The 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship is finally upon us and many are predicting the "most exciting season in recent memory", primarily because of the new technical regulations. Whilst I do not feel that it will be as good as most are expecting, it will at least provide a change in the major players after many years of dominance by Williams and Michael Schumacher.

The new regulations stipulate many changes to the cars, however the main changes are the reduction of the width of the cars by 20cm and the grooved tyres which must now be used in place of the slick tyres of previous seasons. Without going into the success or lack thereof in improving safety and the spectacle of F1, it has certainly changed the order a little -- anything that does this cannot be wholly bad.

As is usual, these are my thoughts on each of the players in the forthcoming season based on past performances, testing, news from the teams and, of course, my opinion.

Winfield Williams-Mecachrome - Goodyear

The most successful team of recent years finds itself with a lot of work in 1998. The drivers are good, that much has been proved before, and both are capable of winning races and both have done in the past. This cannot be underestimated and Williams are one of only 3 teams to be fielding drivers who have both won F1 races in the past. Much has been made of the departure of Adrian Newey, but it has been said that his contribution to last years car was not huge and that the rest of the design team are capable of designing as good a car as before. The big question marks hang over the quality of their engine and tyres. Renault have now officially left F1 and it is down to their long term technical partner Mecachrome to develop the F1 powerplant for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Although Mecachrome have a superb record in engineering, it looks doubtful that they can carry on where the Regie left off and power Williams to another Championship double. The tyre situation is also worrying, primarily because McLaren and Benetton are both on Bridgestone rubber and this may well provide them the advantage they need to get ahead. Whilst I feel doubtful that they will repeat their 97 success, nobody can doubt that they will win races and push to take the championship. That said, my feeling is that they will come in second.

1, Jacques Villeneuve		2, Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Jacques Villeneuve enters the 1998 season carrying the coveted #1 on his car after winning the Championship in only his second attempt. However, things are not looking as rosy as they did in 1997 for the Canadian and he will need to do more than he did in '97 to win the Championship this season. In many races, Jacques apparently "lucked into" the wins, yet as the cliche goes, "You need to be in it to win it", and Villeneuve was certainly "in it" on several occasions and it is this that clinched the title for him. To win the title in '98 Jacques will have to be Mr. Consistent and pick up points wherever possible as wins are likely to be less easy than last year. Title hopeful, but not my favourite.		Heinz-Harald Frentzen is still a bit of a mystery to me. Blindingly fast on occasions and snail-like on others, Frentzen always seems to find a way of ruining a race weekend, be it by qualifying poorly or not getting up to pace until half-way through. Admittedly he has had his share of bad luck, but much was expected from the "Schumacher-beater" and so far he has failed to deliver. With Williams as close to 1 season away from the start of their BMW deal, he will be hoping to perform much better in 1998, but I have a feeling that he will still be beaten by his team mate and current testing times seem to bear this out.

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari - Goodyear

Yet again, Ferrari enter a season saying that they "must win the title this year", but I have no doubts that within 2 races they will announce that next season will be their big chance. With Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne onboard they have no excuses on the technical side (although they seem to miss TWR as much as TWR miss them) and with Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine they have nowhere to hide on the driver front either. However, their biggest problem will not be with their car, but with those of other teams, notably McLaren. I suspect that if the Big 4 were all on Goodyear rubber, Ferrari would truly be in with a chance finally regaining the Championship but as things stand this looks doubtful. An amount of uncertainty remainds over their performance as they have managed to avoid running against front running teams so far and the only indicator of performance will come when the cars roll out for qualitying on Saturday. Still, race victories are expected and they will at least be trying to come away with the tag of "Best Goodyear Runner" even though the title is likely to evade them for yet another season.

3, Michael Schumacher		4, Eddie Irvine
Whether you percieve him as a God, a flawed genius or the most arrogant driver around, it is hard to deny that Michael Schumacher deserves a place as one of the all time greats of the sport. Sadly the Jerez incident has tarnished his image and both the man himself and his team will be looking for a flawless season to return him to the near God status he has enjoyed amongst some fans in recent seasons. All this aside, you can be assured that when the Ferrari is capable of winning, it will more than likely be Schumacher responsible and in the position to take the victory. A third title is all but out of the question, but Michael is often at his best when coming from behind so keep an eye out for surprises.		The consensus of opinion is that Eddie Irvine needs to step up a gear in 1998 and score his first race victory if he is to avoid become another one of the "Best #2 drivers in the business". The talent is there, of that there is no doubt, and when he is on form he is as fast as anyone (Eddie was faster than Schumacher in recent testing) but he seems to lack the ability to drive well when the car isn't at it's best. Yet another season as the man who supports Schumacher will do him no good and he needs to be seen to beat Schumacher from time to time to keep his aspirations of become a #1 driver for a big team alive. Race wins are more likely to fall to his illustrious team mate, but if he can drive as well as he did in Suzuka from time to time, he could well pull a maiden victory out of the bag.

