Jacques comes back

It now looks more probable than possible that 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will be back on the Formula 1 grid in 2010. Rumour now has it that he will be announced as a Lotus driver some time next week. However, unlike the stir that Michael Schumacher has now twice caused with potential comebacks in 2009, the news Villeneuve is to return has barely even registered beyond a ripple amongst hardened fans and nerdy types.

In a way, this is very understandable, as Villeneuve is possessed of a particularly unusual career history in the world's premier single-seater category. Perhaps only Emerson Fittipaldi, who won 2 titles in his first 4 years in the sport then spent a further 6 tooling around in the pack driving for his family team, can match it. In Jacques' first 33 races in the sport, he won eleven times and finished no lower than second in the drivers' championship standings. In the subsequent 131 he did no better than four 3rd places and fifth in the final table.


Much of the reason for this will be put at the door of his decision, mid-1998, to leave the Williams team and join his long-time manager Craig Pollock at British American Racing. His first season with the team built around him was an unmitigated disaster: he failed to finish any of the first eleven races of the year and finished without a point to his name. He stayed with the team for an additional 4 seasons, but rarely looked anything but a midfield runner. In 2004 he took a sabbatical year, save for three races at Renault towards the end of the season, before an 18-month return to the sport with Sauber and BMW. When he walked out of his broken car at the German Grand Prix in 2006, however, it looked very much like he was done with Formula 1, sick to death and glad to be rid of it.

Because the simple fact of the matter is, Villeneuve never, ever got to grips with Formula 1's grooved tyre era. A vocal opponent of the change, when the ludicrous rubber actually appeared in 1998, Villeneuve was never the same driver again. So reliant on absolute commitment and late braking for his speed, Villeneuve lost his edge, lost his confidence, then lost everything. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was of a once-great driver at all kinds of lurid angles in his early days at Sauber in 2005, damn-nearly completely unable to make his car brake in a straight line.

Yes, there are questions about his decision to join BAR and his suitability thereafter as a team leader and as a focal point for a squad's development. But I honestly think that, with different tyres, we'd have seen a different Jacques. And a different Jacques could have meant the recent history of Grand Prix racing could have been a little different.

There's now a whole new generation of motor racing fans who, though they may remember Villeneuve the midfield runner, may not think of him in any other way. If you were born on the day Villeneuve won his last Grand Prix, you would now be 12-years old and at secondary school. The news that Jacques Villeneuve has been tempted back across the Atlantic by the new Formula and, crucially, its slick tyres, would most likely have failed to excite you. However, with a bit of luck, 2010 may give us glimpses of a return to the old Villeneuve - rear wheels almost perpetually on the limits of the exit kerbs, brakes locked and at maximum attack, the Villeneuve who, between 1995 and 1997 won the Indy 500, the Indycar championship, 11 Grands Prix and the world title. Just to have a driver of his pedigree and personality back in the sport would be treat enough for me. But if his car allows him to recapture his old form, he's going to make an indeleble mark on a whole new generation of impressionable young minds.

2010 new teams for 2010

One of the oft-cited fears about next season's Formula 1 World Championship (during the achingly-predictable political squabbles and threats of a breakaway series that characterised much of the early part of 2009 season) was that without the big-name teams, the sport would be lacking in credibility. An all-new look F1, led by a vanguard of Williams and Force India and largely powered by Cosworth engines seemed, for a time, to be on the cards. This never particularly bothered me - I'm more interested in historical continuity than following big names like Red Bull Racing (who?) around wherever they go. For some, however, it was a real sticking point, to the point where Ferrari even used its lengthening shadow to gain leverage in the propaganda battle.

With the new Concorde Agreement signed and all the usual suspects still in place, 2010 will nevertheless have a very different make-up. Toyota and BMW are gone and - if strong rumours are to be believed - Renault are about to follow them and be run by and badged as David Richards' Prodrive operation for the next few years. There are already going to be four brand new teams lining up at Bahrain next March. With Prodrive and a probable entry for Sauber, the eponymous Peter having completed negotiations with BMW to buy back his old team earlier this week, it would make six. Serbian team Stefan Grand Prix are also trying to find a way in for 2010, rumours having them putting in an offer for Toyota's entry. Not even last years' Constructors' champions will be on the grid in the same form, of course, now that Brawn are rebadged as Mercedes GP.

