Last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix confirmed the new wave of Formula One drivers has come of age. After only 19 races, 21-year old Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever pole setter, while 23-year old Kimi Raikkonen won his first Grand Prix after 36 attempts. They are the men tipped to follow into Michael Schumacher's footsteps. Atlas F1's Will Gray looks at the next generation of F1 greats

The changing of the guard, the arrival of a new order and the end of Phil Collins' reign as the favourite music of the Grand Prix driver. All was revealed in last weekend's glimpse into the Formula One crystal ball - it was 'Another Day In Paradise' for the sport.

From now on, it seems, Formula One will have to get used to the lyrical 'genius' and angry tones of American rapper Eminem, as much of a sensation in his field as his Formula One fan Kimi Raikkonen promises to be in his.

After last season's dull dominance from Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, a self-confessed fan of Collins, a neighbour of his in Switzerland, Michael Jackson and the twist, it seems the arrival of a younger generation of 'hip' Grand Prix stars is on the cards.

Raikkonen, 23, and his 21-year-old accomplice Fernando Alonso stormed to the front to take away the crown from their ageing rivals in last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang and they showed that Formula One might just have an upbeat future.

They may not be big names yet, but then again, when teenage Schumacher was enjoying Collins' big hit "Against All Odds (Take a Look at me Now)" as it shot up the charts in 1984, Raikkonen's favourite rapper was barely out of diapers.

Finn Raikkonen was just four years old himself, and Alonso just two, their Formula One ambitions, then, barely a glint in their eyes but their burning desire to race already naturally built into their minds. Nineteen years on, Raikkonen may have different music tastes to Schumacher, he may snowboard instead of ski and he may risk broken bones in motocross instead of going karting, but both he and Alonso share the same desire as the champion.

Raikkonen, who won his first Grand Prix in Malaysia, and Alonso, who claimed his first pole at the same race, both want to be Number One. And their message to Schumacher is now clear: make way for the new wave.

"This year I hope I can realise my potential and get further towards my aim of becoming a title contender," said Raikkonen before warning: "Things are going pretty well so far."

Indeed they are, for both Raikkonen and Alonso. Despite their formative years, both have already shown they have what it takes to become a future World Champion, and both have caught the eye. When Raikkonen drove flat-out through a plume of smoke at last year's Belgian Grand Prix, and admitted that he was driving blind, he showed the spark. Malaysia has now ignited his fuse.

When Alonso proved you can overtake in Formula One when he bullied his way past Ralf Schumacher, Olivier Panis, Jenson Button, Jacques Villeneuve, Nick Heidfeld and Heinz-Harald Frentzen in Australia, he exploded onto the scene. Now, with respective team chiefs Ron Dennis and Flavio Briatore crowing about their 'future World Champions', both youngsters are under pressure to perform. And this season they must prove they can make the breakthrough.

"In a year or two, Fernando can win the world title," said Mike Gascoyne, the technical director of Alonso's Renault team. "Fernando has the spark of a champion."

Raikkonen's McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh countered: "Kimi is such a great talent he is going to win more races this year and he is going to be World Champion."

Few drivers have been praised so highly by their respective overlords, the most recent being Michael Schumacher in 1991, who was tipped at the time as "a driver of the future" by then Benetton chief Tom Walkinshaw. Schumacher stormed into Formula One with Jordan at Spa-Francorchamps, the very place Raikkonen showed his real class eleven years later, and straight away it was clear he was made of the stuff of champions.

Since then no driver had been talked of in such a way, not even Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who was expected to make a similar impact when he crossed the Atlantic as champion of CART two years ago. No driver, that is, until Raikkonen.

"People thought Juan Pablo Montoya might be the one to take over from Schumacher," said John Booth, Raikkonen's former boss at Manor Motorsport, with whom the Finn dominated the 2000 Formula Renault championship before moving to Formula One with Sauber.

"Forget Montoya. We've seen there's only one at the moment and that's Kimi. He outshone David Coulthard in his first season at McLaren and the only reason he didn't finish in front of him then is because the car conked out so much."

But Alonso's current boss, Flavio Briatore, speaks equally highly of his young Spaniard, who he has managed for the last three years and who he took to Renault as a test driver last year.

"Fernando is doing well and the impression is that he is somebody very special," said Briatore, who took the brave decision to replace Jenson Button with Alonso this year. "You can see that it looks like the guy has been in Formula One forever."

In fact, Alonso has been in Formula One for three years, the same time as Raikkonen, albeit spending one year on the sidelines whilst bedding in at Renault last year. Raikkonen, two years Alonso's senior, has always been one step ahead since they both made their debuts, however, because he joined the competitive Sauber team while Alonso had to shine through from the back by making the most of a Minardi.

And while Raikkonen was thrust into the limelight when snapped up by McLaren to replace retiring countryman and long-time hero Mika Hakkinen, Alonso was hidden away on the testing tracks of Europe and nurtured by a careful Briatore. Both methods seem to have worked, but Alonso, for his age, seems the most mature after spending his 'year off' learning the game both on the track and off it. It certainly shows, and he believes it was time well spent.

"It was frustrating not racing but I have learnt so much," he said. "I know how the team works, and certain things are now just automatic for me. That's already an advantage. I know Renault is a great opportunity for me because it gives me a real chance to have a competitive car and a good technical structure and it also means I can concentrate solely on my driving.

""The size of this operation, the level of professionalism, the number of people involved. Everything has been pushed to the limit - and that just makes my responsibility as a driver even bigger. You do need to get away from it all to prepare properly mentally and focus, but you cannot beat the atmosphere in the paddock. Wherever I go away I take lots of pictures so that I never forget what I see.

But I live to race. In the car, on the grid, when the lights come on, that moment when you're waiting for the clutch to bite and first gear to engage...nothing can replace that."

All the drivers on the grid live for that moment, but not all of them have such glorious talent as Alonso and Raikkonen, two young men in two old, wise and experienced teams. So, as Eminem would say, will the real future champion please stand up...