Murray Walker Interview

[narain fan 0]

MURRAY WALKER EXCLUSIVE

Former ITV Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker reckons grand prix racing enjoyed a vintage season in 2005.

The legendary pundit talked to ITV-F1 on the eve of his return to the 'mike with Grand Prix Masters about the season just gone and what it means for the future.

Find out what Murray had to say below and discover why he has lost none of his enthusiasm for the sport we all love.

ITV-F1.com: What did you think of this year's Formula 1 world championship?

Murray Walker: It was undoubtably the best championship we have seen for many years.

Partly because it was nice to see somebody other than Michael Schumacher and some team other than Ferrari winning and I say that as someone who has got the greatest admiration and respect for both a Ferrari and Schumacher.

But nobody wants to see the same team and organisation winning all the time.

And we had the revelation of Alonso and Raikkonen really coming into their own.

Two new superstars. It was a change in the top in F1 and very welcome too.

ITV-F1.com: Do you think that Fernando Alonso is the man to replace Schu at the top of F1?

Murray: It's clearly going to be between him and Raikkonen, I mean you can talk until you are blue in the face about the fact that Raikkonen would have won the championship if his car has been reliable all the time.

But the fact is, we don't know because his car wasn't reliable all the time and F1 is about car and driver, so in my mind the right man and the right team won the championship.

But whether Alonso is going to be able to continue to beat Raikkonen in the future depends entirely around the infrastructure around them both.

ITV-F1.com: Was the Japanese Grand Prix the best you have ever seen?

Murray: It might well have been the best one you have ever seen. Whether it was the best one I've ever seen I don't know.

I don't want this to sound pompous, but when you have done as many as I did, to be honest they tend to blur into each other and you tend to forget some of the great ones.

The Spanish Grand Prix in 1981 with Gilles Villeneuve, I was commentating on that, and it was absolutely rivetingly exciting.

Because there was a guy in a car that was slower round the corners but faster down the straights holding off people who had got cars that were faster round the corners and slower down the straights.

And he did it to the very end and about half a second covered the first four or five home – so that was tremendously exciting.

And Monaco in 1992, Mansell vs Senna, was fantastic.

There have been so many of them, but Japan has certainly got to be right up there amongst them.

ITV-F1.com: Do you think we are coming into a new era of great drivers such as we saw in the 1980's?

Murray: People sometimes accuse me of being an old-fashioned reactionary.

But in the '80s we had Rosberg and Piquet and Mansell and Prost to name four that immediately come to the top of my mind, racing against each other and they were all world champions.

For a long time now we have had essentially Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve who wasn't able to show what he could do as two world champions in F1.

But now we've got Montoya, we've got Raikkonen, we've got Alonso…

ITV-F1.com: What do you say to people that have written off Michael Schumacher?

Murray: The ill-informed are gleefully pointing out that Schumacher is over the hill and past it which is incredibly stupid, because Schumacher's problem in 2005 was not Michael Schumacher, it was the Ferrari and the tyres.

And they will have been stung into action.

Their pride will have been very badly hurt this season. I mean Italy is Ferrari and Ferrari is Italy and they have both taken a severe knocking in '05.

And they will be back, or should be back, in 2006.

But then I remember that at the beginning of 2005 I did a big preview article for F1 Racing in which I confidently said that you can forget about everybody but Schumacher because he will blow them all away and how wrong can you be!

[Max Mosley 2]

Well the great man has spoken. His comments on KR vs FA are a masterpiece of evading the issue and I personally think MS is past his best but as is the way in F1 he could still win the title given the best car. He's right about last season being good though and I'll have to look up the races he mentioned.

[Senna 0]

Well the great man has spoken. His comments on KR vs FA are a masterpiece of evading the issue and I personally think MS is past his best but as is the way in F1 he could still win the title given the best car. He's right about last season being good though and I'll have to look up the races he mentioned.

Indeed.

[nojvnof1 0]

For a long time now we have had essentially Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve who wasn't able to show what he could do as two world champions in F1.

indeed.

[Taku 0]

"For a long time now we have had essentially Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve who wasn't able to show what he could do as two world champions in F1.

But now we've got Montoya, we've got Raikkonen, we've got Alonso

[bajo39 0]

interesting - he still rates montoya up there...

He probably hasn't seen any races since 2003(?) when Montoya was still highly over-rated. That's the only explanation I can come up with...

[Senna 0]

For a long time now we have had essentially Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve who wasn't able to show what he could do as two world champions in F1.

Jenson showed what JV was incapable of doing.

[bajo39 0]

Jenson showed what JV was incapable of doing.

I think it was more BAR that showed us but anyway...

[nojvnof1 0]

...we'll just let the JB fans keep deluding themselves that they beat JV when he was at his best.

[bajo39 0]

...we'll just let the JB fans keep deluding themselves that they beat JV when he was at his best.

I suppose we must...

[Senna 0]

...we'll just let the JB fans keep deluding themselves that they beat JV when he was at his best.

