2008 - Team by team

Skysports.com offers a team-by-team guide to the 2008 Formula One season.

Formula One being what it is - a high-stakes competition fuelled by vast amounts of money and feeding egos to match - it's hardly a surprise when controversy is found lurking right around the next corner. That's usually the case most seasons, and was certainly the case last year when not only was one of the most intriguing driver battles in years played out in the harsh glare of the spotlight, but the sport also found its murky underbelly being prodded after its two main protagonists, Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes, found themselves embroiled in an espionage scandal. Although the FIA have drawn a line under the latter saga, it still rumbles on - principally in the shape of an investigation by Italian authorities which could, perhaps, have a bearing on McLaren's 2008 season. Although any link between the two seems little more than conjecture, it was the case that, having been thrown out of last year's constructors' championship, the team then made vital errors - particularly in China - which cost Lewis Hamilton the drivers' championship. Propelled by a late season burst of form, Kimi Raikkonen therefore swept to the title. With Ferrari and McLaren again setting the pace pre-season - the former currently quicker over a race distance but the latter on top over a single lap - a Raikkonen v Hamilton battle is on the cards once again in 2008. Many argue that the Finn's title was overdue, and he will doubtless be looking to back it up with a repeat success to put him on a par with contemporary Fernando Alonso. And, after a rookie season in which he surprised everyone by displaying the pace and consistency of a veteran - and offered a glimpse of the ruthlessness he's going to need to win titles - Hamilton, of course, is looking to go one better. Meanwhile, heading back to Renault after a solitary season at McLaren during which he played a starring role in both of 2007's central plotlines, Alonso has already ruled out victories. Indeed, such is the current gap between Ferrari, McLaren and the rest - and such is the reliability of a modern F1 car - that most other teams have already done the same. However, one, BMW Sauber, could be in with a shout as the season progresses. In short, the best bet for most other teams is the hope that the weather might intervene, levelling the playing field and bringing driver skill to the fore. The latter will be called upon more in 2008 as this season sees the introduction of a much-heralded ban of driver aids such as traction control. Whether or not they have an appreciable effect on 'the show' remains to be seen. In the meantime, Skysports.com offers a guide as to how the teams shape up ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on March 16th... Ferrari (#1 Kimi Raikkonen, #2 Felipe Massa) Another year, another title double for F1's most established and charismatic team. One might argue that both were was handed to them on a plate: McLaren being thrown out of the 2007 constructors' championship following the 'spying' controversy and then making mistakes in the final two races of the season that allowed Raikkonen to pounce. But the success also helped silence the doubters who thought that, with Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne no longer lynchpins of the Maranello operation, the team might struggle to make the transition. Arriving from McLaren, Raikkonen eventually came on strong and also had the beating of a much more established a team-mate in Massa.