Blundell's view: Monaco Grand Prix.

Hi folks...

F1 goes to Monte Carlo this week for the Monaco Grand Prix - a special race which takes place in unique surroundings.

It is an interesting venue, where everything happens on some of the narrowest streets in Europe. It is surrounded by glamour and glitz and it is a great circuit to drive.

Monaco is something very special for a driver, especially to go around there in a Formula One car. Obviously, it is steeped in tradition. You grow up seeing all these famous corners and, when you actually get to drive it, it's very rewarding. It is quite tricky though, and there are a lot of nuances there that you have to pick up - following people around is the easiest way to learn. There are a few gullies and things that you have hook the wheels into and you can pick up a huge amount of time once you get the flow of the circuit.

It is not an easy one to overtake on though. It can be done, but there is always a big risk factor.

The weekend normally produces some spectacular incidents somewhere along the line because, nine times out of ten, someone will clobber the barriers through a lack of concentration or slightly over stepping it. It is always exciting.

Of course, the most famous description of Monaco likens it to 'riding a bicycle around your living room' and I think that is fair. It is probably one of the most confined areas that we see F1 cars race in but, although it is confined, you are still hurtling around at some horrendous speeds - out of the tunnel, for example, you are probably doing around 185mph, and through Casino Square you are probably at 140-150mph. You are very much like a pinball in a pinball machine - you get knocked around. But it's thrilling.

I think, spectator-wise, it is as close as you will ever get to an F1 car while it is on track - sometimes just 25-30 feet in front of you.

On more conventional circuits so far this season, it has been all about Renault and Fernando Alonso and Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. However, while that is unlikely to change this weekend, I think maybe a couple of other contenders will poke their noses in too.

Honda might figure and I would hope McLaren will be stronger as well. I would also expect Williams to get a result there, especially in terms of qualifying.

While Renault and Ferrari have looked pretty even so far, Alonso was sensational last time out in Spain.

He was backed up too by Giancarlo Fisichella, who finished third. Fisi did a solid job, but the difference in pace between the two was less impressive. Whether Fisi had any problems I don't know, but there was quite a big discrepancy between their lap times.

The Spanish GP, however, wasn't especially good. It was slightly processional, which was a great shame. I was thinking we may have been in for something quite spectacular, but it didn't happen. That's the nature of circuit there though - you have the high speed corners coming on to high speed straights and a number of other corners with only one line, which makes it difficult to overtake. We saw that in some of the other races there too, so F1 was not on its own on that one.

Ferrari was Renault's closest challenger again and did well to finish 2-4, even if it couldn't battle for the win. It was very good showing, especially from Michael, but again well backed up by his team-mate, Felipe Massa.

Massa needs to really be a bit stronger so he can block out the pace of the Renaults and allow Schumacher to eat into the points margin Alonso has established, something that, at this moment, is not happening.

I've already mentioned that I think Honda and McLaren might shine this weekend and, if I had to choose one over the other, I'd probably go for the former. I think Honda may have something a little more user-friendly around the streets of MC. Definitely, chassis-wise, the RA106 is good over the kerbs; it accepts them, responds and recovers well, and I think that will be of benefit for them at the Principality. Fingers crossed Jenson Button can do well.

As for BMW Sauber and Williams, there wasn't much between them at the last event and they are very even-keel at this point.

However, I think that, as the season goes on, BMW have the potential to make more progress. It is going to take some time for them to get their feet under the table with the expansion going on at the original Sauber factory, but they have already got a very powerful engine and have got something very sensible chassis-wise. They probably have a stronger package than Williams-Cosworth at the moment too - although more so in terms of reliability than anything else.

Jacques Villeneuve's engine penalty in Barcelona was an interesting one, after his BMW V8 was damaged in transit. To me, it seemed quite harsh that he had to take a forfeit for something like that. It really shouldn't be the case in my view, as nothing has even happened on track at that point. But there you go, I don't make the rules.

Toyota didn't enjoy a good weekend in Spain, particularly as its two drivers clashed in the race. I'm not going to place judgement on who was at fault, as I didn't have good clear look at what went on - and therefore I wouldn't want to put blame on either Ralf or Jarno Trulli. But, obviously, team-mates clashing or colliding into each other is not ideal. We have seen it time and time again with various teams and drivers in years gone by. It does happen, but it is pretty much a team manager's worst nightmare. At least they will have their B-spec car this weekend, which might aid their cause slightly.

Of the others, what can I say?

I think it was an unusual scenario to see Scott Speed's V10 let go in the back of his Toro Rosso car, because we all thought they would be completely bullet-proof in that configuration, especially with restricted revs. He was having quite a sensible race as well prior to that so, all-in-all, not good.

STR and Red Bull Racing are both trying to keep their heads above water at the moment; to get some stability into the teams and make some progress. It doesn't seem to be happening at this stage of the season.

As for Midland, there is still a lots going on in the background - with rumours circulating about the team - but the main focus should be on track and what they can do to improve their performance. There are certainly no big leaps there currently, as is the case with Aguri Suzuki's team.

Franck Montagny is still in the second SA05 for Monte Carlo. He hasn't shone against Takuma Sato thus far but, while he is lacking test miles, it is a great opportunity for him and he has got to make sure he uses it.

So, to sum up, I think Alonso will take pole position but, in the race, Michael may have the edge, with Fernando having to settle for second, followed by Massa, JB, Kimi Raikkonen and Rubens Barrichello.

Enjoy the race...

MB

PS. One of the major headlines from a somewhat dull Spanish GP came off-the track, with news that Renault have committed to the sport long term, along with all the other GPMA teams.

That is brilliant news and it is important for people from the outside looking in to see that there is stability.

It is great that someone like Renault has opted for a long-term committment again to. The regie is a big name, a big manufacturer and currently the hot ticket as well.

F1 in general, needs to have platform that is stable, so that things can be put in place over the long-term. When you get manufacturers who commit five years ahead, and budget out on that course, they need to know that the rules and regulations will be stable and there is some light at the end of the tunnel there now that everyone has signed up to the same commitment.

Whether or not the rival series was ever a real threat is difficult to say. We will never know 100 per cent. But I think there was definitely some weight behind it, especially with several manufacturers associated with the idea. The problem was that, like most things in life, if there is constant change within the areas which are all part and parcel of the project, then it is very difficult to keep the consistency and the weight behind it to push forward. I think that was one of the areas of concern with that breakaway series and, as such, it couldn't sustain the pressure it needed to.

At least the threat of a split is buried now, as that would have been a disaster...