Blundell's view: 2004 F1 season review - Pt.2.

by Rob Wilkins

Here it is, folks - hot off the press.

We've made you wait and now we can reveal it: Mark Blundell's 2004 F1 season review - part two.

Like part one, it's featured on Crash.net Radio, but this time Mark's done talking about the drivers and now it's the teams that had better watch out! The tyre manufacturers also aren't spared, and MB has some stark advice for Michelin - ouch!!

Go on - get reading, you know you want to...

Q:
Mark, looking at the teams, if you had to pick out your top five, who would they be and why?

Mark Blundell:
Ferrari, obviously, would be top. They were consistent and strong, although they did have a little bit of glitch at the end there. Despite this though,they picked themselves up and shock themselves down and carried on. Reliability played a big role again - you didn't really see a red car parked at the side of the circuit, they were always circulating. It's a tough act to beat what they achieve the year before, but somehow they managed to do it.

McLaren made big progress from midway until the end of the season, but there were still some little reliability issues there, which were a worrying factor.

Williams again made some nice steps forward, but changes in personnel, in engineering and on the design side will still have to take effect as the winter goes on.

BAR were the biggest surprise out of all of them though. I just did not feel they would make the impact that they did. You have to take your hats off to Geoff Willis and all the guys there. What they achieved is pretty remarkable. I think Honda have also paid the price now in terms of seeing what they have got for the future and got involved in the equity of the team and that, in many ways, is a huge compliment to BAR as an outfit. To get that manufacturer support and investment means that they have made a huge amount of progress, so congratulations to them.

Q:
Now, you mentioned in part one that Toyota disappointed you - do you think that is fair, as they have only been competing in the sport for three seasons?

MB:
I think it was a disappointment because they are a huge concern and they have got the resources and the people, and everything is there ingredient-wise. I'm disappointed in the progress. I thought the progress should have been a stronger element for them and it just didn't quite come together. When you are that big, expectations are always going to be high, if we were talking about someone who had the resources of Minardi, then that would be slightly different, but we are not. The name Toyota means there should be some performance and some consistency, and reliability, associated with it, and I didn't really see that.

Q:
Which team gave you the biggest smile throughout the season?

MB:
I think the most consistent smile for me would be Sauber. I just find it kind of remarkable that they just sit there and keep knocking the results in year and year out and keep picking up valuable points. They also go about it in a very Swiss way! Just a very sensible outfit and they get the job done as and when is required.

Q:
I think this is kind of obvious, but I am going to ask it anyway... which car for you was the best, in terms of design and livery?

MB:
Yeah you are right... it's a red car!

Q:
Minardi, Jordan and the former Jaguar team, now Red Bull Racing, all continue in 2005. How important is this to F1?

MB:
F1 needs teams and needs to have those teams because it can't afford to lose them.

Jordan Grand Prix have got their engine package finalised and I'd love to see them back on the up again. It looks like they are getting back to basics and putting some people in there to try and make some changes.

As for Red Bull taking over Jaguar - it's a huge loss that we lose the Jaguar name from the pit-lane, but it's great to see somebody in there stepping up to the plate and staying on board. Obviously, there is a lot of talk about who will be behind the wheel of the team, but that has yet to be decided. Hopefully, we will have some solid candidates.

Minardi - it's remarkable that they are still around and still getting the job done. You've got to take your hats off to Paul Stoddart and his team there because, for sure, they don't operate on anything like anybody else's budget down the pit-lane. They get things done and are there race in, race out. One day, it would be nice to see them have a load of sponsorship and try and make something a little bit different. But, at the moment, they will just have to keep going as they are.

Q:
Looking at the calendar, in your view was expanding the schedule to 18 races in a season a success?

MB:
I think it worked, but I do think that that many grands prix is starting to really be quite tough on everybody concerned. The logistics are huge when it comes to shipping people and the cars around the world and I think it is a tough one to take on board. However, in saying that, everybody seemed to get to the end of it with a smile on their face and we will have to wait and see if that changes.

Q:
Of all the races, which one or ones, do you recall as being the 'best'?

MB:
[laughs] I don't know really know, to be honest with you. I think every race seemed to have something different about it. I have to say that the worst race of the year had to be Hungary. I think that was probably the most depressing grand prix I have seen in years and, unfortunately, I had to commentate on it, so that made it even more depressing, but there you go! The best one? Not sure, to be honest.

Q:
In the tyre war, it seemed Bridgestone had it all their own way - how much of this was due to them, and how much was this due to Ferrari and Schumacher?

MB:
I think Bridgestone are of huge value to Ferrari, and I think Ferrari is of huge value to Bridgestone - and I think there is a lot of team work that has to go on there between all those partners. But, at the end of it all, they still managed to take the winner's laurels and a company like Michelin has still to come up and compete against that - and that is something which is not really going to sit too well with them at the moment. Michelin has got huge heritage and huge credentials to its name, and for sure they will want to get a championship under their belt, as opposed to an odd grand prix win.

Q:
What do Michelin need to do to improve in 2005 then?

MB:
I think they need to basically get a little bit more consistency. At the same point, however, they really have to get that relationship built up with one of their teams, at least to the point that McLaren and Williams need to be there on the same level as Ferrari and Bridgestone. There are 'fors and againsts' for many of the situations out there, but basically you would say the Bridgestone is quite heavily designed around the Ferrari, and vice versa, and I think that is something Michelin might have to take on if they are going to compete to win. If that means forging a relationship which is a little bit stronger than some of the others they have got, which is never going to be easy, it is something that might have to be considered if they are going to move forward.

Q:
Sauber switch to Michelin tyres in 2005, leaving just Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi on Bridgestones, how significant is this?

MB:
I don't think it will make to much difference at this point in time because, if you think what was contributed from that side of the programme [in 2004], I'm sure the percentage was quite small and I think the bigger percentage was done by the red cars. I think that will still be the case.

Coming next week: The third and final part of Mark Blundell's 2004
F1 season.