In this week's column, Ann Bradshaw talks about how important this weekend's win will be to Juan Pablo Montoya, the prospects for his replacement, and about what happens now for the struggling teams next year...

As the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix approached viewers on ITV were shown an interview with Connie Montoya who could hardly watch as her husband sped towards his first win since last year's German Grand Prix. It seems she kept peeping into the McLaren area to catch glimpses of his WilliamsF1-BMW car leading his next year's team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen in his McLaren-Mercedes. While I could feel for her I could also feel for Sir Frank Williams, who was watching from the UK. Observers at race meetings will know Frank never shows his emotions in such circumstances, and I am sure things were no different despite being able to watch from the privacy of his own factory. However, he cannot have failed to have been delighted as at the eleventh hour his team was saved from one of the things he hates most – a year with no wins.

I suspect that final win was not the only thing on Frank's mind so, as Juan Pablo paid tribute to Frank in his post race interviews, I am sure the team boss must have been sitting there rueing lots of things. One of his main rivals McLaren now has the services of Juan Pablo and, following his performance in Brazil, must be very happy with what they are getting. Then after three months of wrangling and making lawyers richer Frank found out last Wednesday that he did not have the services of Jenson Button for 2005. Although I am sure he was not surprised at the outcome of the Contracts Recognition Board, he must have still been bitterly disappointed as he was set to have a dream team of Jenson and Mark Webber for the next few years.

He now has the task of finding a replacement, and I personally hope he plumps for Antonio Pizzonia, as he has more than proved he can drive the car and, with a few more races under his belt will be ultra competitive. However, Frank can afford to take his time as there are quite a few good drivers out there who at the moment only have their P45s to look forward to. Sadly David Coulthard didn't pass his test at the weekend. His qualifying and racing performances did not match those of his team-mate. Nick Heidfeld has been a star in previous formulae and so perhaps with the right car he could be up there again winning, and I am sure BMW wouldn't mind a German driver. Then of course there are lots of youngsters who might tempt him; the team took Jenson straight from Formula 3, and now has a couple of sons of former drivers who may seem very tempting in Nico Rosberg and Nelsinho Piquet. I don't envy Frank his task.

Anyway back to the race last weekend. I am sure after qualifying most safe gamblers would have put their money on Rubens Barrichello to win; after all he was on pole by two tenths of a second, and the home fans must have given him added impetus. Also, out of the past 11 races In Brazil he had only finished once, so it was a matter of unfinished business. At the end of the day it was not really anything Rubens didn't do on the track, it was more down to the tyres as the Michelin intermediates were better than the Bridgestones, and by the time the drivers were changing onto dry tyres after a handful of laps the damage was done. Rubens gave it his all, Michael struggled and even had a spin on his charge from the back, but Juan Pablo had an added incentive to win; he had Kimi behind him.

When Juan Pablo goes to McLaren he will have to fit into a team where Kimi has been the 'star' for the past three years. Entering a team where one driver has tended to dominate is not easy, and Juan Pablo knows this. However, if he arrives having beaten him fair and square in their last encounter then this will give the Colombian a psychological advantage over the Finn. If Juan Pablo can go in there with this win and exert his charm on the 'boys' and 'girls' at McLaren then he may put himself in the driving seat.

I am sad that his final year at WilliamsF1 has not been as happy as it should have been; from all reports his relationship with the team has not been good. I met and worked with him in his first year in 2001, and I had a lot of fun with him. He is a bit like a naughty school boy, and that is why neither of us were worried at our respective nicknames for each other – Grandma for me and Monster for him. It was that sort of relationship. He would play me up, but he knew that if he eventually did as he was told there was something in it for him, a bit like a child being bribed with sweets to be good. For Juan Pablo it was his hats, as he wanted to give them to all his friends and fans. Anyway I wish him well at Woking. I have never met Kimi so I don't know what he is like to deal with, but I can't imagine he could be as much fun as Juan Pablo, so this is surely going to be an advantage for Monster.

