Formula 1,
arguably the most glamorous and prestigious of all motor sports,
kick starts its 2004 season in Melbourne, Australia, this week.
And there's only one question burning in the minds of enthusiasts
worldwide: Is this the year the Ferrari-Schumacher juggernaut is
stopped?
Indeed, it seems like a Herculean task. Schumacher
and the Prancing Horses
have captured 4 consecutive Drivers' and Constructors' Championships
dating back to 2000, with the 35-year-old Schumi winning a record-breaking
6th drivers' title.
The gap, however, between the German and his rivals
has never been closer; and one needs only to go back to the 2003
Suzuka championships in Japan, where the race for the Drivers' title
went down the wire with Schumacher just edging young upstart Kimi
Räikkönen by 2 points. Perhaps as with any other sport,
you can only ascend so high before gravity catches up with you.
Witness Tiger Wood's extended
slump on the PGA tour or Lleyton
Hewitt's dismal 2003 season. So could this be the year the 6-time
champion finally concedes his coveted crown to his hungry challengers?
UrbanWire profiles a few of the drivers who are likely to usurp
the Schumacher-Ferrari Empire.
Juan
Pablo Montoya
The 29-year-old will end his partnership with Williams-BMW
after this year to join McClaren-Mercedes
the next. He was quoted in a GMM / CAPSIS International report:
"[I've] reached the point where you want to try something new".
Perhaps this is for the better. After all, the prodigious talent
has never placed better than 3rd in the Drivers' standings in 3
years of Formula 1 racing. And so if this isn't Montoya's breakthrough
season, a new machine could just very well be what the Colombian
needs to crank it up on the circuit.
Kimi
Räikkönen
At 24, Räikkönen is one of the youngest drivers on the
F1 circuit. What's more impressive is the Finn came out from near
obscurity - 6th in the Drivers' standings the previous year - last
season to emerge as the most consistent challenger to Schumacher
for the Drivers' Championship. Now as team McClaren-Mercedes' number
1 driver and a legitimate title challenger, expect him to be hungry
to go one better once the season gets underway.
Ralf
Schumacher
In another place and time, the younger Schumacher would have been
a successful Formula 1 driver. After all, 6 1st place and 23 podium
finishes in his 7-year F1 career is nothing short of impressive
Unfortunately, he shares the same family name - and circuit - with
possibly the greatest driver of all time; and as such, will always
walk in his older sibling's shadow. Nonetheless, Ralf is no pushover,
having clocked the fastest lap time in the Cheste circuit outside
Valencia, Spain, earlier in February and winning back-to-back races
in Germany and France last season. With some luck, he could very
well pose a threat to the driver's crown or a consistent challenge
for podium honours at the very least.
Rubens
Barrichello
This Brazilian has the unfancied job of being the 2nd driver at
Ferrari, after the indomitable Schumacher. What this means then
is Barrichello has to sacrifice his hopes of a challenge for the
title to assist his German teammate whenever necessary. Despite
playing the 2nd fiddle at Ferrari, the 31-year old has acquitted
himself quite nicely in his 10 years on the F1 circuit, with 7 wins
and a season-best finish of 2nd back in 2002, behind none other
than Schumacher. This year, he will again play a vital role if Ferrari
and Schumacher are to repeat their successes in the Constructors'
and Drivers' categories. And should the 1st and 2nd roles at team
Ferrari remain unchanged, expect Barrichello to place at least in
the top 5 at the end of the season.
David
Coulthard
The former number 1 driver at McClaren-Mercedes has been given an
ego-check as he's been relegated to the role of the support driver
after a woeful 2003 in which he finished a disappointing 7th in
the Drivers' Championship -a far cry from just 2 years before, when
the 32-year-old Brit claimed the runner-up position. Regardless,
with 13 race victories and 60 podium finishes under his belt, Coulthard,
who will be replaced by Montoya at the end of the season, cannot
be discounted from the championship race.
All drivers pictures taken from www.f1-live.com
Rule
Changes for 2004 F1 Season
1. Pit lane speed
limit has been raised from 80 kph to 100 kph.
2. One driver has only one engine per race weekend. Any driver
who has to change an engine before qualifying will lose 10
places on the 20-place starting grid from wherever he qualifies.
3. Rear wings on the car are now limited to two elements [instead
of three] to reduce downward force; and the vertical parts
of the wing (the end-plates) and the engine covers increased
in size to allow more space for sponsorship.
4. Along with automatic gearboxes, launch control has been
banned. Drivers can no longer rely on computerised electronic
systems to help get them off the starting grid smoothly.
5. The 2-hour private test sessions on Friday mornings has
been scrapped. Instead, Friday is now devoted exclusively
to free practice, with 2 hour-long sessions and all but the
top 4 teams in the 2003 Constructors' championship are allowed
to run a 3rd car in whatever livery they choose. Any driver
of a 3rd car on Friday must not have competed in more than
6 Grands Prix over the previous 2 years.
6. Qualifying now takes place in one 2-part session of 90
minutes on Saturday instead of an hour each on Friday and
Saturday, with drivers starting the first part in the order
that they finished the previous race, with the winner first,
rather than in championship order. Any car that stops on the
circuit in the first part cannot start the second, when the
finishing order from the first part is reversed, but goes
to the back of the grid instead.
Juan
Pablo Montoya
Kimi
Räikkönen
Ralf
Schumacher
Rubens
Barrichello
David
Coulthard