There is a new paint scheme - although we have seen that car in several different paint schemes over the last few years with several different names attached to it. Let's hope that this situation now is going to have stability and give everybody the resources they need to try and improve.
With
Giancarlo Fisichella and
Adrian Sutil, they have two very respectable drivers and a nice mix of experience and youth.
Super Aguri, meanwhile, is on the other end of the stick at the minute. It seems to be struggling even to get to the first race. Lack of funding is obviously a key point and there are lots of rumours about equity partners and sponsor partners and whether
Honda is going to bail them out for another year or so.
It is a great little team though. They have put a lot of effort in and they deserve to be on the grid. If they can put an
F1 team out from scratch in such a short space of time - as they did - then I am sure they can overcome the problems they have got at present.
[Mark was speaking prior to the news on Monday that Super Aguri had secured its future after agreeing a deal with Magma Group - Ed].
So, to sum up, while I think Felipe will have the edge this year overall, I am going to opt for Raikkonen to take the pole and the race win in Australia, with the Brazilian taking the runners-up spot and Lewis third.
Then I am going to put Heidfeld in fourth followed by
Heikki Kovalainen and maybe Alonso.
Enjoy the race and look out for my next column on
Crash.net prior to the start of the European season and the Spanish GP.
MB
