Giancarlo Fisichella has been the object of desire for both Flavio Briatore and Eddie Jordan as of late. Who can blame them? Fisichella has showed great speed all through the year and his performances at Imola, Montreal, Hockenheim and Spa speak for themselves. His greatest assets however were only brought to light in the face of the Briatore-Jordan squabble. Many young drivers in similar circumstances have let their track performances go down the drain, (most notably Jean Alesi at the end of 1990) but for Giancarlo the opposite has been the case. This current period has revealed his ability to withstand pressure and has confirmed that he possesses maturity beyond his years. These qualities more than anything else mark him out as a future champion.

Ralf Schumacher started the year reasonably well, but ever since Fisichella began outperforming him, his driving has gone down hill. I believe he does not possess the speed of his brother or his teammate. However, despite recent events, he is a capable performer given his rookie status. He should be more Prost than Senna; rather than trying to match his teammates pace, he should stay cool and keep his car on the track and results will come. He could yet be as successful as his brother if he learns this.

Jarno Trulli has had an eventful first year in F1. First, he impressed everyone in the Minardi. Then, he got drafted in to replace Panis at Prost. Two races later, he was beaten by Nakano in the qualifying and the race and people began doubting his talent after Silverstone. He replied all criticism by finishing an excellent fourth in Hockenheim. Unfortunately, the last two races have seen him fade into the mid-field. I have no doubt that he has enough talent to give both the Jordan boys a run for their money. His major problem besides suffering from lack of experience is the change of teams midway through the season. Trulli will surprise many next season as long he is given a good drive.

Shinji Nakano may not be rated highly by many, but in truth he has not done as badly as most people think. He may struggle to find a drive in the future, but that only goes to show how many good drivers are out there now.

Jan Magnussen was hailed as the next Ayrton Senna in lower formulae. However, his first full season in Formula One has hardly been spectacular. He is improving and even ran fourth for a couple of laps before his pit stop in Spa. This may say, if anything, that he is happier in the rain than the in dry (his drive in Monaco may back this up). It has been difficult to rate him accurately due to a car is hardly ever reliable. He can't be doing that bad, though, because Rubens Barrichello has been driving better than ever and has hardly made an impression on the front of the grid. Ultimately, Jan will have to prove himself in the remaining five races if he is to stand any chance of living up to his suggested promise.

Alexander Wurz impressed me greatly during his few GP outings this year. He has speed and showed his maturity by not doing anything rash at Silverstone. He could have easily succumbed to the urge to challenge Alesi, but wisely decided not to risk all by attacking there.

If I were to rate the drivers above on what I have seen this season, I would put Giancarlo and Alexander in the top bracket closely followed by Ralf and Jarno. All these drivers (and possibly Jan) will achieve victories in their F1 career. Their emergence, at the same time, promises to continue excellent racing in F1.

At age 15, Vijaye is another intelligent young contributor from Malaysia. You can find his other article, Overtaking: The Problems & Solutions in the 1997 GP of France issue of Atlas F1.

Send comments to: vijaye@tm.net.my