The Williams racing livery will be officially unveiled at the Jonathan Bulezuik casts his expert eye over the teams fighting for the 2008 F1 crown

What Frank Williams doesn’t know about All in all 2007 was a bit of a scrappy year, with Webber and probably isn’t worth knowing. His team have won nine Coulthard finishing in the points only seven times between constructors’ and seven drivers’ championships and when them. The team’s best result was third for Webber at the they line up on the grid in Australia they will be starting their , where Coulthard was fifth. I was hoping 30th season and 500th grand prix. I think Williams have for a really special Adrian Newey-designed car last season but suffered in recent years from the surge in manufacturer teams for whatever reason it didn’t perform as well as many had such as BMW, , Honda and . I hope that Frank expected. Red Bull certainly are a solid midfield team but now does not sell to a faceless brand because F1 needs Williams. is the time to push themselves and begin to climb the success This season the car has been looking good throughout testing ladder. Coulthard doesn’t have many seasons left and if he and both their drivers are extremely competent behind the was going to be champion it would have happened already. wheel. I reckon business might be about to pick up. Give Webber a good team-mate and fame and fortune beckon. 2008 chances: Competitive enough to challenge BMW David Coulthard 2008 chances: Same as last year. Maybe better, maybe not

Even ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone wouldn’t have dared to dream up the script of the 2007 F1 season. It was a year of spy scandals and £50m fines that saw deposed champion Grand Prix Date Start 1ST 2ND 3RD Toyota certainly have the passion to win and their pockets are Selling was the best thing Paul Stoddart ever did, and so deep money is not a problem, so why do they consistently even though Toro Rosso is viewed as Red Bull’s training camp it quit McLaren, come within a whisker of winning Australia, Melbourne Mar 16 4.30am under-achieve season after season? Their best result to date is is still very much a team in its own merit. (Did you think they third place in the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, and that is would finish ahead of Honda last season?) This year sees them the world title in his rookie season and Kimi Raikkonen steal the Malaysia, Sepang Mar 23 7am crown by a single point in the final race in Brazil. The good news unlikely to put smiles on the faces of the men in suits back in powered by engines once again and they also have the Bahrain, Manama Apr 6 11.30am Japan. Trulli is okay as drivers go, but he has this amazing benefit of sharing certain technical resources with Red Bull. for F1 fans – and Bernie – is 2008 has all the makings of the most ability to qualify well only to promptly fall away once the race Last year was a rather lacklustre one for the team, highlighted Spain, Barcelona Apr 27 1pm starts and struggle to stay in the top ten. Glock is the current only by them claiming fourth and sixth places at the Chinese competitive season yet. Will Alonso regain his title (or his GP2 champion who, thanks to some disqualifications, scored Grand Prix. However, Vettel is no slouch and Bourdais has Turkey, Istanbul May 11 1pm two points in his first-ever F1 Grand Prix back in 2004. It remains raced in IndyCars, at Le Mans and has held the US Champ Car composure)? Will Hamilton go one better? Or will the ice-cool to be seen whether the 2008 car is any better than last year. title since 2004. Now it’s time to play with the big boys. Raikkonen have the last laugh again? Bring it on! Monaco, May 25 1pm 2008 chances: Double-figure points if they’re very lucky Sébastien Bourdais 2008 chances: Looking to be the best of the back-markers Canada, Montreal Jun 8 6pm , Magny-Cours Jun 22 1pm Britain, Silverstone Jul 6 1pm Germany, Hockenheim Jul 20 1pm Hungary, Budapest Aug 3 1pm Europe, Valencia Aug 24 1pm I’m the first person to admit being a fully paid-up member of Very interesting days lie ahead for Honda. Securing the services The F1 minnows achieved their first-ever points haul last the Tifosi and was probably the only Brit who didn’t mind Belgium, Spa Sep 7 1pm of the mighty Ross Brawn is a huge coup for the team. Brawn’s season with eighth place at the Spanish Grand Prix and sixth Lewis Hamilton losing the championship last season... because technical and strategical genius is unparalleled and his move place in Canada. Other than that, their best finish was 12th. Ferrari won. You can say what you like, but as McLaren started Italy, Monza Sep 14 1pm to Honda after a year off must have turned more than a few This season hasn’t started so well either, as they have done to implode Ferrari were there chipping away at their lead until Sep 28 1pm heads in the paddock. No, we can’t expect miracles from the minimal testing and are still struggling to finalise funding from Kimi Raikkonen claimed the title at the death. The Italian team Singapore (night race) man this season but the coming months will certainly give him investors and other ‘technical arrangements’. I think it‘s highly are definitely pre-season favourites and having Michael Japan, Fuji Oct 12 5.30am the information he needs to build a championship-winning unlikely that Super Aguri will do any better this year although Schumacher in a testing role means they can only benefit from team as he did with Ferrari ten years ago. However, a good stranger things have happened (remember his knowledge of racing cars without traction control and China, Shanghai Oct 19 8am team needs good drivers and I don’t think Honda have that Alonso’s McLaren last year?). The back end of the other electronic aids. It’s up to the rest of the grid to take the yet. Barrichello has had his day and Button has never lived up grid is more crowded than ever and, come Australia, it will be fight to Ferrari’s door this season. It’s a fight they will relish. Brazil, São Paulo Nov 2 TBC to the hype. Can you feel the wind of change? interesting to see which team rises to the occasion first. Kimi Raikkonen Takuma Sato Anthony Davidson 2008 chances: Odds-on championship favourites 2008 chances: A scattering of points, nothing more 2008 chances: Points, if all the top teams crash out first