That leaves us with a probable field of 26 cars and 13 teams, only six of whom competed in their current form in the 2009 World Championship. However, far from being a sign of a sport battling for credibility, Formula 1 is showing signs of enormous growth. OK, the years of plenty have gone, with big car manufacturers unwilling to plough huge amounts of money into a sport where they'll probably be beaten by a British outfit who built their chassis in a shed in Milton Keynes and then cobbled an old V8 into the back of it. But those garagistes were precisely the people who dominated the boom period of Grand Prix racing's huge growth to worldwide prominence in the 1970s and 1980s and precisely the people who the big car companies had to beat. The fact that they didn't and then chucked in the towel only reflects badly on one of the parties.

The irony of this situation is that it was the outbreak of common sense and unity within FOCA and the FIA which has allowed these developments. Through all the threats, counter-threats and posturing - for all the worries about big-name teams departing - all concerned have contrived to create a sport which, though retaining the thread of its heritage and prestige, is nevertheless an attractive and achievable prospect for newcomers. Indeed, the new regulations are even showing signs of tempting new investment from car companies - Volkswagen are said to be looking in to F1 engine supply for 2012 onwards.

It's also good news for the drivers. More cars means more opportunities to get onto the grid, and more drivers on the grid means more excitement and interest for the spectators. Because, and let's hope that Formula 1 teams never forget this, it's drivers who the majority of people come to see. The only loss to Formula 1 2010, then, is some big-name car companies. And I for one think that the loss is all theirs.

Country championship

You've almost certainly never wondered, as I did, which are the most successful countries in terms of their drivers' results in the 60 years of the Formula 1 World Championship. However, once I wondered it, it could not go unwondered, and as such I hereby present a number of extremely boring and geeky top 10 lists to that end.

GRAND PRIX WINS BY DRIVER NATIONALITY (NUMBER OF WINNERS)
Great Britain 205 (19)
Germany 108 (6)
Brazil 102 (6)
France 77 (12)
Finland 44 (4)
Italy 43 (15)
Austria 41 (3)
Argentina 38 (3)
Australia 28 (3)
United States 22 (5)

GRAND PRIX WINS PER HEAD OF POPULATION
Finland (one win for every) 121,594 people
Austria 203,822
Great Britain 298,993
New Zealand 355,500
Germany 759,815
Sweden 777,119
Australia 786,099
France 845,110
Belgium 969,624
Argentina 1,068,302

GRAND PRIX WINNERS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA
Great Britain (one Grand Prix winner for every) 4,975 miles²
Belgium 5,894
Italy 7,756
Switzerland 7,970
Austria 10,794
France 21,713
Germany 22,975
Finland 32,649
New Zealand 51,869
Sweden 57,915

AVERAGE GRAND PRIX WINS BY DRIVER NATIONALITY
Spain 21.00
Germany 18.00
Brazil 17.00
Austria 13.67
Argentina 12.67
Finland 11.00
Great Britain 10.79
Australia 9.33
Canada 8.50
South Africa 8.00

AVERAGE GRAND PRIX WINS PER HEAD OF POPULATION
Finland (one win for every) 486,377 people
Austria 611,466
New Zealand 711,000
Belgium 1,939,249
Switzerland 2,211,171
Spain 2,221,998
Sweden 2,331,357
Australia 2,358,296
Argentina 3,195,947
Canada 3,982,706

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BY DRIVER NATIONALITY(NUMBER OF CHAMPIONS)
Great Britain 14 (10)
Brazil 8 (3)
Germany 7 (1)
Argentina 5 (1)
Australia 4 (2)
Austria 4 (2)
Finland 4 (3)
France 4 (1)
Italy 3 (2)
Spain 2 (1)
United States 2 (2)

