got to a point as well, like
Honda, with themselves to be able to say: ‘Right: how do we go the next step now?’ and ‘what is it going to take?’ The BMW element will be the key now to doing that because that is where everything is going to be driven from and we are going to see whether or not they are going to make the next cut. That will be interesting to see.
Q:
I think it is fair to say, both
Toyota and
Williams underperformed. Which team was the bigger disappointment?
MB:
In some ways they both had the same sort of level of results for various reasons. Toyota was a massive disappointment, because the resources available to them are pretty much second to none compared to the rest of the pit lane. There should really be no excuses, bearing in mind they have been around some six or seven odd years now and you would think there should be something more to show for it. That is a heavy burden for them to keep carrying with what they have.