Mild Seven Benetton-Mecachrome - Bridgestone

This is the dawning of the new-age of Benetton. The final cobwebs of the Briatore years have been blown away and the team have a chance to drag themselves out of the slide they have been enduring for the past 2 seasons. The new Nick Wirth penned B198 has performed well in testing and the addition of 2 young, hungry drivers and Bridgestone rubber should see the car exploited to it's best potential. Unfortunately, there are also problems in the team, one related to the youth of the drivers, the other to the age of the engines. Whilst young drivers can produce some superb performances, they can also , as seen at Jordan last season, lead the team down the wrong road in terms of setup and ruin a race weekend. Although both Fisichella and Wurz are mature and experienced drivers, they lack the experience of leading a team and where both could hide to a certain extent in 1997, this season they are firmly in the spotlight and will have to perform. As with Williams, it seems that the engine is the biggest unknown and as mentioned before, I for one think that both teams will have the least powerful engines amongst the top teams. Title hopes are minuscule, but the odd win is not beyond them, however, their target looks to be more towards beating Ferrari and Williams than taking the title.

5, Giancarlo Fisichella		6, Alexander Wurz
Giancarlo Fisichella is one of the hottest properties in F1, as the tug-of-love between Benetton and Jordan last season shows, and few doubt his potential to become the next great Italian Grand Prix driver. Fisichella goes into 1998 as the most experienced driver at Benetton and it looks likely that he will have to lead the team for the first part of the season at least. For his reputation to remain intact he has to start converting the potential into results, but with Benetton behind him, this should be easy. How he will fare against his team mate is unknown as they both seem to be evenly matched so far however, the possibility is there for race victories so don't be surprised to see Giancarlo on the top step before too long.		Alex Wurz was one of the biggest finds of 1997, deputising for Gerhard Berger at 3 Grands Prix and showing that he was at least the equal of Jean Alesi at all 3. From that point onwards, being signed to for a race seat at Benetton was only a matter of time and ever since he has impressed observers with his mature attitude both in and out of the car. With so few Grands Prix to his name it is hard to point out any weaknesses other than his lack of experience. So far he has proved to be as fast as Fisichella in testing and as with Fisichella, don't be surprised to see him breaking his duck in 1998.

West McLaren-Mercedes - Bridgestone

What can be written about McLaren's 1998 title assault that hasn't already been said? Everything is looking good for the Woking based team with arguably the most powerful engine, 2 fast, experienced drivers, a superb chassis and Bridgestone rubber. Looking below the surface, are their any weaknesses that the other teams can exploit? Clearly the weakest point seems to be the Mercedes powerplant that caused so much disappointment in 1997, especially for Mika Hakkinen. Ilmor, the Mercedes engine builders, say the new, lightweight version is cured of it's reliability problems, and so far this seems true, but this time last year, they weren't losing too many engines either. On the face of it, the arrival of Adrian Newey seems to have turned the team around and I would not disagree, the former Williams man having apparently given the massive resources of McLaren International a focal point for their efforts. McLaren are my tip for the title and although I don't believe it will be the cakewalk many are predicting, I think they will take the lions share of race victories in 1998.

7, David Coulthard		8, Mika Hakkinen
As with Heinz-Harald Frentzen, a question mark hangs over David Coulthard in my mind. While there is no doubting his speed on the right day, when the car is a handful he seems to go to pot. Whether this is down to the apparently twitchy nature of the cars McLaren have produced since his arrival from Williams is unknown, but it is under these circumstances that he will need to perform better if he is to become World Champion this season. Having said this, I still believe that he has his best chance of winning the title so far especially as he has a better finishing record than Mika Hakkinen, perhaps because he isn't as hard on his cars. Race wins are a certainty, and David should be capable of winning the title if he is able to beat off his team mate, Mika Hakkinen.		At the end of last season I said that Mika Hakkinen seemed feted to become "one of the best World Champions we never had" and, typically, I now have to eat my words. Finally, the Flying Finn seems to have the equipment to move a step forward and start winning races regularly (rather than having them gifted by other drivers) and even challenge for the title. As mentioned earlier, the only problem Mika has is that he seems to be harder on his car than his team mate, therefore suffering more retirements, and it is this that may cost him the title. This said, Mika is still the man I expect to walk away with the most silverware in 1998, and most importantly, the Drivers' title.