WORLD CHAMPIONS PER HEAD OF POPULATION
Finland (one champion for every) 1,783,393 people
Austria 4,178,354
New Zealand 4,266,000
Great Britain 6,111,312
Australia 11,005,383
Italy 30,078,607
Canada 33,853,00
Argentina 40,482,000
Spain 46,661,950
South Africa 49,320,000

WORLD CHAMPIONS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA
Great Britain (one world champion for every) 9,453 miles²
Austria 16,192
Finland 43,532
Italy 58,173
New Zealand 103,738
Germany 137,847
Spain 195,364
France 260,558
South Africa 471,443
Argentina 1,068,302

On the whole, then, the broad trend points towards Finland having done the best with the number of people that they have, with Britain having eked the most out of the territory at their disposal. However, this being a motor racing blog, it couldn't be complete without a definite final decision based on an arbitrary points system. As such, I have awarded a points score to every entry in each of the above lists, from 10 points for 1st place down to 1 for 10th place. The final reckoning (and, remember, the judges decision is final) is as follows:

FINAL TOTAL
Great Britain 59
Austria 59
Finland 58
Germany 41
New Zealand 31
Italy 27
Brazil 25
Spain 24
Australia 24
France 24
(in the event of a tie, the country with the most number of high scores wins)

And so it is Britain who, maybe predictably, prevail. However, it is Austria rather than Finland who come in second place, a surprise for a country who have not had a Grand Prix driver in two years or a Grand Prix winner in 12. However, they have nevertheless been doing themselves a great deal of justice all this time. On that subject, a special word for Spain in 8th position. This lofty spot represents the efforts of one man alone, Fernando Alonso. Overall, however, congratulations to Britain. The prize may or may not be in the mail.

Stepping stones

Time was that the British Formula 3 championship was one of the premier breeding grounds for Formula 1 drivers. In the 1980s, for example, only one of its champion drivers did not make it to the top level - Andy Wallace - who nevertheless went on to be one of his generation's best sportscar drivers. The 1990s started similarly well, the first two British F3 champions of that decade being Mika Häkkinen and Rubens Barrichello. However, after that only two of their fellows made it into Formula 1 - although 1992 champion Gil de Ferran won multiple Indycar championships in America. The noughties had an identical strike rate, with four of the ten champions only making it to Formula 1 - Antonio Pizzonia, Takuma Sato, Nelsinho Piquet and Jaime Alguersauri. However, this last decade has also acquired the dubious honour of the first in the championship's history where none of its champion alumni have gone on to win a Grand Prix.

Sadly for the series, which enters its sixtieth season in 2010, this pattern looks set to continue. Not only does it face stern competition for the top drivers from the F3 Euroseries, but 2010 sees the debut year for the GP3 series, running as a support series for GP2 and Formula 1 at European race weekends and under the noses of all the great and good of the F1 firmament.

Today's list, then, is the 2009 season's twenty-five drivers and the feeder series they competed in as their final step up to Formula 1. As a bonus I have listed eleven other drivers who make up, with the 2009 fields four world champions, the last fifteen Formula 1 title winners. Where a driver came from a series of similar stature (i.e. the top of its own little food chain), their step up to that championship is also listed.

JAIME ALGUERSAURI British Formula 3 (champion)
FERNANDO ALONSO International Formula 3000
LUCA BADOER International Formula 3000 (champion)
RUBENS BARRICHELLO International Formula 3000
SÉBASTIEN BOURDAIS CART Champ Cars World Series (4-time champion), International Formula 3000 (champion)
SÉBASTIEN BUEMI GP2 Series
JENSON BUTTON British Formula 3
GIANCARLO FISICHELLA International Touring Car championship, Italian Formula 3 (champion)
TIMO GLOCK Formula 3 Euroseries (second attempt: GP2 series (champion)
ROMAIN GROSJEAN GP2 series
LEWIS HAMILTON GP2 series (champion)
NICK HEIDFELD International Formula 3000 (champion)
KAMUI KOBAYASHI GP2 series
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN GP2 series
ROBERT KUBICA World Series by Renault (champion)
VITANTONIO LIUZZI International Formula 3000 (champion)
FELIPE MASSA Italian/European Formula 3000 (champion in both)
KAZUKI NAKAJIMA GP2 series
NELSINHO PIQUET GP2 series
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN British Formula Renault (champion)
NICO ROSBERG GP2 series (champion)
ADRIAN SUTIL All-Japan Formula 3 (champion)
JARNO TRULLI German Formula 3 (champion)
SEBASTIAN VETTEL World Series by Renault
MARK WEBBER International Formula 3000

