The annual game of musical chairs to decide just who drives where next year is now well under way. It is always an interesting game, and the moves are not always dictated by cold hard logic; there is ego and pride involved. Roger Horton reflects on who is going where and who is staying put next season.

The annual game of musical chairs to decide just who drives where next year is now well under way. It is always an interesting game, and the moves are not always dictated by cold hard logic; there is ego and pride involved, and that's why sometimes some pretty square pegs can end up in some very round holes.

A month ago it looked as if we were going to see some major changes amongst the 'big two' at the front of the grid, McLaren and Ferrari, with both Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard looking to be at serious odds with their respective teams.

Things seem to have been smoothed over at McLaren, where Coulthard has managed to put Ron Dennis's ill-advised "brain fade" remark - following his stall on the grid in Spain, behind him, but then Coulthard has been winning and nothing soothes the pain better than that. With a very real chance that over the next five months he can earn the right to put the number one on his car next year, it's highly unlikely that the combined 'brains trust' at McLaren-Mercedes will countenance his departure. He will be able to demand - and get, a serious pay increase that should see him continue with the Woking-based outfit for his seventh straight year.

Jordan have officially denied any interest in signing the Scot after talk that their major sponsor, Benson and Hedges, would bankroll the kind of deal needed to prise him away from McLaren, and they also took the opportunity to state that they were very happy with their current drivers and are not considering any changes. This is probably true, as neither Jordan driver could force their way into a McLaren seat, or want to be Schumacher's number 1B at Ferrari even had the seat been available, and on the team's side, there is no better driver available anyway.

The politics of Barrichello's position after Austria with Ferrari are very different. The Brazilian made Ferrari look pretty silly during the latter part of that race, where he finally obeyed team orders to let Michael Schumacher overtake, but in a way that both obeyed the orders being screamed into his ears by an increasingly angry pit-wall management team, and yet registered his protest at having to yield his position so late in the race.

This is not the way the current Ferrari team is supposed to work. The harmony that has been engendered during the Schumacher era isn't going to be allowed to unravel because of the hurt feelings of Rubens Barrichello, so it was something of a surprise when the team announced at Monaco that his contract had been extended.

There are those that say Ferrari was forced to offer Barrichello a renewal of his contract now, to ensure his cooperation for those vital end-of-season races, when every point may well yet count for Schumacher's Championship ambitions. He has shown his ability to finish ahead of one of the McLarens during his time at Ferrari, but only a happy and motivated driver can accomplish this. Had he be 'going through the motions' at the end of the year, Schumacher could well have lost more than the two points he was gifted in Austria.

Barrichello appears to have calmed down enough since his Austrian sulks to realise that he has few better opportunities elsewhere to run at the front and perhaps win the odd race. Ferrari must have also come to the conclusion that Barrichello is probable the best available driver to accept the unique and difficult job of being the second driver in Michael Schumacher's team.

The speculation concerning Mika Hakkinen's future at McLaren is very different. Hakkinen is not going anywhere, except into retirement if you believe some of the rumours. Only at Imola can the Finn's performance really be said to be below par, although having been left on the grid in two out of six races so far this season, it makes it look awfully like his mind has not been totally together at crucial moments of some race weekends.

At the A1-Ring Hakkinen was throwing his McLaren over the kerbs with all the commitment of old, and he certainly did not look like a driver about to throw in the towel there. The next race at Monaco will tell us more about Hakkinen's state of mind however. Only a driver with a point to prove can be competitive around those demanding streets which require inch perfect judgement and an iron resolve. Should the Finn's performance be below par, then it could be the signal that the fire of ambition no longer burns, and the whole current silly season equation could be thrown into disarray.

But if Hakkinen does indeed drive again next year as is currently expected, and with Michael Schumacher staying with Ferrari until the end of 2004, then most of the mid-field teams are likely to remain unchanged. Both the Williams drivers are contracted through until the end of next year, and with Juan Pablo Montoya's improved form in Austria, even the little flicker of a chance that Frank Williams might have rescued Jenson Button from Benetton have been snuffed out. Sir Frank has a reputation for making some pretty strange driver selection decisions over the years, but the combination of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher looks set to continue for a while.

In complete contrast to last season's drawn out decision-making process, Jacques Villeneuve has already come out and pledged his immediate future to BAR. This is a smart move as the French-Canadian - thought to be the third highest paid driver in F1 after Schumacher and Hakkinen - has hardly been value for money for his team so far this year. Few would doubt that Villeneuve is faster over one lap than his new teammate Olivier Panis, but the Frenchman's solid way of working with his engineers to extract the best out of his BAR-Honda package has rather put Villeneuve to shame in the six races so far contested this year.

It's true that there are reports suggesting that the '97 World Champion has not fully recovered from the neck and back injuries he suffered at the opening race of the season in Australia, and that this has been affecting his form. Whatever the reason, it's hard to see Villeneuve getting a call up from a winning team when and if a vacancy occurs unless he starts producing some much better results soon. Panis on the other hand, has given his reputation a tremendous boost, and is now much appreciated by Honda as well as team boss Craig Pollock.

The next event on the calendar is Monaco, F1's premier race, and fabled crown jewel. But behind the scenes there will still be deals being done and options evaluated, even for the few seats that remain open. A win, or a strong showing at Monaco, can do more for a driver's career than anywhere else, and now is about the best time of the year for a driver to show his worth.