Benson & Hedges Jordan-Mugen Honda - Goodyear

Jordan ended 1997 firmly expecting 1998 to be the season that they step up to the upper echilons of the sport but, like Ferrari, yet again it seems like their ambitions will have to be put on hold for another season. The change from Peugeot power to the Mugen Honda engine has gone smoothly and Ralf Schumacher is said to be pleased with the new engine which, although less powerful than the Peugeot, is said to be more drivable. The chassis on the other hand, does not seem up to the challenge and in testing it has been way off it's expected pace. While the team have been playing this down saying that they haven't been going for their best times, other teams have said that it has too much understeer and the front tyres are being used up much too quickly and it is this that is slowing the car. With the performance of the teams above them it seems unlikely that they will record their first win, but expect them to be fighting for podiums on occasions.

9, Damon Hill		10, Ralf Schumacher
Things are not looking good for Damon Hill's 1998 campaign. After turning down the plum seat of '98 (McLaren) and going instead to his former F3000 team Jordan, Damon was confident that he could win races and be in with a shot at the title. 6 months down the line, Damon is not so confident and looks like having another year in the wilderness (albeit closer to the front than in 1997). However, Damon will be keen not to repeat the mistakes of '97 and I would expect him to remain more focused than he was at Arrows. As far as the battle against Ralf Schumacher goes, I would expect Damon to end the season with more points than his young team mate, but that Ralf will, at least for the early part of the season, prove faster more often than not in qualitying. Race wins look out of the question, but more podiums are certainly possible.		Ralf Schumacher ended 1997 as probably the least popular driver in F1 having removed several drivers from races mainly down to over exuberance. That he is fast is not in doubt, but it seems that Ralf thinks he is as fast as his older brother and drives accordingly, usually resulting in accidents or trips into the kitty litter. Eddie Jordan is no doubt hoping that the arrival of a mature and experienced team mate will help to calm his young German charge, and in testing at least, this seems to have been the case. Whether this is down to Hill or the threat of Pedro de la Rosa taking his seat for 1999 is arguable though. Ralf is sure to be faster than his team mate over a single lap, but he will have to improve dramatically to overcome the Englishman's racecraft. A podium finish is possible, but only if he can get over his over enthusiasm when he's in traffic.

Gauloises Blondes Prost-Peugeot - Bridgestone

Things should have been almost perfect for Alain Prost this season insomuch that he had produced his first chassis, signed 2 extremely quick drivers and managed to get the Peugeot engine into the back. Sadly for the 4-times World Champion things haven't come together exactly as he expected, primarily because of the new engine. To mate the Peugeot to the AP01 has required a new gearbox (with the clutch mounted, unusually behind the engine) and it is this that has failed repeatedly in testing. The team has said that the first few months of the season are going to be hard and that everyone is prepared for it, so at least they won't fall apart. This, combined with the intended move from Magny-Cours to Velizy near Paris mid-season should turn 1998 into a building season rather than a season to go for victory, but with the engine, tyres and drivers they have, I would not count them out of podiums or even a lucky race win just yet.

11, Olivier Panis		12, Jarno Trulli
1997 is a season to forget for Olivier Panis. Just as he was looking like a consistent front runner his season was cut short by an accident in Canada that broke both his legs and put him out of action for almost half the season. However, on his return, it seemed that nothing had changed and he was back up to speed immediately. For 1998, hopes were high, but for the reasons listed above it seems he will have to wait another season to be able to challenge consistently for race honours. The only weakness in Panis' racing seems to be in qualifying and it often takes him a long time to get back to the front, by which time victory is usually too far away. That said, all the parts are in place for a race winning team and Panis is Mr. Consistent so a podium finish and perhaps even a win is not out of the question if the car can hold together.		Jarno Trulli was, for me, the find of 1997. In only his second full season in cars he matured from a young hopeful with Minardi to a commanding race leader with Prost at the A-1 Ring. While many pointed at his variable form during the mid-season as signs that he was in over his head, the Austrian GP and the up-down pace of Panis upon his return showed this to be as much to do with the team as the young Italian. In 1998 he needs to learn from Olivier Panis whose experience will benefit him immensely. How he will fare against a driver more talented than either Shinji Nakano or Ukyo Katayama is unknown, but I would expect him to be as fast as Panis from the word go. Although I would expect Panis to be the driver most likely to win out of the two, expect Jarno to be close behind.

