By Emma Aitken
February 21 2008

2007 saw thrills, spills, spies and scandals. Will be 2008 hold the same excitement (minus the spies and scandals thanks very much!)? It’s looking highly likely from where I am sitting. Heikki is looking comfortable in his new McLaren and could Fernando bring a bit of magic back to a less than on form Renault? Let’s hope so.  2008: A Preview  2007 saw thrills, spills, spies and scandals. Will be 2008 hold the same excitement (minus the spies and scandals thanks very much!)? It’s looking highly likely from where I am sitting. Heikki is looking comfortable in his new McLaren and could Fernando bring a bit of magic back to a less than on form Renault? Let’s hope so. A four way race to the title would be something to behold. Let’s have a look at this coming season’s movers and shakers. Force India: A Force to be reckoned with (sorry, I couldn’t resist, that’s the last time I use that one, I promise!)? Increased budget – increased performance? Maybe; but not this season. They have all the potential for a rosy future though. New owner Vijay Mallya has a real passion for the sport so this time it looks like the name Force India is here to stay for a while. Mike Gascoyne remains as Chief Technical Officer. He and his team put together a half decent car last year, against the odds. That wise old bird Giancarlo Fisichella joins driving forces with the spirited Adrian Sutil, making a drivier line up that looks positive for the future progression of a blossoming team. But let’s chalk 2008 up to gaining experience for greater things to come. Super Aguri: Least said, sooner mended! It’s actually a genuine shame that this gutsy little team are in such a financial shambles due to a total lack of funds this season. It beggars belief that the Japanese racing world are not happy to step in and lift this burgeoning team to financial security but what can you do? I would love to report on how they are doing this winter with testing but who knows? This week’s plans to test at Barcelona have been scrapped and there is still no confirmation of a drivers line up which is a real shame, especially for Anthony Davidson. The simple truth is their contracts are on hold on the off-chance that a driver comes from somewhere to pay for his seat, although this seems unlikely. And if we do see some cars in action, they are last season’s Honda. Let’s leave it there shall we? Toro Rosso: I’m going to have to start with Sebastian Vettel. Did anyone see him in The Race of Champions last Christmas? What a driver. You could put this guy on a ride on lawn mower and he would be impressive. There may be a few worries about his partner in the team though. Sebastian Bourdais is new to the scene and may try too hard to keep his seat there and I truly hope this is not at the expense of his team mate. If the two can work well to support each other then they can easily pick up some decent points this season. The car is from an Adrian Newly design and they have Ferrari engines in them so 2008 should be looking good for them. That is if they don’t spend too much time fretting over their future, what with the cloning of teams being outlawed at the end of 2009! Toyota: Come on people! Let’s get it together this year. It’s beyond me to come up with a decent explanation as to why Toyota are proving to be such big under achievers. I would have imagined that a big shake up of the technical staffing would have been on the cards. Apparently not though, it would seem. The departure of Ralf sees the arrival of Timo Glock who brings with him a much needed injection of enthusiasm in to this rather insipid, lack lustre team. He appears to have what Master Schumacher did not have of late – determination. Jarno Trulli is back again and wouldn’t it be fantastic for us and fortuitous for the team if he could actually put some of that superbly skilful qualifying pace in to the races themselves? Of course, all the driving skill in the World is not going to help them if the performance of the TF108 isn’t much improved on last year’s effort.  Honda: It was rumoured that Jenson Button was given a present of a lighter attached to the RA107 that he drove for the last time in Brazil. Why? So that he could torch the useless machine when he thankfully climbed out of it for the last time. Let’s hope he did, and with relish! Will the RA108 fare much better? I am sure it will. All is well with the general optimism of the Honda Team. Why wouldn’t it be with the arrival of one Mr. Ross Brawn having joined the mix? I would certainly love to meet anyone mad enough to claim there was something negative to be said about him coming on board. Surely all of last season’s mistakes have been rectified and this season will see the team start to get the results it deserves. Their list of employee’s is certainly an impressive one from race engineers through to team principle. Brawn will have been given free reign to run the team as he sees fit. And according to Nick Fry at the launch of this season’s car Honda are definitely in it for the long haul so there is nothing like a bit of stability to get everyone’s confidence up. If this team’s performance issues are finally being rectified then it shouldn’t be look before Jenson Button is back on that podium. He has all the capabilities to get them there. He just needs a decent, reliable car. Rubens is bound to benefit from working with Ross again. It is looking better for Honda, but I suspect the real turn around of results will be seen in 2009. 2008 has ‘Learning Curve’ written all over it, though I do see a marked improvement on the way compared to last year. Red Bull Racing: If Adrian Newey and Geoff Willis have brought the best out of each other and the rest of the team then this could be an amazing break through season for those that have wings. Let’s look at the testing performances. The RB4 has beaten the likes of Williams, Renault, BMW and, dare I say it, a Hamilton driven McLaren on occasions this winter. Surely it is only a matter of time before the highly competent Mark Webber claims his first Formula 1 win. DC certainly still has what it takes to get there. I picture a very wet race followed by a one, two result for these highly competent men. But have they found the pace over the winter months to consistently be taking their place on the podium race after race? No, I think they should be content being hugely competitive in that over-crowded mid field section.   