Michael Schumacher is in for a massive shock. He may have led a staggering 5,108 laps in F1, between 1991 and 2006 - enough to lead every lap of every race for 85 consecutive grands prix - but in 2010 he will, at the age of 41, meet his toughest competition yet.
Not because he's the oldest driver on the grid, or that his Mercedes (essentially the Brawn BGP002 re-branded) is sub-par. It will be tough because the gaps between the four top teams could be filled by a cigarette paper. And then there are the drivers: Michael has already finished second to Fernando Alonso twice, which is not heartening for the German. And this year, for the first time, he will face Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Ironically, the latter is nicknamed Baby Schumi.
Then there's Mark Webber, reigning champ Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, Schumacher's upstart team mate who's out to prove he's not a pushover, like Schumi's previous number two's.
Winter testing has confirmed Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes are the teams to beat - probably in that order.
In-race re-fueling is banned, and thus the smoothest drivers will excel as they grapple with the changing characteristics of the car and the wear on the tyres.
Experts nod that this could be an advantage to Button, whose mechanical sensitivity is reminiscent of Alain Prost's. Prost, of course, had a bitter rivalry with the Ayrton Senna at McLaren back in the 80s. Could the same occur between countrymen Button and Hamilton? Is Button's decision to move in under the same roof as Lewis - who has been with McLaren since he was a child - inspired or barking mad? Lewis, like Michael and Ayrton were in their heyday, is not only a precocious talent, he can also fight dirty.
Speaking of Senna, the name (by which I mean THE name) returns to F1 this year - something we can all be very excited about. But let's not hold too much hope for Bruno. He's racing for a new team, HRT (a name that inspires chuckles among English speakers, as it's the acronym for Hormone Replacement Therapy) which looked unlikely to make the grid this weekend until a Spanish investor swept in to save it.
HRT will join rookies Lotus and Virgin Racing at the back of the grid. It's not easy launching a new team against Ferrari - who have been in the F1 business 60 years. They'll be several seconds off the pace.
The new teams have added some winter controversy to the 2010 story, which looks set to be vintage. It seems we say that every year, but F1 keeps getting more and more unpredictable. At least, it has been since Schumacher left. Let's hope he doesn't provoke a snooze-fest by winning every race again. It would be great to see him add a few more to his record of 91 victories, though. Give the youngsters an old school kicking. As Michael (and the generation of racers he's inspired) might say: "For sure."
Good stuff!