At the start of the season you would had been very stupid to had placed a bet on Toyota out scoring BAR Honda in the championship, BAR entering this season having been only beaten by the champions Ferrari in 2004, with Toyota yet to even score a podium. But the tables turned, BAR struggled for grip and pace allowing Toyota to kick start their 2005 championship just behind Renault with two back to back podiums with BAR not even touching the top eight. The battle between the two Japanese manufactures hotted up at Imola when finally BAR and Honda seemed to have a faster car, scoring their first podium with Toyota no where to be seen. But, their illegal fuel tank, handing them a 2 race ban killed any hope of catching rivals Toyota in the points.

Once BAR Honda returned, their car seemed slow, with Toyota still able to happily out score their Japanese rivals in Europe. Canada seemed to show new hope for BAR Honda, pole position and a podium finish was on the cards until Jenson stuck it in the wall. Again, Toyota were able to finish in the points. But at the mid way stage in France, BAR Honda finally got off the mark, but more importantly, finished ahead of Toyota in the race. The next two races in England and Germany would again see BAR Honda outscore their Japanese rivals Toyota, even taking their first podium of the season in Germany, with Toyota lacking pace and falling back into the mid field, Honda looked to had overtaken Toyota.

Hungary and Turkey would provide two different results, with Toyota finishing ahead of BAR Honda in one, with a reverse result in the other. But on the race track and on paper, BAR Honda seem to have the faster car, although way behind Toyota in the championship, their car is capable of podium finishes, whilst Toyota seem good for points finishes.

Monza, the engine breaker, will again provide us with more evidence. Who has the best engine and aero package? BAR Honda have been working hard on developing a race winning car, whilst Toyota have been working hard on a car which can be fast over a race distance. It looks as though the two Japanese manufactures are heading towards a huge climax in Japan in October, when in front of their home crowd the two will be battling on the racetrack like they have done all season, but this time, it will be more than just any old race, it'll be the one that decides who is greater.

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