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER World Sports Car championship, German Formula 3 (champion)
MIKA HÄKKINEN British Formula 3 (champion)
JACQUES VILLENEUVE CART Indycars (champion), Toyota Formula Atlantic
DAMON HILL International Formula 3000
ALAIN PROST European Formula 3 (champion)
NIGEL MANSELL British Formula 3
AYRTON SENNA British Formula 3 (champion)
NELSON PIQUET British Formula 3 (champion)
NIKI LAUDA European Formula 2
KEKE ROSBERG European Formula 2
ALAN JONES Formula Atlantic

Japan's Grand Prix drivers

In the comments section for my last post, Al asked whether or not I'd discounted Kamui Kobayashi from getting a seat in the 2010 Formula 1 season. The fact of the matter is, I'd not even really considered him.

This is not a reflection of Kobayashi's ability, which I think he amply demonstrated was worthy of a full-time chance in Formula 1 in his two races last season. Some rumours, indeed, put him in the frame at Lotus for 2010. It's more of a reflection on the nature of Japanese Grand Prix drivers in the sport thus far - i.e. they are normally chosen as a means to an end, rather than on merit alone. This is not to say that Japan doesn't produce Formula 1-standard racing drivers: Japan is, after all, home to the Formula Nippon and the All-Japan Formula 3 championships, two of the most respected junior formulae on the rungs below Grand Prix motor racing. However, many of them will be passed over for a compatriot with better sponsorship or engineering ties. I think that this approach to hiring Japanese drivers has become endemic in the sport, to the point where a Japanese pilot has to be quite outstanding, perhaps much more so than a rival from a European country. Their language is too much of a barrier, goes the old theory. Formula 1's community is too alien to allow them to blossom.

There have been 18 Japanese Grand Prix drivers, 17 of whom have started Formula 1 World Championship events. The first of these did not take to the grid until 1976, the year of the first Japanese Grand Prix. Since then, due to meagre opportunities or the very best drivers being passed over in favour of less able but better-connected countrymen, it's been slim pickings. Japanese drivers are by no means the only sufferers of this curse - to get to the top in Formula 1 requires a lot of luck and good judgement on top of driving ability. However, they have been pretty badly served by the situation: Japan's F1 drivers have racked up 472 starts but scored just 87 points, with a best race finish of two 3rd places. Today's post, then, looks at these drivers and selects the five best of the crop.

Firstly, the raw stats: here are Japan's 18 GP drivers, listed in order of their points-per-starts ratio. Also shown are their number of starts, points scored and their best ever race finish:


























The pick of the crop - Japan's five best Grand Prix drivers:
5. Aguri Suzuki (1988-1995)

Suzuki was Japan's second-ever full-time Formula 1 racing driver. After an average lower formula career, Suzuki blossomed in 1988, winning the Formula Nippon (Japanese Formula 3000) championship, making his debut in Formula 1 in a one-off drive for Lola at that year's Japanese Grand Prix, finishing 11th. Moving to Zakspeed for 1989, he endured a torrid season, failing to pre-qualify for all of that season's 16 Grands Prix. In 1990 he was back at Lola, and acquitting himself well, scoring points on three occasions, including a 3rd place at Suzuka, becoming the first Japanese ever to stand on a Formula 1 podium. A second season with Lola in 1991 yielded one more point, before his final two full seasons in the sport in 1992 and 1993 were spent at Footwork Mugen-Honda, the latter year spent being respectably close to teammate Derek Warwick, often beating him on race day, although he failed to score any more points. A one-off drive at Jordan - filling in for the suspended Eddie Irvine at Aida - followed in 1994, before his Mugen-Honda connections saw him share the second Ligier seat with Martin Brundle for 1995, adding his eighth and final career point in that season's German Grand Prix.