Damon Hill beat him in 1996. Jenson beat him in 2003. Alonso beat him in 2004. Massa beat him in 2005. When was JV at his best, in your opinion?

[pumpdoc 2]

Damon Hill beat him in 1996. Jenson beat him in 2003. Alonso beat him in 2004. Massa beat him in 2005. When was JV at his best, in your opinion?

Yes, do tell..................

[bajo39 0]

Yes, do tell..................

In 1997 when he became World Drivers Champion although somme of his finest drives were with BAR in the early days of that team.

[pumpdoc 2]

In 1997 when he became World Drivers Champion although somme of his finest drives were with BAR in the early days of that team.

His 1st year at BAR was a sad joke, although his car crashing performance at SPA was memorable.

[Senna 0]

His 1st year at BAR was a sad joke, although his car crashing performance at SPA was memorable.

JV

[pumpdoc 2]

JV

[Senna 0]

I believe that David Hobbs said to the effect--He's got big balls---to crash so bad and keep coming back for more.

In a sense it was admirable and the trait of a true racer but in another sense it was foolish as it was potentially dangerous, lost him track time and annoyed his mechanics who had to rebuild his car.

[jimmyk 0]

QUOTE(narain fan @ Nov 14 2005, 05:32 PM)

For a long time now we have had essentially Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve who wasn't able to show what he could do as two world champions in F1.

Jenson showed what JV was incapable of doing.

I dont think Murray was saying MS and JV were in the same league, merely they are both ex-WDCs....

JV was a lost cause ,in my book, from the time he snaked Jensen and pulled in to pit a lap early, disadvantaging his team and teammate. His seems to think he just deserves to be there now, he doesnt respect F1, fellow drivers or even the teams he has driven or drives for now...

[Jem of the Shire 0]

JV for about 4 years (99-03) was a miserable arrogant twat but since his comeback in late 04 he seems ok and I actually want BMW to keep him. nojvnof1, whilst I admire your encyclopadia-like knowledge of JV's 2003 season, I as a JB fan am not deluded! JV had a lot of retirements that year but Button generally had the better of him anyway.

[nojvnof1 0]

Damon Hill beat him in 1996. Jenson beat him in 2003. Alonso beat him in 2004. Massa beat him in 2005. When was JV at his best, in your opinion?

1999-mid 2001. 2000 was his best season in F1. He was voted driver of the year in Italy that year, the same year Michael broke Ferrari's WDC drought! He was in a legitimate P3 at Monza until his electronics failed, and was pulling away from Ralf. He was both quick and consistent, he had come of age, but alot of people didn't notice as he wasn't in a McLaren or Ferrari, if he was, I'd say JV would have won that title. Very subjective I know, but I feel he drove so well that year, he would have won it.

His 1st year at BAR was a sad joke, although his car crashing performance at SPA was memorable.

The BAR car was a joke, he wasn't. I recall F1 Racing wrote it was a criminal waste of talent. He often qualified in the top 10 and was racing in the points, but the car was a P.O.S reliability wise. He even raced with Michael for P3 at Barcelona for the first 20 laps or so. As for his crashes at Spa, the guy is a racer with big balls, he saw a challenge, and took it. Yeah he lost it big time in 1998 and 1999, but the guy is paid to push the car to it's limits as Craig Pollock rightly said, and he obviously went over it's limits, but at least he had the balls to push himself and the car.

I don

[pumpdoc 2]

The BAR car was a joke, he wasn't. I recall F1 Racing wrote it was a criminal waste of talent. He often qualified in the top 10 and was racing in the points, but the car was a P.O.S reliability wise. He even raced with Michael for P3 at Barcelona for the first 20 laps or so. As for his crashes at Spa, the guy is a racer with big balls, he saw a challenge, and took it. Yeah he lost it big time in 1998 and 1999, but the guy is paid to push the car to it's limits as Craig Pollock rightly said, and he obviously went over it's limits, but at least he had the balls to push himself and the car.

Yes the car was a joke, what did he start the season with 5-6 dnf's

[bajo39 0]

jem, I have always said that JB beat JV, he just wasn't thrashed, annihalated, destroyed, whatever some other's say. Reliability played a major role in the margin of the defeat, not the margin itself. All I'm saying is that JV was obviously mentally shot come 2003 and wasn't at his best, and if JV was at his best, he would have beaten JB, but he wasn't, and didn't.

[nojvnof1 0]

pump, his first finish was at Spa.

[pumpdoc 2]

pump, his first finish was at Spa.

Yes it was but didn't the car fail in many of the races before? I'll have to go back and look...........

[nojvnof1 0]

Yeah it did, that's my point. JV was often running in the points until his car would expire. The car was quick but could not last the distance. In order to gain reliability they lose alot of their speed. JV drove well that year. The annual Autocourse rated him as 7th best driver that year I believe it was. It highlighted how well he did even though he scored no points.