Mad season

The start to another season is almost upon us. And this one promises to be different. Of course, not that I'm saying Michael Schumacher's domination of the sport is over, but for once, my loyalty is wavering. Narain Karthikeyan has become the first Indian to break into F1 racing; he's signed with Jordan for this season. Narain is a relatively late entrant to the F1 scene, given the fact that most F1 drivers start in their early 20s. It remains to be seen whether he can keep up with the pressure and rigours of a high-speed race every two weeks, a question of fitness and stamina, not something that Indians are known for.

This season will see only Ferrari and BAR-Honda retain their drivers from the last season. Toyota, Jordan, Minardi and BMW-Williams have completely new drivers, Jaguar Racing has died away to be replaced by Red Bull Racing - albeit still powered by the Cosworth engine - and McLaren-Mercedes has one new driver. Coming on for Toyota are Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, Jordan have Narain and Portuguese Tiago Monteiro making their debut in Formula 1 racing, Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers debut for Minardi, while David Coulthard has found a driving seat with Red Bull and partners Christian Klien.

Juan Pablo Montoya has moved to McLaren-Mercedes in one of the most closely watched team changes. It'll be interesting to see whether the reliability problems that plagued him when he was with BMW-Williams, will disappear with McLaren-Mercedes. Of course, Montoya has also got an equally aggressive - and impetuous - teammate in Kimi "Iceman" Räikkönen. In addition to the rest of the pack, these two will be racing each other just as hard.

This season also sees the return of the mercurial Jacques Villeneuve, who will drive for Sauber Petronas replacing Giancarlo Fisichella after his move to Renault. Villeneuve was forced to sit out the last season after losing his driving seat with BAR at the end of 2003. Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld move to BMW-Williams from Jaguar and Jordan respectively.

That apart, all the changes in the regulations and qualifications will definitely make a big difference to Ferrari. The engines will have to last longer, the tyres will have to last the duration of the whole race and the qualification process itself has been changed to provide a level playing field. That will slow down the pace of the race considerably. The biggest challenges to Ferrari will come from Renault, BAR-Honda, Toyota and Williams. The analysts predict that these changes will definitely put a spanner in the works for Ferrari. However, it also means that the reliability and performance of the other teams will also have to increase, because Ferrari have been the most reliable in terms of engines and strategy in the past - especially last season! It remains to be seen whether the other teams click this time around.

Know something? I think they won't. I predict we'll see the Tifosi run away with yet another title!