Red Bull Sauber-Petronas - Goodyear

For one of the teams with the biggest resources in F1 and, effectively, their own engine, Sauber are the perennial underachievers. Each season they head the midfield, but never make the extra step to consistent challengers for podium finishes. Although last season they got closer thanks to the consistency of Johnny Herbert and the power of the Petronas (nee Ferrari) engine, lack of development midseason took the edge off their challenge. Hopefully, 1998 will be different and the team will be able to sustain their rate of development throughout the season. In pre-season testing the team has not been too far off where you would expect (just behind Jordan) but the drivers have expressed dissatisfaction with the car and the level of understeer it is showing. On the other hand, both drivers are fast and should work well together in the Swiss team, making it a true 2 car team once again. Occasional podium challengers.

14, Jean Alesi		15, Johnny Herbert
Jean Alesi comes to Sauber after 2 seasons at Benetton that he would not describe as his happiest in racing. However, since signing for Sauber, the Frenchman has seemed revitalised and appears to have become more at ease. In preseason testing, Alesi has been as fast as his team mate and, on the face of it at least, he stands to do well if Sauber can run as consistently as last year. Many point to Jean's "red mist" attacks as a weakness in his racing, but with the consistency he displayed in 1997, I suspect this is a thing of the past and that he will be a valuable addition to the team.		Johnny Herbert is another driver whose career was almost ruined by Benetton, but in the 2 seasons he has raced for the Swiss team, Herbert has rebuilt his reputation. Johnny is everything a team manager can ask for, fast, consistent and a team player and Sauber value him highly because of this. If the car is capable, expect Johnny to be up there at the front, and if not, you can be sure that he will be in the race at the end as long as the car doesn't break down.

Danka Arrows - Bridgestone

On the face of it, Arrows could be entering a renaissance year. They have a new John Barnard designed chassis, Bridgestone rubber and Mika Salo driving. In addition to this, they have got rid of the dire Yamaha engine in favour of a Brian Hart designed, TWR Engines built powerplant which on the face of it is a massive improvement over the 1997 Yamaha and Hart engines. In testing, their pace has been superb, moving ahead of the Jordan of old-boy Damon Hill on the timesheets at Silverstone. How much of this is down to the tyres is unknown, but with some saying that the Japanese rubber is worth as much as 1.5 seconds a lap over Goodyear tyres, this would seem to explain the leap. However, this cannot be soley responsible for such a leap and I point to John Barnard as the main reason. He has said that the 1998 car was 100% new and constituted a massive leap forward in methodology and technology, going as far as running a carbon fibre gearbox for the first time in F1 (Stewart also have one). It is hard to say what Arrows may do as most of it is down to the engine, but Mika Salo is capable of much more than we have seen so far and Pedro Diniz is actually not too far off these days. Points are certain, podiums less so, but they are one team to keep an eye on.

16, Pedro Diniz		17, Mika Salo
Entering his fourth season in F1, Pedro Diniz has matured into a solid F1 driver. For the first few years of his F1 career, he never produced much and although he was capable of turning in the odd quick lap, he couldn't match this with consistency. Last season however, he made a massive leap forward in this respect and was respectably close to World Champion Damon Hill last season, even going faster on occasions. Unfortunately for Pedro, he is now matched against Mika Salo who will be a different kettle of fish to the demotivated team mate of last year and I would expect Mika to come out ahead. Mind you, I said the same thing last season about Hill...		Ending a 3 year association with Tyrrell at the end of 1997 to sign for Arrows seemed, at the time, to be not the wisest decision considering the impending buyout by BAT. However, looking at testing times, Salo appears to have made an excellent choice. The pace so far indicates that he should be able to get onto the podium this season, but as the saying goes, "Testing is testing" and we've been fooled like this before. As mentioned above, the engine is the big problem as is reliability, but if these can be fixed, who know what Salo's Arrows can achieve?

Stewart-Ford - Bridgestone

Jackie Stewart has said that 1998 is a building year for the team he helps run, meaning that people should expect more of the same rather than a step forward. The SF2 is one of the most radical cars of 1998 (under the surface at least) and features, among other things, a carbon fibre gearbox similar to the one Arrows uses. Predictably, the cost of these innovations is reliability and in one test, Jan Magnussen's car broke down 400 yards into an installation lap with gearbox problems. In addition to this, there is still a question mark over the reliability of the Ford engines being supplied to Stewart. Although Cosworth are working flat out on improving this, they seem to have the same level of reliability as in '97 and if so, they will suffer dearly this season. We have seen that on their day, the Stewart cars are capable of running right at the front, but I doubt we will see them up there often (nor for very long). A lucky podium is possible and I expect their points haul to be bigger than in 1997, but don't expect too much.

