Toyota have laid claim over the opening two grands prix to be arguably the most improved outfit over the winter months, with
Jarno Trulli unlucky to be denied a strong finish in Australia through electrical failure but making amends for that disappointment with a stunning run to fourth place on merit next time out. Team-mate
Timo Glock has yet to enjoy the same sort of fortunes – enduring an early bath in both his first two races since his return to the uppermost echelon this year – but both cars from the Cologne-based concern are again expected to be serious top ten qualifying contenders and points challengers this weekend.
Red Bull Racing and
Renault have thus far proved fairly evenly-matched towards the bottom end of the points-scorers with – rather embarrassingly for the
Régie – Mark Webber’s customer-powered RB4 beating Alonso’s R28 to the chequered flag for seventh spot in Sepang. Renault have candidly admitted they have much work to do if they are to fight for podium positions over the course of the campaign, while if RBR’s suspension woes have finally been resolved, expect both Webber and team-mate
David Coulthard to be in the mix for points once more in round three.
A little further behind and just out of the reach of points thus far,
Honda surprised many with their pace in Australia and Malaysia – given the RA108’s dismal winter testing form – and
Jenson Button and
Rubens Barrichello, experienced hands both, can be counted on to extract the maximum from the car in the desert heat. The two
F1 veterans may well find themselves battling it out with the
Scuderia Toro Rosso duo of
Sebastian Vettel and Sébastien Bourdais, both of whom have shown flashes of real promise in 2008, only for it to not quite be converted into solid on-track results for a variety of reasons.
