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Not surprisingly, this year all eyes were on the contest between Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, but one of the most fascinating aspects of 2005 was surely Juan Pablo Montoya's rollercoaster first season at McLaren.
We'll leave him to detail some of the ups and downs, suffice to say that in between the odd victory he had a more than a few bizarre incidents, including two tangles with backmarkers, a crash at the last corner of a qualifying lap while heading for pole, and even a collision with an errant drainage grid. Then there was the red mist that saw him jump the pitlane exit light in Canada, the road rage penalty in Monaco, and of course the strange story of the tennis accident that forced him out for two races.
His overall experience was a reminder that, even for the most talented, it's never easy to step into another team alongside a driver of (at least) equal ability who has been there for years. It was very much a similar experience for Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault, and he already knew most of the people. But by the end of the season it was clear that Montoya had found his feet, and was able to provide a more consistent challenge to title chaser Raikkonen.