18, Rubens Barrichello		19, Jan Magnussen
What can be said about this young man? 5 seasons under his belt already and without a doubt one of the most underrated drivers in F1. Fast and consistent, Rubens is a star waiting to shine if only he could get the equipment to put in the performances he is capable of. His only weakness is that he needs to feel cherished by the team, but luckily, Jackie Stewart is an expert at looking after drivers and makes sure that his drivers are happy. Points definitely, but as for podiums, that is more a matter of luck.		It was at the Austrian Grand Prix last season that Jan Magnussen finally found the pace that has been expected of him since his arrival as a full-time F1 driver. In F3 he was compared to Ayrton Senna, but for the first part of 1997 looked more like Jean-Denis Deletraz than the late 3-times World Champion. However, since he rediscovered his form he has been a match for Rubens Barrichello and I am sure that in 1998 he will begin to gain the upper hand over his team mate as his confidence and experience increases. As with Barrichello, the extent of his success is entirely down to whether Stewart can get it together, but I am sure he will score points and if lady luck smiles perhaps a podium finish.

Tyrrell-Ford - Goodyear

For many, the end of 1998 was to be the end of an era as the Tyrrell is almost certain to disappear and the name of British American Racing to rise in it's place. For me, it ended when Ken Tyrrell left the team after a difference of opinion over the running of the team with BAR (namely the hiring of Ricardo Rosset instead of Jos Verstappen). Ken Tyrrell is a man who has seen it all and whose unbridaled enthusiasm for the sport will be sorely missed, but the show must go on and what are the prospects for the team in 1998? Once again, Tyrrell appear to have produced a great chassis, but this time backed up with a half-way decent engine, the customer Ford v10. Takagi has set some amazing times (for a Tyrrell) in recent tests and the reliability certainly seems to be above what we saw last season with the Ford engine. Whilst I can't see them troubling the front runners, I can see Stewart and maybe even Jordan and Sauber being worried by silver and black Tyrrell. Points should be forthcoming, but I just can't see them scoring any podium finishes.

20, Ricardo Rosset		21, Toranasuke Takagi
For me, one of the most bizarre choices of 1998 was the signing of Ricardo Rosset over Jos Verstappen. Ricardo, whilst good in F3000 and certainly well funded, was soundly thrashed by Verstappen in 1996 and so far has not managed to get up to speed in the Tyrrell. I would expect him to be racing against the Minardi's on Sunday's rather than the teams ahead like his team mate. I doubt that he will score points during this stint in F1.		Toranasuke Takagi is the protege of Satoru Nakajima and has, typically, been feted as the greatest Japanese driver so far (as are most F1 arrivals from Japan). His results in Formula Nippon don't really tell the full story and so far he has proved to be consistently fast and not suffer from the up and down form he has shown previously. Whilst the team say his English isn't quite up to par yet (it didn't stop Ukyo Katayama), Ken Tyrrell was clearly happy with his signing and you can't have a better recommendation than that. I expect Tora to score most of the points that the team gather, but I suspect it will be a rare occurance.

Minardi-Ford - Bridgestone

With all it's sponsor decals, the 1998 Minardi looks more like a Winston Cup car than a Formula One car, however, it seems to be as innovative as usual. With customer Ford v10 engines (although of a lower spec than Tyrrell) powering the M198 and the increased funding from the Concorde agreement, things should have been looking up for the little Italian team, but their driver choice seems to have been made from necessity so they could find themselves struggling. Qualifying won't be a problem, but I would be surprised if they were in any position to race anyone other than themselves. Yet again, points look unlikely, but I'd still like to see them get one or two.

22, Shinji Nakano		23, Esteban Tuero
After his debut season in Formula One with Prost Grand Prix, Shinji Nakano is tasked with leading the Minardi team in 1998. Whilst not the slowest driver ever to grace an F1 track, he is certainly one of the slowest drivers currently racing (although this could be a sign that the days of people like Phillipe Adams and the aforementioned Deletraz are over) and I wouldn't expect him to do anything special this season. Steady runs from lights to flag are all that can reasonably be expected from Shinji and in this respect he is certainly capable of maybe taking a point if a race suffers from a high rate of attrition. Sadly, I have doubts that this will happen and that this will be the last season in F1 for Nakano.		Esteban Tuero comes into F1 having been the official reserve and test driver of Minardi last season, as well as racing in Formula Nippon. Tuero's career so far has been little to write home about but he has shown on occasions that he is capable of great turns of speed and if allowed the time I am sure he will mature into a sound driver. I doubt he will score points in 1998.