Blundell's view: 2005 F1 season review - Pt.3.

by Rob Wilkins.

When ever there is talk of the season just gone, there is inevitably lots of speculation on the year to come. Here Crash.net columnist, Mark Blundell pulls out his crystal ball and looks to the future...

Many have been mourning the passing of the V10 but Mark reckons it won't make much difference - in fact he doesn't seem especially bothered. He also talks about Red Bull - their takeover of Minardi and their major coup in signing ace designer, Adrian Newey. After that there wasn't much left to discuss or was there?

Q:
Mark, looking at the coming season, Red Bull sprung a surprise when they announced they had signed Adrian Newey. How big a boost is it for them? And how big a blow is it for McLaren?

Mark Blundell:
It's not an ideal situation for McLaren to be losing somebody of that calibre. It is going to be putting pressure on other elements of the team there now. McLaren though will always be in a situation where they have got a 'backstock' or an infrastructure, which they can blend in to make sure they continue going forward. They have always got that forward thinking to make sure the team doesn't revolve around one person, but there is no doubt Adrian Newey was very much one on 'kingpins' of the operation on the technical side.

Red Bull will get the benefit of that with immediate effect. He can bring so much to table. There will be so much information he can deliver to them in terms of where they need to be heading. He is a very valuable asset. He is there now with a new challenge ahead of him and if his batteries are full charged and raring to go, you may not see an immediate effect on circuit, but it won't be long until we see some vast improvements from Red Bull.

Q:
Red Bull will of course run the former Minardi outfit too in 2006. What do you think of the fact they will have two teams? Pros and cons...

MB:
Well it is an interesting thing to see how it is going work. Whether they will work as independents or whether they will 'broad brush' across in development. Obviously the cars will be quite different because of the way it [the rules] is structured at this point in time. Its scale of economies will be such it would make a lot more sense to put everything all in all in one pot, but whether they will actually be run as two independents in there own right is going to be interesting to see. I am quite excited to see how the whole operation will pan out.

Q:
What are you views on whether or not - teams like Toro Rosso and the Aguri F1 squad - should be able to run with cars previously entered by other teams or not built by them?

MB:
It's a sign of the times in some ways. If money is tough to find at the moment and if there is a possibility of increasing the grid to get some big numbers back onto the grid and if using a year old specification car is an example of that, then there shouldn't really be anything to stop that. It takes away slightly the element of producing your own car as tradition and the way F1 should be, but if they are going to gear up to that in future then that's great and if they need to use an old car as stop-gap, as an intermediate problem to be solved, then why not? If it is healthy for F1 to get more cars on the grid and it definitely does look healthier when there is 24 or 26 cars on the grid, then I am all for it.

Q:
What do you make of yet another new qualifying format? A bit complex isn't it?

MB:
I will reserve judgment until I see it again, because it is so difficult to actually understand whether it is going to be the ultimate solution or not. It is good that they changed it, because it [the one-lap format] did need changing. It wasn't creating the excitement and creating something that was a very valid hour or so to watch, because we didn't have anything to show for it come the end as you were entering into a different situation for race day. So let's wait and see.

Q:
Most teams will use V8 engines next season - what are your feelings on this?

MB:
That is what the regulations dictate and that is what everyone has to get there heads around. At the end of all of it if they turn up with 200 brake [horse power] less or 150, it is kind of irrelevant, it won't make much difference. I am sure when they turn up it won't be as much as that because development is such they will make up a great deal. I am not really too concerned about it. I don't think it will be detrimental to the sport at all. If you are racing at 200 mph or 180 mph as long as you are racing, so be it. For what they lose out on in terms of outright power and performance, they will gain in terms of less weight, the balance of car and carrying momentum through the corners. So I am sure it will all even out in the end.

Q:
Generally speaking and I know it is still very early days, but what are your thoughts on 2006 overall?

MB:
I think 2006 will be a great season. We have got so much to look forward to - you have got V8's, you've got tyre changes in terms of who is going to be wearing what on there cars, you have got the new situation that they can change the tyres, you've got new driver combinations, you've got new team names and new teams as such in their own right. You have got a new world champion trying to maintain his crown, you have got an old world champion trying to get it back and a contender in the middle, who should have been world champion in many ways and who is itching to get that title. It's a big lot of 'ifs' - lets all wait until we roll up for the first race and see the answers.

Q:
Changing the focus slightly. Brit Gary Paffett won the DTM championship this year and recently of course, has been testing with McLaren. Is tin-top racing really a viable route into F1? And do you think he has what it takes to succeed in F1?

MB:
I think the level of the DTM is such that it produces some great talent - and there is talent there that we have seen in some other forms of racing, I mean single-seater racing stars are there competing - Jean Alesi, Mika Hakkinen etc. But what you have got to think about, for instance for Gary, he has been a McLaren-Mercedes member of the family for a few years. He has tested before and is currently testing and he is doing a good job by the looks of things. He is 24 years old, so in his own right he is a candidate to be in a F1 car, because he has got the outright pace and ability to get the job done. Whether there is an opening for him to compete in a grand prix is another thing, but if there was anybody out there with the credentials to get the offer for that then Paffett would be top of the list.

Q:
Of course it has been a good year for Britain in the IRL as well, with Dan Wheldon taking the title - and in the Euro F3 series, with Lewis Hamilton doing the business.

MB:
Yeah I mean it has been a fantastic year for GB. We have had Gary do the DTM, we have had Andy Priaulx do the World Touring Car Championship, you've got Hamilton doing the Euroseries, Wheldon with the Indy 500 and IRL. It shows the depth of talent that England can produce and its show they can get out there in all forms of sport and adapt and get the job done. What we want to see now is some of the youngster coming through ready to take Britain into the future of F1. We have got Jenson [Button] in there and David Coulthard in there, but DC won't be around for ever. Jenson has been around for 100 grand's prix, but I think he has got another 100 grand's prix in him for sure. So, if we can get one or two more in F1 - and there are lots knocking on the door - then that would be fantastic.

Q:
There hasn't been much news on the Aston Martin/David Price Racing Le Mans programme for 2006 with Martin Brundle and yourself, can you update us here?

MB:
It is a case of trying to find the funding, which has been incredibly difficult and I don't think anybody would disagree with whatever form of motorsport you are in at the moment, it is not easy to find money. We are still trying to put something together and as ever, if comes off I am sure it will be a last minute job like the rest of motor racing is. So, we haven't given up on it yet, but the later it gets, the harder it gets and the more difficult it will be to accomplish. But we have still got our fingers crossed.

Q:
Any final thoughts?

MB:
Just to wish everyone a good Christmas and a happy new year - and let's all look forward to a great season of racing in 2006 and keep tuning into Crash.net.

Coming in 2006... More thoughts from Mark, this time on the start of the 2006 F1 season.