While the loss of Jaguar Racing is serious for the sport, the team has been able to look on the more humorous side of things and since Spa a blow up donkey has accompanied it to all the races and done most of the jobs that team personnel do. A visit to www.donkeydoesf1.co.uk is worth it to see it performing these tasks. Donkey has now been to his final race and appeared on the grid in the arms of Mark Webber. Donkey has been signed by all the drivers and famous people in the paddock, including Bernie, and will now be auctioned for charity.

Unfortunately an F1 commentator suggested that perhaps Donkey was even driving in Brazil after the bizarre coming together between Mark and his Jaguar Racing team-mate, Christian Klien. Seeing team mates clash is nothing new, but in such circumstances was a big shame. In the post race release neither driver took the blame with Mark suggesting 'he appeared not to see me coming' and Christian saying 'I didn't think he was close enough to overtake but he tried it and we collided'. It ended with Mark watching the majority of the race from the corner where his car, minus its front wing was parked, and I would have loved to have been in the garage when he got back to hear who the team thought had been the donkey!

After seeing all the stories coming out of Brazil over the weekend I was almost surprised to see there was time to go racing. Obviously the good news included that it now looks likely Toyota will provide Jordan with engines for 2005. It looks highly unlikely Jaguar can now be saved, so anything that is done to secure the future of other teams that have problems has to be welcomed. As for Team Dubai F1 I await with interest what happens there; a lot has been said about this, and I am sure the Dubai ruling family have no problems welcoming such operations to set up offices in the United Arab Emirates, but I somehow don't think they will be putting their money into this. Dubai is now a centre for motorsport, but I am certain the people involved with such ventures as a future Grand Prix and the Dubai Autodrome will be very careful how they spend their money and want to see returns for their investments, which they might not get from an F1 team.

I cannot believe Brazil heralded the end of another F1 season. Records and hearts have been broken this year, and it is certain that F1 will look very different next year. I hope the teams can agree on what will be done to make the racing cheaper and more exciting. Although I would never put my hand in my pocket to pay to buy a ticket for a circuit, I would never miss watching a race on TV. In the UK we are still in the middle of a Mexican stand off between Bernie Ecclestone and the BRDC over the British Grand Prix. One day we get stories that it is all over, the next that nine out of ten teams have agreed on cost cutting measures that would allow an 18 race calendar that would include Silverstone. Sadly the British fans, who are perhaps the most loyal in the world, may be the losers in all this.

On top of that they may also be very short of heroes next year. If David Coulthard does fail to land a drive then they will most probably be down to one Brit in the field, Jenson Button, who I feel has not really acted in the way the Brits feel a hero should. Although I am sure lots would have loved to see him winning races for WilliamsF1 and so following in the footsteps of Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, I think the way Jenson was led to want to abandon a team that had done everything possible to make him a star was not viewed as 'proper'.

It was gratifying to see both sides in this battle accept last week's decision, but some of the players came out of this rather badly. I am sure we will never know the real truth as to why Jenson's management thought this was a good idea, but they must have had a strong case to persuade Frank to sign him as he always refused to poach staff, no matter what their roles, from other teams. Anyway what will now be interesting is to see if both BAR Honda and the WilliamsF1 can keep up their momentum and not only give each other a run for their money but also break the Ferrari domination next year.

About the author:
Ann Bradshaw - Annie - began her motor racing career as a teenager, helping out her brother in local rally races in England, where she grew up. In the 1970s she organised motor racing events in England, and was later the press officer for the RAC MSA - the motorsport governing body in Britain. In mid 1980s, she became press officer to team Lotus, where she worked with Ayrton Senna. Shortly after, she moved to the Williams team and was working there for several years, when once again she found herself working with Senna. She worked with Damon Hill after the Brazilian's death, and moved with the British Champion to Arrows. She also worked with the Panoz team in the United States, before becoming a freelance press officer, now working with BMW among others. Annie joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in April 2002.

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