Blundell's view - San Marino Grand Prix.

Hi folks...

It's the start of the European season, which can mean only one thing - the San Marino Grand Prix.

This is good for everybody concerned, as the travelling starts to get a little bit less. Obviously, we've had a good-sized break after a very heavy start to the season - hopping from Oz to Malaysia and then to Bahrain - and now we go back to the home of Ferrari.

Imola holds fond memories of motorsport in general over the years gone by - but also some less fond memories when you look at recent years and losing such names as Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.

It is still the home of the 'prancing horse', though, and the tifosi are an extremely passionate crowd. I think, to kick off the European season there, is always a big thing.

I don't think the tifosi will be put off by Ferrari's recent lack of form either. I don't think they are ever put off turning up for the event. Interestingly though, if Ferrari don't do so well during the race, they do dwindle away as the grand prix goes on, which is strange to watch. But I think, when everything kicks off, they will be there in force.

As we saw in the last race, Ferrari has definitely got pace again, thanks to the new car. We just have to see whether they have got reliability and durability this time out...

The Bahrain GP was quite decent though, wasn't it?

I thought there were some moments of excitement and some displays of skill and talent - overall, it was very good.

Renault took their third win of the season and Fernando Alonso made it look easy, but he's that sort of guy though. When he gets out in front, he doesn't seem to ever be flustered and, when he is out there, he seems to be able to win races with a considerable margin.

Renault has got everything working where they need it to be at this moment in time too. The drivers are very confident, the car is working superbly. They're looking after their tyres and they are reliable. All the ingredients are there and they are coming up with the best cake come the end of the race! I think they have got a great chance of making it four out of four come Sunday.

The situation with Alonso and Fisichella will be interesting - obviously, it's an Italian grand prix and Fisichella will want to put on something special. The car is, I think, quite suited to Imola as a circuit. It does have exceptional traction and it's got good stability under braking - both very crucial for a place like Imola.

Furthermore, while Fisi's problems last time out in Bahrain showed the team have some little niggles, I don't think there will be too much concern. I think he should be pretty strong again when he turns up for this event.

Toyota did the business again in Bahrain, as if to emphasise the 'new order'.

Toyota and Renault have both been very competitive since the start of the season and they were, at best, third, fourth and fifth placing-wise in last season's averages. It has completely turned around, which is great for Formula One - it's great to see different guys and different manufacturers doing well.

Toyota is making progress in leaps and bounds. Whether there is enough gain to get to the top of the podium at Imola, however, we will have to wait and see.

Ralf Schumacher, in particular, has always gone well there. We've seen him compete there in cars from different manufacturers and usually have good results. We've seen Jarno Trulli putting in some great performances too, and also qualifying extremely well. Again, being the Italian's 'home' race, I'm sure a lot will be expected of him and I am sure he will want to give a lot as well.

McLaren took the third and fifth spots in Bahrain, and I think Pedro de la Rosa did a good job to walk into the situation and deliver at such short notice while standing in for the injured Juan Montoya. He was not that far off his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, in terms of speed either, and that's impressive, as Kimi is highly regarded. The Spaniard also definitely made the race quite exciting at times - so 'well done' I say!

Kimi put himself under a bit pressure with his qualifying performance. I think he felt he could have been stronger. During the race, as always, he just kept his head down, got the bit between his teeth and didn't let go until the chequered flag. I think there is more to come from Kimi and I think another race under de la Rosa's belt, if that's the case, would be good for him too.

McLaren may yet have to do without Juan Montoya this weekend, following his 'tennis injury', and it begs the question who do they put in the second car? de la Rosa or Alex Wurz?

I have to say, at this moment in time, I would personally stick with de la Rosa. If you are going to have another guy in the car, and if they have already got one grand prix worth of experience and data, and working with the team behind them, and you only have one more event maybe to look at, it would be the most logical step to remain with him.

If there is another guy coming in - and we have seen the trials and tribulations of Alex Wurz, with his poor fit inside the cockpit of the car - it might be disruptive. If McLaren have managed to source a fix for the cockpit problem, then that is good, but everything may hinge contractually, although, knowing McLaren, I'm sure the decision will be very much based on experience and the most logical way forward.

As for Montoya being out, it's a shame, as he and Kimi are the guys with the most experience in the car as it is. Nobody will be happy to see that happen - although I'm sure the reserve drivers are quite thankful that they have got an opportunity, as long as nobody has got hurt to much.

Montoya won't be very happy with himself, however, because he knows he is missing valuable points and winning opportunities - and that is something that is going to catch up with him come the season end.

At Williams, it's interesting to see how the pressure seems to be building on Mark Webber. He looked set for a podium in Bahrain prior to his spin late on...

He has not really quite delivered to the expectation at the beginning of the season. I think there was a lot of talk about Mark... We have always said, during seasons gone by, that we think he has got great talent and some ability, but we have yet to see him up against a super strong team-mate. Let's not take away the fact that his best result has been a fifth. He has now got the equipment, and I think he has still got the ability, to get a great result, but I think he just needs to get that result before he goes to that next step.

