Brundle: Montoya faces McLaren axe.

ITV F1 commentator, Martin Brundle has predicted that Juan Pablo Montoya could be the odd one out at McLaren-Mercedes at the end of this year, when reigning world champion, Fernando Alonso joins the team from Renault.

Speaking to Crash.net Radio recently, Brundle added though that while McLaren boss, Ron Dennis would love to have Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen on his books for 2007, in his view that probably won't happen as Raikkonen could well end up elsewhere - namely at arch rivals, Ferrari, especially if Michael Schumacher opts to retire.

This season meanwhile is now getting closer and closer and Brundle is already excited in the count down to the first grand prix in Bahrain on March 12.

"I think 2005 will be a good year [for F1]," said the former McLaren, Jordan, Ligier and Tyrrell driver. "I think there will be some strange results in the early stages because of reliability issues with the new V8 engines and just because people will still be finding their way with lots of fundamental changes.

"They will have much less powerful engines, which will obviously use less fuel, different cars therefore different strategies and they've re-introduced tyre changes. So it is very difficult to predict what exactly will happen in the early stages. But the cream always comes to the top, so the usual suspects will be getting the job done by mid-season.

"For sure I think Michael is looking for - and looking like having a much better year in '06 than he did in '05. So you have got to assume he will be in there with Kimi and Fernando and hopefully there will be a few others in there as well, a few surprises."

As for the news that Alonso has already agreed a deal with McLaren for 2007, Brundle reckons it 'makes a lot of sense' when you 'sit back and analyse it'.

"We don't know where Renault is going [post 2006]," continued Brundle, "so maybe there is a message there with what's happening. Alonso clearly made a decision to accept an offer with what is a very significant team. I'm sure it suited him technically and I'm sure it suited him financially, so all in all its a major coup for McLaren because they destabilise their main competitor.

"Immediately they have got a top driver in bag so they have got somebody to talk to their sponsors about. They've announced Vodafone as well - and they've announced it early. It will keep their current two drivers on their toes too and certainly it erodes, to a certain extent, their negotiating position with McLaren for the future. So it's an ace move by them.

"I feel a bit sorry for Renault though because they got the job done for Fernando and now his thank-you note is: 'by the way I'm off', but there you go, that's Formula One. I am sure McLaren's ambition now is to have Alonso and Raikkonen in the team [in 2007], but I have a feeling Raikkonen will be gone somewhere else..."