2010 sees an unprecedented number of new teams joining the grid, lured in by the promise of a $40 million budget cap which ultimately failed to materialise. Nevertheless, in addition to returnees Mercedes and Sauber, there will be three brand new outfits out on the track a week from now in Bahrain.
Most convincing of these is Virgin Racing. Run by Manor Motorsports and bankrolled by Richard Branson, this is a team following the tried-and-tested formula of a hugely experienced and successful outfit from lower formulae making the step up. Notably, their's is the first Formula 1 car ever to be completely designed by Computational Fluid Dynamics, rather than a mixture of computer, pencil and paper and a windtunnel. Nick Wirth is the man behind the design team, formerly the team principal of the ill-fated Simtek, as well as chief designer at Benetton in the late-1990s.
Of course, one of the key advantages to a windtunnel test is it gives you some indication as to whether or not bits are likely to drop off. Unfortunately, Virgin Racing had to go through this chastening experience in the first tests of the season, in front of the world's media. Initial problems with the front wing are easily fixed. More of a concern is the car's shonky hydraulic system. In modern-day Formula 1, unreliability is an absolute recipe for disaster. Virgin's season may hang on whether or not these teething problems can be ironed out early enough to take advantage of points now being awarded down to 10th place.
Their key rivals are likely to be Lotus Racing. Like all the new teams, Lotus - who, despite the name, are a different proposition entirely from Team Lotus - will be powered by the Cosworth engine. Having a lot of Cosworth engined cars in the field again feels right somehow. Having the Lotus name back, albeit in the form of a new team, is also a nice addition to the field.
Let's be honest - the team have not set the world alight in pre-season testing. The car is lacking in downforce and the lap times have suffered accordingly. However, it is important to not lose sight of the fact that this is a team who did not exist until September 2009. Mike Gascoyne's technical team have worked wonders to even have produced a car at all, let alone one which runs. Pace will come later, I'm sure, as Gascoyne is not one to miss a trick. However, I don't think Lotus will have the beating of Virgin in 2010.
Then, there's Hispania Team Racing. Competing as HRT is a fairly suitable moniker for this outfit, as a comedy team deserves a comedy name. Initially, this entry was Campos Meta - a team with years of experience and success in lower formulae. However, funding problems brought the project almost to the brink, leading to the unusual situation of a Formula 1 team having a takeover before their car had even turned a wheel.
In fact, their car is still yet to turn a wheel. The first time it will run at all seems likely to be in a week, during first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Frankly, this is not an ideal situation to be in, and it's hard to see HRT being anywhere but stubbornly clinging to the bottom of the timesheets all weekend. On the plus side, their car has been designed and built by Dallara, the Italian company with success on a Biblical scale throughout single-seater racing. On the minus side, this has never extended to Formula 1 - Dallara started 78 races between 1988 and 1992, scoring just 15 points with a best finish of two third places. That said, HRT would kill for that kind of return this season. Unfortunately, it's just not going to happen. Formula 1 needs new teams, they are vital for its continuing health and credibility. It's just sad that politics and finance look set to make one of the new outfits a laughing stock.
However, it's not right of me to beat up too much on HRT - they have, at least, made it to the grid. They have a car designed by an experienced firm not used to failure. They have two young, talented drivers. They are living the dream. USF1 were just dreaming.
It is not necessarily the FIA's proudest moment, the USF1 saga. Whilst the sports commercial and money men must have been licking their lips at the prospect of an all-American team, built entirely in Charlotte using American technology, it was important to be mindful of the fact that where America is concerned, Formula 1 has a history of kicking itself in the nuts. So it proved yet again. Despite investment from YouTube. Despite the involvement of former-Williams team manager Peter Windsor. Despite - embarassingly - an official FIA delegation visit to the factory to verify that the team were a serious prospect. The latter led to the signing of José María López, an Argentinian driver with significant funds behind him from the Argentine government. The team also apparently signed Milos Pavlovic, the Serbian with considerable single-seater experience in Europe. All of these ingredients came to make an unlikely proposition into a complete, and very public, shambles.
Nevertheless, USF1 have asked to defer their entry until 2011, so we may yet see them on a grid. Indeed, their official website - which is, bizarrely enough, rubbish - even has pictures of elements of their car produced at the factory. A nose section is an important step. Maybe they'll allow López and Pavlovic to take turns sitting behind it. Whilst they watch the races on television.
And so, Formula 1 continues to take two steps forward and one step back into the second decade of the third millennium. On the plus side, we have three new teams. Also on the plus side, we know for sure that two of them have cars which actually work.
In the case of Hispania and USF1, however, the sport has once again made a spectacle of itself. All the more confusing, then, that the FIA passed on the application of Prodrive to enter the 2010 World Championship. Maybe it's just far better to have an imaginary team - made from unicorns and moonbeams - from America than it is to have an actual team, built by people in blue overalls with oil spots on them, from boring old Europe.
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