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The 2006 Season Preview - Part 3
We take a look at who might be hot - and who’s probably not - this year in our team-by-team rundown of the 2006 contenders, from new 11th team, Super Aguri, up to reigning champions Renault…

Renault
Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo FisichellaRenault have set the pace for much of the winter testing, and Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella and new test driver Heikki Kovalainen have all praised the performance of the new R26 and its RS26 V8 engine. Reliability has been good, and so has the speed, suggesting that the world champions are very well placed to defend their constructors’ and drivers’ titles.

McLaren
Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo MontoyaFor some time McLaren’s new MP4-21 had to be reined in as the new Mercedes-Benz FO 108S V8 proved unreliable. However, the Valencia test in the middle of February saw Raikkonen set what at the time was the fastest lap of the winter, and Montoya was also very quick. Renault’s Pat Symonds left suggesting that the dramatic chrome and red McLaren will now be a major threat right from the start.

Ferrari
Michael Schumacher, Felipe MassaFerrari’s test form has been patchy, and the fact that they have persevered for so long with an F2004 with restricted V10 as well as the new 248 F1 and its 056 V8 engine has led to all sorts of speculation about what cars the Scuderia will field in Bahrain. The new car has had reliability issues, but has been fast at times on its new Bridgestone tyres. Neither Schumacher nor Ferrari can ever be underestimated, but it is not yet clear where they will be in the initial pecking order. The other fascinating aspect will be how well Massa shapes up as number two.

Toyota
Ralf Schumacher, Jarno TrulliToyota showed off a completely new aero package on their TF106 at Vallelunga recently, and a B-spec car is already under way for Monaco. That’s the sort of commitment the team are bringing to their 2006 campaign after an impressive step up in 2005, but it remains to be seen whether they can achieve the wins that are very much a key part of their ambitious plans for the new season.

Williams
Mark Webber, Nico RosbergThere is great confidence at the reborn Williams team, where Patrick Head says that wins are not out of the question for 2006. “Winning is oxygen,” Frank Williams said at the launch of the new FW28, and he, Head and everyone else at Grove have been very impressed by the reliability and power of Cosworth’s CA2006 V8. Of all the ‘second-tier’ teams behind Renault, McLaren and Honda, who have shown much of their hands in testing, the newly Bridgestone-shod Williams could be the darkest horse in the early races.

Honda
Rubens Barrichello, Jenson ButtonWhen Honda set their mind to winning, they win. That is the clear message from the past. And Frank Williams, who knows about these things, admits that he is very worried about the threat from the Japanese team. Everywhere that the new RA106 has run, it has been fast and reliable, so has its RA806E V8. In Button and Barrichello, Honda arguably have one of the strongest driver line-ups, and both say the new car is a big step up aerodynamically from last year’s BAR 007. Together with Renault and McLaren, Honda are one of the pre-season favourites.

Red Bull
David Coulthard, Christian KlienThere is no doubt about Dietrich Mateschitz’s commitment to success in Formula One racing, as evidenced by his sizeable investment in Red Bull Racing, the purchase and rebranding of Minardi as Scuderia Toro Rosso, and his subsequent hiring of former Williams and McLaren design guru, Adrian Newey and key staff from other teams. It will be a while before Newey’s influence is really felt, but he is believed already to have solved the overheating issues that initially affected the new Ferrari-engined RB2.

BMW
SauberNick Heidfeld, Jacques VilleneuveThe marriage of convenience between BMW and Sauber seems to be working very well, with the respective teams from Munich and Hinwil working harmoniously. The inside information from the team is that while no one area is fantastic, all of them are good, and the new BMW Sauber F1.06 has shown good speed and reliability in all of its tests. As an added bonus to the team, test driver Robert Kubica had shown a strong turn of pace, too.

Midland
Tiago Monteiro, Christijan AlbersNow rebranded as Midland, MF1 Racing is the first Russian-registered Formula One team and there is evidence of significant investment after the first tentative season in 2005 when Alex Schnaider took over Jordan. The Midland M16 is a much-needed new car, powered by Toyota’s new V8. One of the fascinating aspects of the 2006 season will be to see if this independent team can haul itself into contention with BMW Sauber, Red Bull and Toro Rosso.

Toro Rosso
Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott SpeedBorn out of Minardi and still based in Faenza, Toro Rosso have benefited from the injection of much-needed investment from Dietrich Mateschitz’s Red Bull enterprise and the arrival of co-owner Gerhard Berger. There is a new spirit within the team, and they have two swift drivers, Tonio Liuzzi and American Scott Speed. Red Bull Racing engineers rate the former very highly and his speed in Bahrain recently, when he split the Hondas, suggests that the restricted Cosworth V10 might be a formidable weapon in the right hands.

Super Aguri
Takuma Sato, Yuji IdeIt’s a long time since there was a team registered in Japan, but ex-Formula One racer Aguri Suzuki also has a base at Leafield in the UK. This is the former TWR and Arrows factory in which the team’s current car, the SA05, was first built as an Arrows A23 back in 2002, and managing director Daniele Audetto fulfilled a similar role there, too. It has been a major struggle for the team just to get to the grid in Bahrain, and they will clearly take time to find their level. In the background, however, Mark Preston and his team are hard at work on the all-new SA06 which Suzuki hopes will be ready in time to make its debut when the European season kicks off in April at Imola.

Michelin and Bridgestone
Last year the French company wiped the floor with the Japanese, their tyres maintaining their performance much better over the course of a race. Since then, Toyota and Williams have switched to Bridgestone, race tyre changes are back, and the signs from testing are that the situation has become more equal. In fact, if you talk to some of the Michelin runners they will tell you that Bridgestone have a slight advantage; hold the conversation the other way round, and word is that Michelin may still be slightly ahead.

