Preview - 2000 Season and Australian Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen are the only protagonists the experts would have us believe have a chance of success in 2000.

To a degree, they might be right, but the new season is far from as straight-forward as that. True, Schumacher and Hakkinen are the only drivers to have figured regularly at the forefront of grands prix in recent seasons, with the German there or thereabouts since making the big time eight years ago, but at least another six drivers have to be considered as potential race winners, if not title contenders.

Of course, the battle for the year 2000 drivers' championship will, more than likely, be fought out between the two great of rivals of past seasons, and both can expect their fair share of wins along the way.

Schumacher showed that he has lost none of his ability after crashing out of last July's British GP by, firstly, coming back in such commanding fashion in Malaysia last season to take Ferrari and team-mate Eddie Irvine to the brink of title glory and, secondly, by smashing lap records in winter testing with the largely unsorted F1-2000. True, he has not met his rivals face-to-face as yet, but remains confident that the latest product from Maranello will do the job from Melbourne on.

''We have done our homework, and the result is extremely positive,'' he said before departing for Australia, ''I can say it has been the best preparation I have experienced since joining Ferrari. [The F1-2000] is the Ferrari I have been dreaming of all the time. Everything looks good - aerodynamics, engine, handling - and the speed has been there almost from the first lap. And reliability has been much better than in all the previous years at a comparable stage of development.''

Hakkinen, meanwhile, fears nothing, and spent the latter part of the winter pounding around in McLaren's latest creation, the MP4-15. The car showed, right from the off, that it was quicker than its predecessor, but only the driver and his team know exactly how much it had in hand over its competitors.

The Finn admitted that the 1999 season took more out of him than he could have imagined, and spent much of the close season resting away from the track to regain his motivation. Now he is back, and raring to go in pursuit of a third consecutive title. Success would make him only the second man in the world championship era to complete a hat-trick, after the great Juan Manuel Fangio, and Hakkinen is ready to use whatever incentive he can to make history.

''I am hungry,'' he said, ''I am motivated and I am expecting another brilliant car. It is my desire to [keep up] with friend [and rally champion] Tommi Makinen, and to keep winning championships. He gives me a lot of motivation.''

And that would be that, if it were not for the spread of fastest times seen over the winter. Almost every team has spent time at the top of the timesheets - albeit often in different conditions - and more than one insider believes that this could be the closest season for some time, at least behind the top two.

Naturally, the next pair of candidates for race wins has to include the respective team-mates of the title contenders. David Coulthard again lines up alongside Hakkinen, while Schumacher loses dedicated, if somewhat disgruntled, number two Irvine and finds himself partnered by Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

Coulthard has spent so long beside Hakkinen that he is in danger of falling into the double champion's shadow. Already provoked into admitting that the Finn has done more to earn his crowns, Coulthard has steeled himself to give all in pursuit of success. Less time will be spent being a yes-man to the team and sponsors, as the Scot vows to concentrate on the job in hand, and even fianc?e Heidi has been classed as no distraction for a man determined to prove his critics wrong.

''I need more time for myself,'' he said amid a winter of test sessions, ''I am going to have to be more selfish. I have just had too much time for too many people. I am not going to stop being polite, but racing is my life, and what dictates how happy I am is whether or not I have had success in the car.''

Barrichello, meanwhile, is happy just to have the chance of success, having left Stewart for Ferrari over the winter. The Brazilian insists that there is no clause in his lucrative contract which insists Schumacher be given preferential treatment, but he may find by mid-season that the German is already out of reach, whether he likes it or not.

''I am racing to win,'' he maintains, ''I haven't come to Ferrari to be behind anyone. Obviously, if Michael is ahead of me halfway through the season, then I'll help him, but we have the same equipment, the same car, the same engine, and my aim is to win every race.''

Outside of the expected top four, the man who moved in the opposite direction to Barrichello will undoubtedly find wins as hard to come by as when he was Schumacher's team-mate. Eddie Irvine, for four years the German's lieutenant, knows that the road to glory with the renamed Jaguar team will be a long one, but he is keen to be the one to put the team on the map.

''I want to be winning and getting the points,'' he said, ''and I want to beat Jordan - that is my aim. It is coming together, but there are still some things that need to be sorted out. I have done lots of things that Jaguar haven't, and I feel like I am guiding them a little bit. That is our biggest issue, and it can't be anything other than a long-haul thing, but I really do want this team to succeed.''

Team-mate Johnny Herbert regained a taste for winning late last season, and all but secured his position on the grid as a result. He has wintered well, and is keen to take his testing form - when the R1 allowed - into the new season to stay ahead of Irvine. The pair had wildly differing results twelve months ago, with the Irishman taking his first win and Herbert retiring without crossing the startline.

''I've certainly got to do better than last year,'' Herbert grins, ''and I certainly don't want to be having my barbecues on the grid this time! Seriously, though, this is an important season for me, and I'm really keen to get started with Jaguar and the new car. As far as I am concerned, Eddie and I are equal - there are no number ones in the team - but I am not too worried, because I believe I can beat him. I am better prepared than ever before. I have been working with a new fitness trainer and have done more testing. I know that, this year, I have to turn my image around, and show people that I am up for the championship.''

Jaguar may be one of the few teams able to match Ferrari and McLaren for budget but, for the first few races at least, it is expected that the other 'J' team will be the one to come closest on the track.

Jordan surprised many with its form in 1999, especially as Damon Hill failed to contribute much to its overall total, but should be relied upon to consolidate its position as number three team this time around. Double race-winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen remains on board, with the eager-to-impress Jarno Trulli slotting in alongside. Both are keen to make their mark with the radical-looking EJ10, while team boss Eddie Jordan admits that anything less than a top three constructors' championship place will be a major disappointment.