Suzuki was never destined to be a star of Grand Prix racing. However, he was part of the vanguard of drivers who helped prove that Japanese drivers were good for more than securing sponsorship or engine deals: they could be respectably solid performers. Suzuki went on to be the team principal for the Super Aguri team who entered Formula 1 between 2006 and 2008.

4. Ukyo Katayama (1992-1997)

The man who has started more Grands Prix than any other Japanese started off as a bit of a joke. In spite of winning the 1991 Formula Nippon title, Katayama was short of stature, and of such a cheerfully amiable disposition that, combined with his rather stuttering start in the sport and his neat line in witty self-depreciation, could easily have been mistaken for gormlessness. Yes, Katayama had a tendency to make mistakes, but he was by no means alone in that regard. And yes, he had a distinctive style of nodding his head as he raced his car. However, after two sighters, full seasons with Larrousse and Tyrrell in 1992 and 1993, people were forced to stop laughing and take notice in 1994. In the neat Tyrrell 022-Yamaha car, Katayama finished 5th in the season's opening race, going on to secure a further fifth and sixth placed finish during the season. It would have been more, too, had the Tyrrell been a match for its midfield rivals in reliability or horsepower. Particularly notable was his run in Germany, where in a crash-decimated field he ran a merited 3rd until his throttle stuck open and he spun out.

So impressive was he, in fact, that he was approached at the end of the season by a top team - probably Benetton, at the time sponsored, like Katayama and Tyrrell, by Mild Seven cigarettes - with a view to driving for them in 1995. He declined due to being diagnosed with a cancer on his back, although it was very much the mark of the man that this fact did not emerge until long after his career was over and that he never tried to use it as an excuse. Katayama, perhaps slowed by this medical issue, failed to score another point in Grand Prix, either with Tyrrell in 1995 (a season in which he survived a frightening roll at the start of the Portuguese Grand Prix) and 1996, or at Minardi in 1997. By then, he was a solid performer, his old tendency towards mistakes seemingly ironed out. When he retired at the end of the season, it was marked by genuine sadness in the paddock at the loss of a universally popular character. He went on to sate his competitive instincts by climbing mountains and racing sportscars, winning the GTP class at Le Mans (finishing 2nd overall) in 1999.

3. Satoru Nakajima (1987-1991)

Nakajima was a pioneer, the first ever full-time Formula 1 driver from Japan. He was, let's face it, the price to Lotus for Honda engines in 1987. However, he was also a 5-time Japanese Formula 2 champion so it was no surprise that he acquitted himself well at the top level, although he wasn't able to match the performances of his teammate Ayrton Senna. In his debut year he finished in the points 5 times, including being the final part of a Honda-powered 1-2-3-4 at that year's British Grand Prix. More importantly still, he only failed to make the finish on 5 occasions, showing a speed allied to a solid consistency which became his trademark.

He remained at Lotus for 1988 and 1989, now alongside Nelson Piquet, but the car was growing less and less competitive and as such, his results tailed off, failing to qualify 5 times in 32 attempts. However, another of Nakajima's notable characteristics - his excellence in wet conditions - was also being brought to bear. In the 1989 Australian Grand Prix at a saturated Adelaide, Nakajima matched his best ever finish in 4th, also turning the race's fastest lap. Nakajima moved to Tyrrell in 1990 for two final seasons, scoring 5 more points in the process.

Satoru Nakajima's role in Formula 1 for Japanese drivers cannot be understated. Not only did he prove quick and consistent in his position as his country's first ever full-time pilot, but after his retirement he has worked tirelessly - through both driver and single-seater racing team management - to find and nurture his countrymen to the top of their sport. As well as his son Kazuki, Nakajima has also had a hand in the Formula 1 career of the quick-but-erratic Tora Takagi.