Williams: There have been ups and downs for good old Williams. 2008 should see them more on the up though. Nico Rosberg has been retained and for all the right reasons. He’s consistently quick and extremely smart. His new team mate, Kazuki Nakajima brings the right balance to the driver line up. His job will be to ensure Nico stays at the front of that mid-field pack as he is new to the scene, keen to impress and eager to learn. I think they will manage quite nicely together. The FW30 is looking sleek too. To the eternal blushes of Team Toyota, the Toyota V8 proves to be efficient and reliable in the hands of Williams, as does the William personnel. To progress through this season and look like future contenders to those crowns once again they must leave behind the mistakes of their previous seasons. If they do this then they could give, at the very least BMW a big headache this year. BMW-Sauber: If there is a serious contender to make that step up to battle it out with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari then BMW could be it. The team got cracking on focusing all of their attention on the development of the F1.08 towards the end of last season. A posh new computer system gleans information from the wind tunnel and correlates it with data obtained from the cars on track performance. This season’s on track performance lies at the capable hands of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica (you never know, the commentators may even settle on the correct way to pronounce his surname this year too!). It’s shaping up to be a decent car but have this pair really got what it takes to out drive the likes of Hamilton and Raikkonen or even Alonso if Renault are back on the pace? On their current form then I am inclined to say not at this stage. Let’s not forget that traction control is missing now which will probably sort out the men from the boys. They are certainly well placed to come away with third spot in the Constructor’s Championship though. Renault: Optimism flows through the Renault team once again due to the return of their wonder boy, Fernando Alonso. The R27 was something of a handful last season. Pat Symonds would have hopefully got to grips with the issues though and rectified them. Helpfully, they were aware of what those issues were so at least they knew where to start. They should have also settled in to those Bridgestone tires too which is going to help. I don’t want to harp on, but Fernando is back and if anyone can get the right set up out of a car than it is him. He always manages to find that sweet spot. With his help and guidance, young Nelson Piquet Jr should be aptly placed to have a great rookie season too. Obviously he isn’t going to set the place alight like Hamilton did in ’07 but he will certainly be a great help to Alonso with his bid to reclaim his title. The likelihood of that happening is slim though. The competition at the top of the field is just too great for Renault this year. Ferrari: Top end personnel reshuffles aren’t going to cause any ruffles at Maranello this season. Ferrari are a tight pack, they are all about working as a team! And what a team! Everything is looking just as exciting and happy over there as it always has. They have nothing to keep them awake at night, that’s for sure. The budget is a huge as ever and they have a double World Championship in the bag. Any worries about not managing without His Royal Highness Michael Schumacher at the wheel were quick to be quashed. The lack of traction control is certainly not going to be an issue for Kimi Raikkonen. If anything, I bet The Ice Man can’t wait to get out there and go racing without it (not that he will show it obviously!). Felipe Massa is a little power house all by himself. He’ll always be relied upon to pick up those valuable second place points to keep the Constructors title alive and can also happily pick up the spoils should Kimi fall to the way side (can’t see it though!). Actually, it’s quite depressing to write about it and read my own words reiterating a point that they are going to be tremendously difficult for anyone to get in front of this season.  McLaren: So, its out with that pesky little trouble maker and in with a charming, talented team player. Yes, Fernando has gone and Heikki has taken his place.  He also happens to very good too. In fact, I think Mr Dennis did a great job with replacing the old with the new. He will fit in perfectly with the McLaren mind set. He should hopefully partner Lewis very well too. That is, if Mr. Hamilton has learnt to curb that over-confident issue. He is superb, but he needs to make sure that the knowledge of that brilliance doesn’t become so all consuming that he forgets that he too can make mistakes.  But that aside, McLaren are back this year fighting fit and ready to rectify the travesties that were bestowed upon them last season. Testing has been looking extremely promising. A perfect scenario for them would be to come out in Australia and claim a one, two. I mean, it would be perfect for all McLaren fans everywhere, obviously, but it would be a tremendous bolster to a team to have to still feel that the racing world is against them. It comes down to this though; can Hamilton beat Raikkonen? I can’t wait to find out. But of course, to my mind, the biggest issue of the coming season is not about the teams or the drivers; it’s this: Will ITV’s James Allen finally settle on a decent catch phrase this year to kick off the start of each race? I really hope so!