From "The Emirates Evening Post"
There are nineteen Grands Prix in the 2005 Formula 1 season (more than ever before) which means that the championships (Drivers and Constructors) are more analogous with a marathon than with a sprint. With three Grands Prix now completed we are, therefore, still only in the preliminary stages of the race which will eventually lead to the crowning of a champion driver and a champion team. Those reading the runes and trying to predict the final outcome of this year’s championships would be well advised neither to rush to judgment not to place too much emphasis on the results of the early skirmishes. At this stage the main subject for debate both in the media and in the grandstands is whether we are witnessing the passing of the torch from the (in recent seasons) all-conquering Michael Schumacher and Ferrari to someone else. The rising young star Fernando Alonso (thirteen years Schumi’s junior) and his exciting Renault team are the clear favourites to succeed.
The Renault team, impressively led by the flamboyant Flavio Briatore, has made a perfect start to the 2005 season with victories in the first three races. In Formula 1 it has always been the case that what you need to succeed is a driveable chassis, a strong engine and top-class driver in the cockpit – and in 2005 it really does seem that Renault has this combination. When Briatore last won the world championship in the 1995 season with Benetton/Renault he also had all three. There was the young Ross Brawn as Technical Director to get the right blend of chassis and engine and Benetton also had the precociously talented 1994 World champion Michael Schumacher as his number one driver. Despite early season struggles this combination eventually proved unbeatable and both championships were comfortably secured with Schumacher leaving the field behind him in the Drivers’ contest by some distance.
In looking back ten years to the events of 1995, when Briatore was last a winner, I do so not to make predictions of a repeat performance this year, but (on the contrary) to suggest that those who write off Ferrari and Schumi at this early stage in the season need to think again. Two of the principal elements in Benetton’s 1995 success (Brawn and Schumacher) have been the key to Ferrari’s domination in recent seasons. In addition in Jean Todt Ferrari has the best and the most successful Managing Director in the sport. If another team wanted a Driver, a Technical Director or an overall man in charge there is no doubt that these three would be way ahead of the rest on their shopping list (if they could afford them).
So a cool evaluation of the prospects for the 2005 season (with thirteen Grand Prix still to go) would (in my view) still say that Schumacher and Ferrari are the favourites. The Ferrari organisation of recent years does not have the lack of depth that categorised their unsuccessful challenges in the more distant past. Whilst they have failed so far this season this is not attributable to any inherent lack of quality, even less to a lack of resources. Quite simply they have failed to get their new car up and running (and winning) in time for the early season races. Schumacher showed in Bahrain that despite the 2005 car being rushed into service it is a potential winner. He was close to getting pole position with this untested car and he competed close to Alonso for the first quarter of the race distance before mechanical troubles caused his first retirement for mechanical reasons for an amazing 58 races.
For the neutral observer the emergence of the challenge of Renault and Alonso is just what the sport of Formula One needed – and it is also pleasing to see that Toyota has arrived on the scene at last and is competing well. Indeed in the Drivers’ Championship the highest placed driver from the three teams that have dominated F1 since Benetton’s success in 1995 (Ferrari, McLaren and Williams) is Ferrari’s Barrichello in sixth place behind the two Renault drivers, the two from Toyota and David Coulthard who now drives for Red Bull!
Crucially there is now a three week gap before the next Grand Prix at Imola on 24th April. Over this time I expect Ferrari to be working hard to get the gremlins out of their 2005 car. In front of the Tifosi, who will be at Imola in their tens of thousands, I would be surprised if we fail to see a resurgent prancing horse and Schumi or Rubens (or both) on the podium.
The Renault team, impressively led by the flamboyant Flavio Briatore, has made a perfect start to the 2005 season with victories in the first three races. In Formula 1 it has always been the case that what you need to succeed is a driveable chassis, a strong engine and top-class driver in the cockpit – and in 2005 it really does seem that Renault has this combination. When Briatore last won the world championship in the 1995 season with Benetton/Renault he also had all three. There was the young Ross Brawn as Technical Director to get the right blend of chassis and engine and Benetton also had the precociously talented 1994 World champion Michael Schumacher as his number one driver. Despite early season struggles this combination eventually proved unbeatable and both championships were comfortably secured with Schumacher leaving the field behind him in the Drivers’ contest by some distance.
In looking back ten years to the events of 1995, when Briatore was last a winner, I do so not to make predictions of a repeat performance this year, but (on the contrary) to suggest that those who write off Ferrari and Schumi at this early stage in the season need to think again. Two of the principal elements in Benetton’s 1995 success (Brawn and Schumacher) have been the key to Ferrari’s domination in recent seasons. In addition in Jean Todt Ferrari has the best and the most successful Managing Director in the sport. If another team wanted a Driver, a Technical Director or an overall man in charge there is no doubt that these three would be way ahead of the rest on their shopping list (if they could afford them).
So a cool evaluation of the prospects for the 2005 season (with thirteen Grand Prix still to go) would (in my view) still say that Schumacher and Ferrari are the favourites. The Ferrari organisation of recent years does not have the lack of depth that categorised their unsuccessful challenges in the more distant past. Whilst they have failed so far this season this is not attributable to any inherent lack of quality, even less to a lack of resources. Quite simply they have failed to get their new car up and running (and winning) in time for the early season races. Schumacher showed in Bahrain that despite the 2005 car being rushed into service it is a potential winner. He was close to getting pole position with this untested car and he competed close to Alonso for the first quarter of the race distance before mechanical troubles caused his first retirement for mechanical reasons for an amazing 58 races.
For the neutral observer the emergence of the challenge of Renault and Alonso is just what the sport of Formula One needed – and it is also pleasing to see that Toyota has arrived on the scene at last and is competing well. Indeed in the Drivers’ Championship the highest placed driver from the three teams that have dominated F1 since Benetton’s success in 1995 (Ferrari, McLaren and Williams) is Ferrari’s Barrichello in sixth place behind the two Renault drivers, the two from Toyota and David Coulthard who now drives for Red Bull!
Crucially there is now a three week gap before the next Grand Prix at Imola on 24th April. Over this time I expect Ferrari to be working hard to get the gremlins out of their 2005 car. In front of the Tifosi, who will be at Imola in their tens of thousands, I would be surprised if we fail to see a resurgent prancing horse and Schumi or Rubens (or both) on the podium.