2. Takuma Sato (2002-2008)

Sato was one of that rare breed, a Japanese driver whose achievements on the track made him irresistible, even without any ulterior motives. Initially a little unpredictable but undeniably fast, Sato managed to harness his ability in time for the 2001 British Formula 3 season, blitzing his way to the title and also winning the Macau GP for the bargain. Hardened Formula 3 hacks at the time compared him with the young Mika Häkkinen, a fellow British F3 champion. Sato made his debut for Jordan-Honda in 2002, enduring a trying season in a difficult car. However, he delighted everyone with a fine 5th place in Suzuka. 2003 was spent as a test driver for BAR Honda, but found himself back in the race team when Jacques Villeneuve walked away from the team a race early. Sato again distinguished himself in his home race, this time finishing 6th and battling with Michael Schumacher along the way.

For 2004, Sato was a full-time BAR driver, and enjoyed one of the season's most complete packages. Though never really able to match Jenson Button's overall performance, Sato showed flashes of his speed. In Europe, he qualified in 2nd place, an all-time best for a Japanese Formula 1 driver. In the United States, he finally became the first Japanese in 14 years to match Aguri Suzuki and stand on an F1 podium. By the end of a good season, Sato had accrued 34 points, over twice as many as the career-best total of his nearest rival. 2005 at BAR was less successful with just a single point scored, the team not finding any real competitiveness until mid-season, Sato also missing 4 events due to ill-health, suspension and the Indianapolis tyre farrago.

His last seasons in the sport were spent with Super Aguri-Honda. 2006 was a glum year, driving a hopelessly outclassed car. However, 2007 was a different matter and Sato often shocked some big names, qualifying in the top ten at the season's opening race and scoring points twice, including a characteristically combative drive to 6th in Canada. 2008 finished early as the team ran out of funds, but it is the mark of the esteem in which Sato is held in the sport that his name is frequently mentioned in connection with available seats. He may well find himself on the grid again in 2010, even though his old patrons at Honda have now left the sport.

1. Kazuyoshi Hoshino (1976-1977)

"The Fastest Man in Japan" only ever started 2 Formula 1 races, at Fuji in 1976 and 1977. However, even in those he made his mark. Outside of the rarified confines of the Grand Prix bubble, he was utterly formidable, a driver who exercised a measure of dominance over his country's excellent racing structure for more than 3 decades.

His country's 1975 Formula 2000 champion, Hoshino entered the first ever World Championship Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 in a privateer Tyrrell run by Heroes Racing. Qualifying 21st, using his local knowledge and excellent Bridgestone tyres - the company's first ever foray into Grand Prix racing - he drove a magnificent race in the torrential downpour, running as high as 4th before his team literally ran out of usable rubber and he had to retire. Returning in 1977, off the back of his second F2000 success that year, he finished 11th in a year-old Kojima racing car, no mean achievement. However, that year at Fuji an accident between Ronnie Peterson and Gilles Villeneuve accounted for the lives of some spectators and a marshal and the Grand Prix circus would not return to Japan for a decade.

Hoshino went on to win the Japanese Formula 2 championship in 1978, adding 3 more titles in the series (now renamed Formula Nippon) in 1987, 1990 and 1993. By 1993, Hoshino was already 46-years old, not just competing in an arena typically given over to hungry young drivers but also excelling in it. For his 1993 success, he beat future Formula 1 drivers Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Roland Ratzenberger and Mika Salo, whilst his 1990 title (aged a mere 43) came at the expense of Ukyo Katayama. Hoshino was also dominant in sportscars, enjoying a spirited rivalry with fellow 1970s F1-refugee Masahiro Hasemi (who set fastest lap in his sole Grand Prix start in 1976) on his way to titles in Japanese Touring Cars (1990) and Japanese Sports Prototypes (1991 and 1992).

A remarkable talent, Hoshino did not retire from racing until 2002. One can only imagine what he might have been able to achieve if he'd been given the same chance to run a full campaign in Formula 1 as Satoru Nakajima was a decade later.