The 2006 Season Preview - Part 2
What's new for the coming Formula One season?
An exciting new qualifying format, a move to V8 engines and the return of mid-race tyre changes. Just a few of the revisions for the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, all of which are bound to make the competition more fascinating than ever…

The Technical Changes:2006 marks the introduction of a new engine formula, and all of the works teams have agreed to run the 2.4 litre V8s mandated by the FIA. From the 900-plus horsepower seen last year, outputs will fall to around 750. Independent teams without access to a V8 can run 3-litre V10s, held down to 16700 rpm with a 77 mm restrictor. Only Toro Rosso (so far) are taking this course, running last year’s Cosworth engine. They expect similar horsepower to the V8s, but crucially may enjoy greater torque. One effect of this is that they may be able to run more wing and thus enjoy greater downforce, but balancing this is the fact that all of the new V8 cars have followed stringent drag-reducing diets. The V8s may produce less power, but they are lighter, use less fuel and require smaller radiator surface areas, all factors that have strong influences on the car’s design.The aerodynamic regulations have changed yet again, with the aim of reducing downforce. Restrictions on the frontal bodywork have removed the lower sections of the barge boards and dramatically altered the airflow around this sensitive area of the car. Meanwhile, the fact that a minimum wheelbase dimension remains, despite shorter engines, means that designers have been able to create more svelte and efficient rear-end packaging.The other significant change is in the tyre regulations. Drivers are still only permitted seven sets of tyres over a race weekend, with no more than two specifications provided by the supplier. And tyres used in qualifying and the race must be of the same specification. But now drivers may change tyres again during races, whereas last year they had to make do with one set. While that created some brilliant races - notably the European Grand Prix - it was felt that free-for-all tyre changing in races would enliven things further by eliminating the ‘slow-burn’ nature of 2005 races, and increase the level of competition.The Sporting Changes:Ever since the single-car qualifying format was introduced in 2005 there was criticism from some quarters, and the FIA have now responded to calls to make it more exciting. Here’s how the new knockout system will work:Between 1400 and 1415 hours, all cars will be out on track. The slowest six will then be excluded from running further and will, in order of their lap times, fill the final six slots on the grid.Between 1420 and 1435 hours, the next six slowest drivers will similarly be excluded and will fill positions 11 to 16. In both of these sessions teams may use as much (or as little) fuel as they wish.After that, from 1440 to 1500, the remaining 10 drivers will start afresh, their previous lap times being erased. They must then run qualifying with the same fuel load with which they intend to start the race, and however much they use in the session will be topped up under supervision in parc ferme.Those drivers who qualify outside the top 10 may also refuel between qualifying and the race.The new format will make race strategy even more complex. The FIA have created a ‘litres per lap’ formula to calculate the amount by which the top-ten runners may refuel after qualifying. To address fears that some might do one quick lap and thereafter deliberately ‘sandbag’, or drive ‘slowly’ to save fuel, there will be a 110 percent qualifying rule which means that anyone whose lap time is more than 110 percent of their own fastest will have that lap discounted from their admissible refuelling tally.The rule was introduced after concerns that some teams might have designed their engines to burn off fuel quickly in the final qualifying session so that their cars could run as light as possible - and therefore gain a performance advantage for grid position - prior to post-session refuelling.

The 2006 Season Preview - Part 1
Pre-season testing form and what it really means
Formula One racing is set for one of the most open seasons in years. There is no other conclusion that you can draw when you study the teams' winter testing form from the Barcelona, Jerez, Valencia, Bahrain, Imola and Vallelunga circuits.

2006 has all the hallmarks thus far of a brilliant season, with world champions Renault battling it out again with McLaren, and Honda moving forward to challenge both of them. Ferrari and Toyota should also be close, while Williams, BMW Sauber and Red Bull - with their Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso (formerly Minardi) teams - are definite dark horses. Then you have a very heavily revamped Midland team (formerly Jordan) and the return of former Zakspeed/Larrousse/Footwork racer Aguri Suzuki with his Honda-powered Super Aguri team. It’s a particularly healthy sign for the sport that a new team have joined after several years with 10 runners.Testing, however, isn’t just a crucial information-gathering technical exercise; it’s a poker game. The trouble is that everybody is following their own specific programme on any given day. For instance, one team might be conducting qualifying-type runs, but carrying a high fuel load deliberately to disguise their true performance. All of them know to a high degree of accuracy what effect 1 kg of fuel has on lap time, and can therefore extrapolate the time they could expect if the car was running as light as it would be when the absolute maximum performance is demanded.Meanwhile, others may be attempting race distances. A Renault, for instance, might seem to have similar pace to a BMW Sauber or a Red Bull, but could really be running with a much heavier fuel load.We cannot take it as read, either, that everyone is running the same tyres, even runners from the same camp, be it Michelin or Bridgestone. This is still the point at which the tyre companies are trying different compounds and constructions.Then there is the fact that many teams will have last-minute aerodynamic revisions in time for Bahrain, that they have not been able to test beforehand.And don’t forget the engine factor. All the V8s are new, of course, though some development programmes have been going on longer than others. Cosworth and Toyota are believed to have the head starts here. Some manufacturers whose cars have been setting fast lap times, may have to turn down the wick and qualify and race at lower revs than they have used in testing, in order to ensure that their power units can survive the mandatory two races.The real truth, then, will not start to emerge until Bahrain on March 10, when the teams take to the Sakhir circuit for Friday’s first practice. And that, as any dramatist will tell you, is just as it should be.