These boys had a terrific 2007 season. They may not have had So the fallen hero has returned to his old stomping ground The team formerly known as Spyker, formerly known as McLaren must bring the fight to Ferrari’s garage door this season. the raw pace of Ferrari and McLaren but a BMW finished in the with dreams of repairing his shattered reputation. Team boss Midland, formerly known as Jordan. Their current owner is They were stripped of all constructors points last year and as a points in every race last season and their very respectable promises that history won’t repeat itself with an Indian billionaire who is CEO of a brewery and an airline, result have been relocated to the bottom garages of the pit-lane, final tally of 101 points was 50 more than third-placed Renault. Fernando Alonso and new driver Jr, who was making him the perfect F1 team owner! Money, alas, does not plus they have ceased technical development on certain Unfortunately this year they could be in trouble, the car has reportedly chosen ahead of Kovalainen because Heikki could bring rewards in this game as many people have found out. elements of their 2008 car. I think Hamilton and Kovalainen will been relatively uncompetitive during testing and it looks like be better than Alonso and that’s just not allowed. Piquet Sure he’s got a car, a couple of journeyman drivers and make a great pairing, and they should work alongside each the team have suffered from the two steps forward, one step comes from the same stable as Lewis Hamilton, Kovalainen probably a very capable group of mechanics but you need so other in total harmony, just like we thought would happen last back syndrome. When I saw the car on track in Barcelona the and Nico Rosberg – all young, all quick – and if Nelson Jr is much more in Formula One. Performance during a season is season. But let’s be honest, what sort of world champion is it front was covered in so many aerodynamic bits it looked like a anything like his father there could be some interesting times only the start and we’ll have to see whether are that whinges and whines and then threatens his own team? mutant antelope. Sadly, I think they’ll struggle this year and it’s ahead at Renault. The big question is whether Alonso will be accepted into the paddock and whether they have the You can be sure that Prost, Senna, Schumacher, Stewart, Hunt, even looking like Williams might have the measure of them too. throwing his toys out of the pram again in 2008? staying power of the likes of Williams, Ferrari and McLaren. Mansell, Lauda, Hakkinen et al would never have done that... Fernando Alonso Nelson Piquet Jr Lewis Hamilton 2008 chances: Hope for the best, plan for the worst 2008 chances: Capable of decent points and podiums 2008 chances: Finishing races, scoring points is unlikely 2008 chances: Title-fighting all the way to the finish line CMYK