''We have seen that the car looks competitive, and that it is better than the 1999 version,'' said Trulli, ''We had some little problems in terms of reliability in testing, but we solved them and are confident that everything is going to be okay. We are really looking forward to the races now.''

Behind the top four, the competition gets even closer, with Williams, Benetton, British American Racing, Sauber and Arrows all looking for possible points finishes in 2000.

Williams will be the team attracting most of the attention in Australia, if only for its bold decision to sign British rookie Jenson Button. The 20-year old has been at the centre of a discussion among the pundits as to whether he deserves his place in the top flight after just two seasons in car racing, but has, so far, managed to cope with the pressure admirably. On or around the pace of team-mate Ralf Schumacher all winter, the youngster could well surprise in the course of the season, and can guarantee that more than a few pairs of eyes will be on him throughout.

Schumacher, meanwhile, is looking to build on a 1999 season which finally marked him out as more than just the brother of a double world champion. Some of his performances in the ailing FW21 were sublime, and he rightly justified the critics selection as one of the drivers of the year. The new FW22, with BMW power replacing the old Supertec units, has had its fair share of problems in testing, but Schumacher is confident that it will be a good base from which to launch an assault on the learning curve.

''I am happy with the car,'' he said as it was packed away for the flight to Melbourne, ''The designers seem to have found a good solution with the aerodynamics and mechanics to give it good grip. I would like to win a grand prix this year, but there is plenty of time for that. What I really hope for is to have a similar season to last year, but there is no disguising the fact that it's going to be difficult.''

Benetton is in something of a quandary, having seen the technology-laden B199 fail miserably last year. The Enstone outfit managed to retain its talented, but frustrating, line-up of Giancarlo Fisichella and Alex Wurz, but lost designer Nick Wirth and team manager Joan Villadelprat in the process. The new B200 is a far simpler beast than its predecessor, but retains the Playlife-badged Supertecs which failed to produce the goods in 1999. This could be a vital year for the team.

BAR, too, has much to prove, after spectacularly failing to live up to its own hype in 1999. A tighter, more cohesive, unit will take to the tracks this year, aiming to finish races as much as anything. The 002, now powered by returning giant Honda, has shown commendable reliability in testing, but so far lacks the pace to worry the frontrunners. Team leader Jacques Villeneuve, however, is confident that Honda will get to the root of the problem before too long.

''I have said it before, and I will say it again, that I didn't get into racing not to fight and win,'' the Canadian pointed out, ''Nor did I get into this team not to fight and win, so that has to be the goal. I think there is every chance that we will have a good season, and maybe surprise a few people.''

Sauber and Arrows may not be everybody's choice of midfield runners in 2000, but both have shown enough in testing to warrant at least a mention in the same breath as the three previous outfits.

Sauber continues in the same vein as every other season, looking solid, if unspectacular, during the winter and fervently hoping that it can keep pace with its opponents as the year wears on. Both Pedro Diniz and the newly arrived Mika Salo have shone on occasion in testing, but not even the Swiss team will believe that it can be challenging for wins this year.

For the Finn Salo, a seat with Ferrari's engine depository is something of a let down after subbing for the injured Michael Schumacher last season, but he will be grateful just to have a permanent seat in the top category. Diniz, meanwhile, continues to prove that he is worthy of a seat, but must seek to improve his finishing record still further.

Arrows has already enjoyed a more successful year than in 1999, landing a major sponsorship deal with mobile 'phone company Orange with only days to go to the first race. The added finance should help to propel the team deeper into the midfield, after spending a year battling with Minardi for the back row of the grid, and may even allow drivers Pedro de la Rosa and returnee Jos Verstappen to build on their impressive testing form.

''I think that, as a team, we are all looking much stronger than last year,'' said the Spaniard, ''We are going to Australia having set very quick times in pre-season testing, and the team has a much stronger package on the technical side. The car is much quicker and I also have one more season of experience. It is still a big question mark where we will be, and how competitive we will be, against the other teams, but we are much more competitive than last year.''

Arrows' likely progression back into the midfield leaves Minardi once again rooted to the foot of the F1 ladder. This season, though, it could well be joined by the unlikely shape of Prost, which has struggled throughout the winter with a recalcitrant AP03. The troubles have sparked off further disagreements between the team and engine supplier Peugeot, who look unlikely to continue in partnership beyond the end of the year, and could see the French operation scrambling for places until the mid-season. Veteran Jean Alesi has already shown at Sauber that he will not put up with an uncompetitive machine, while rookie Nick Heidfeld may not be able to shine as many expect him to, creating more than enough headaches for charismatic team boss Alain Prost.

''You could say that the first race will be something of a public test session for us,'' he admits, ''but it is the only way to catch up on the delays we have suffered. In effect, we will be arriving in Australia with a brand new car - and by that I mean even in comparison with the one we have tested up to now!''

Minardi, meanwhile, continues to be Minardi. Ever cheerful despite its never-ending struggle with money, the Italian minnow at least has the satisfaction of having earned a point in 1999, and, with it, the chance to receive its share of the FIA pot. Primary sponsor Telefonica has also taken a greater interest in the team this season, leading to the signing of Argentine rookie Gaston Mazzacane alongside Marc Gene, but the failure to land either Supertec or Cosworth engines means that Minardi is lumbered with the same ageing Ford Zetecs it used last year. The back row, unfortunately, beckons once again.

So, as we pointed out earlier, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen are the only protagonists the experts would have us believe have a chance of success in 2000. All may not be as straight-forward as it seems, however.