It might just be that the pressure on his shoulders at the moment is a bit too strong but, if he does get on that podium, he will go to a new level. Much the same as what happened to Jenson Button over the course of last season. When everything came into play and he got the podium, then everything just hit home and it continued to hit home.

Of the rest, Sauber have one driver who is doing the business - and another that isn't.

Felipe Massa is the one that is shining, something cemented following his fine seventh place finish three weeks ago. He seems to have slowed his driving style down inside the car. He was quite busy in the cockpit when he started out, but that seems to have been smoothed out. He looks a lot more relaxed at the wheel and I think it is beneficial for him.

Jacques Villeneuve, however, is having a torrid time. If you had any thoughts of going into F1 and starting the season off like this, it would be your worst nightmare. With his credentials and the 1997 world championship sitting there on his CV, there is obviously pressure - and he is not really going forward. There are a lot of people asking big questions about how long he will be around. We will have to see whether anything changes - but I'm sure he is coming under an intense amount of pressure.

It was a little bit unfortunate with David Coulthard and himself having a tangle towards the end of the race in Bahrain. They are good buddies off the circuit but, at the end of the day, racing is racing and nobody is your buddy on the track.

Moving on to DC and Red Bull... Following that tangle, the Scot gained another point, but I wouldn't put it down as a great race for DC, especially as he was outpaced by Christian Klien all weekend long. The point really came by default as well. But don't underestimate DC. He is a solid performer and I think Imola will show a nice result again for him.

It's also interesting to note that there will be a change in the RBR line-up for San Marino, with Christian Klien being replaced by Vitantonio Liuzzi - at least for the next three events.

I think Klien has stepped up to the plate so far this season. I was somewhat reluctant to give him any good credentials from last season, as I don't think he did a stellar job. But he's definitely has been doing a stellar job this season. It is interesting to see why they have made a change. Maybe that was always the case. Who knows?

Did Klien enter F1 too early in 2004? I think it was probably a tough environment to come into F1 when he did, and coming in with the Jaguar organisation at that point didn't help.

The car has definitely shown an improvement in performance over last season however. It is in different colours, but obviously it is slightly different, because it is a lot more reliable. It looks to be more user-friendly and they are scoring points with it, which they never did on such a consistent basis before.

I think Klien has also got to terms with it, and maybe it suits the regulation changes and the way the car's character is. Maybe it's a little bit less sensitive, which helps him. I'm not sure. But he has definitely come into the year with a different style of attacking things, and it's paying off.

Liuzzi, however, has got good potential. He has definitely got the hallmarks of success behind him, with his F3000 season from last year. He has been testing well on a Friday too, so let's see what happens. Another Italian for an Italian race - it's a good strong grid for the Italians.

It's strange to only now come to Ferrari, but that's where they were in Bahrain - way down the pack. I think it is fair to say the new car was a flop by their standards, because it never really pulled a great result out of the race.

It did however show great pace. Where the headache is seems to be the tyres - either the car is wearing its tyres out excessively, or the tyre is wearing out excessively, which is a Bridgestone problem. Whatever the reason, we will have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure, it needs to be improved quickly. Otherwise the 'red team' is going to be losing so many points that they will be struggling to catch up.

At this moment in time, the feeling is that they are very much on top of what needs to be done and will turn up at Imola with something that will get the job done. Everybody's fingers are crossed that we don't see a red 'whitewash', which sounds crazy, but we are also hopeful we will see a fantastic race and a Ferrari racing wheel-to-wheel with other cars.

BAR were another of the strugglers in Bahrain - their form a stark contrast to 2004 when they amazed many people down the pit-lane. We've reflected on this before, but it's one thing getting there and another thing staying there. Unfortunately, at the moment, that is a subject they have got to address.

They aren't there and they should be. They have got two guys who they know very well - one of them a great performer who stood on the podium several times in 2004 and is eager to win races. They have got Honda now very much more involved, and they will make progress for sure, but I think there is an element of frustration that it's not coming together at the level they wanted.

As usual, there's not much to say about Jordan and Minardi... although at least the latter will get their new car out on track this weekend.

They are hoping to take the fight to Jordan a bit more and, while there might be an element of that this weekend, I think it will be surprising. But, there again, maybe Minardi will surprise us full-stop, and come out with something which is very much a strong development over what they have had in previous seasons.

But they are having a tough time, make no mistake about it. Resources are not what they should be and not what they are at the front of the grid, so they don't have the levels to develop. You just have to take your hat off to them for turning up every race.

To sum up... I see Trulli taking the pole, while the race win will go to Fisichella, with Kimi second and Trulli, third - then maybe the two Ferraris, with Michael in front of Rubens, with Alonso completing the top six.

Will they end up like that? Who knows!

Enjoy the race...

MB