The fast and the furious

MCLAREN

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton / Heikki Kovalainen

Are McLaren in trouble, or have they just been subversive? That is the question being asked after their MP4-24 languished at the bottom of recent testing timesheets. Word has it it's as aerodynamic as a fridge-freezer. So, on the face of it, Lewis Hamilton is going to have a tough start to his title defense. But you can't underestimate the abilities of this team. If it's not fast at the first race, they'll get it right by the second. No one doubts Hamilton's speed. Kovalainen needs to improve and close the gap to Lewis.

FERRARI

Drivers: Felipe Massa / Kimi Raikkonen

Ferrari have been strong in winter testing and are looking as competitive as ever. Raikkonen was a mystery last year, going off the boil in the second half of the season. The team hopes the handling characteristics of the new car will be better suited to Kimi, who struggled with the F2008's inherent understeer. Should he make a comeback in 2009, it will be interesting to see how Massa deals with this. Massa has become the point of reference for the team, after his brilliant season last year. On the face of it, this is the best driver pairing in F1.

BMW SAUBER

Drivers: Robert Kubica / Nick Heidfeld

BMW could go all the way this year. Last year they took their first GP win, and kept Kubica in the championship hunt until the penultimate race. Their strength was reliability - so when Ferrari or McLaren faltered, they were there to pick up the pieces. Where they struggled was development, and chose to concentrate on their '09 car early. Therefore, expectations are high. It's believed they have the most efficient KERS system. Kubica is a superstar: fast, consistent and utterly ruthless. Quick Nick doesn't always live up to his moniker, but he's capable of fighting at the front.

RENAULT

Drivers: Fernando Alonso / Nelson Piquet           

Renault started last year with a midfield car, and finished the season with the third best one. Alonso proved he's the greatest driver out there, brawling all the way to the chequered flag in Singapore and Japan. Signs from testing suggest the car might be another midfielder, and you can bet that makes Alonso foam at the mouth with fury. He'll demand better, and signs in the final tests were more encouraging. Piquet is making progress, albeit slow, and deserves a second season. He needs to make it count.

TOYOTA

Drivers: Jarno Trulli / Timo Glock

With F1 teams being forced to cut costs - including limiting testing and wind-tunnel time - the most affected is the one with the biggest budget: Toyota. However, the new car has been lightening quick in tests - on pace with Ferrari and BMW. Despite being 34, Trulli drove his heart out last year, proving he has several years left in him. Glock wasn't too far behind and scored a great second-place in Hungary. Either of them could snatch a victory or two this year.

TORO ROSSO

Drivers: Sebastien Bourdais / Sebastien Buemi

The 2008 Italian Grand Prix was a fairy tale, when Scuderia Toro Rosso - formerly minnows Minardi - scored a dominant win in the wet from pole. This year, the departure of Sebastian Vettel and team co-owner Gerhard Berger may hamper them. Bourdais showed improvement throughout last season, despite a slow start. Buemi is the only rookie, and has never won a car racing championship. He's come runner-up four times though, and subscribes to the rule that to drive for Toro Rosso you need to be called Seb.

RED BULL RACING

Drivers: Mark Webber / Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull are confident of their new car, and so they should be. Design genius Adrian Newey has always been skilled at capitalizing on technical rule changes, jumping the gun on the other teams. Initial signs suggest the car is fast but fragile. Webber is at a disadvantage due to a broken leg he suffered before Christmas, and he's still hobbling a bit. The threat of Vettel is likely to keep him awake at night. The 21 year-old is a precocious talent with a glorious future.

WILLIAMS

Drivers: Nico Rosberg / Kazuki Nakajima

A sleeping giant, Williams are the last true privateer team and exist only to race in F1, rather than being allied with marketing a global brand. The new rules and plans for a simpler, cheaper series might herald a return to greatness for one of the oldest teams on the grid. Still, even with cost cutting, it's debatable if they can keep up with the development of Ferrari and McLaren over the summer. Rosberg says that he may be forced to leave if he isn't given a fast car soon. Nakajima did a decent job last year and is popular with the team.

FORCE INDIA

Drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella / Adrian Sutil

By the time Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya bought the team, it was too late for the influence of funds to make a big difference to last year's car. This season's should be a big improvement, as the team has done a deal with McLaren-Mercedes to use their engine, gearbox and KERS. If this doesn't push them up the grid, nothing will. While it's all change on the tech front, the team have gone for consistency on the driver side, retaining the experienced Fisichella and the crash-prone but sometimes quick Sutil.

BRAWN GP

Drivers: Jenson Button / Rubens Barrichello

Formula One's newest team is the phoenix that has arisen from the ashes that was Honda Racing. They arrived late on the testing scene but blew peoples minds with their pace! The question is, is it genuine? Are they underweight? Is their diffuser legal? Can they seriously win in Australia?! All will be answered this weekend. The team has the most experienced driver pairing on the grid: Button and Barrichello have 423 grand prix starts between them. The team are running Mercedes-Benz engines, just like McLaren.