Merry-go-round

For the past 15 years, places for drivers in Formula 1 have been at an absolute premium. Not since the first few races of 1995 have there been 26 cars on the grid, and often in the intervening period there have been 20 or less cars regularly lining up on race day. However, if everything goes as planned, Formula 1 will again have 13 teams for next season. Ironic, then, that with the extra places up for grabs, the regular close-season scrabble for seats is more confused than ever before.

A number of issues are to blame for this. First, everyone was waiting for the Fernando Alonso-Kimi Räikkönen-Ferrari triangle to resolve itself. However, once that was done, Kimi Räikkönen's future plans became the hub. Now, with the Finn seemingly set for a sabbatical year on the WRC circuit (although still making noises about a possible berth at Mercedes Grand Prix), the situation is still in flux, with everyone in the field loath to finalise anything lest another team pull out of the sport. Of particular interest is the future of Renault, where Robert Kubica is confirmed for next season but is nevertheless an attractive prospect for Mercedes (or anyone else) should he unexpectedly become available.

Today, then, I'm going to take a look at who is going where, who is probably going where and the delicate house of cards situation in general.

At least there's a nice easy start: McLaren-Mercedes have now confirmed Jenson Button as Lewis Hamilton's 2010 teammate. This British all-world champion superteam will undoubtably start pre-season testing as the favourites.

Mercedes Grand Prix, the rebadged Brawn team, have all but confirmed Nico Rosberg as one of their drivers. However, there's quite a scrabble for the place alongside him. Favourite at the moment is Nick Heidfeld, as rumours suggest that Stuttgart is keen for an all-German line-up. However, Kimi Räikkönen is available and lurking, although apparently seeking assurances that he'd have an opportunity to win the World Championship - an odd position, this, considering that the team are the reigning drivers and constructors champions. The third prong in this particular three-pointed star is Robert Kubica, who may find himself on the market should Renault elect to pull-out of the sport and is a younger and slightly better driver than Heidfeld. I personally anticipate that it will be Heidfeld alongside Rosberg for next season, on a 1 year contract only.

Red Bull Racing continue 2010 as before, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. The only question is what engine they will use next season. Rumours that they were considering a switch to Mercedes have cooled since Merc's deal with Brawn, so it seems likely another season with the Renault powerplant is on the cards.

Ferrari began a lot of this chaos and uncertainty in the driver market, with Felipe Massa's health and unknown and Luca di Montezemolo as covetous of Fernando Alonso as an excited child on Christmas Eve despite Kimi Räikkönen's contract having another year to run. However, this saga was resolved relatively early, Massa and Alonso taking the seats in a formidable-looking line-up for 2010.

Williams, too, are now settled. The team will use Cosworth engines in place of Toyota units next year, and their cars will be driven by Rubens Barrichello and GP2 series champion Nico Hülkenberg, who is very much one to watch.

Renault are, in contrast, in a huge state of flux. Still uncertain if they will even continue in the sport beyond the end of this year, their financial and managerial stability was seriously rocked by the ludicrously-named Crashgate saga. However, there have been recent signs that there is fresh investment in the team, which can only be good for the health of the sport. Should they appear next season, Robert Kubica will drive their number 1 car. Alongside him is a big question mark. Test driver Romain Grosjean's chances seem to have been cooked by his unimpressive stint in the team at the end of this season. Depending on Mercedes' decisions, they could end up with Nick Heidfeld, although McLaren refugee Heikki Kovalainen returning to the team seem to be a better bet. Outside chances include Franck Montagny, the French driver who drove a handful of races for Super Aguri in 2006 and is an experienced tester at F1 level, and Bertrand Baguette, the Belgian driver who romped the World Series by Renault championship this year, winning a test in the R29 in the process. Another Francophile option would be Jules Bianchi, the highly-rated European Formula 3 champion, although as a member of Nicolas Todt's management stable he seems more likely to end up at a Ferrari-powered team, if at all.

Force India-Mercedes are the first team to have confirmed no-one at all in public or private. It is generally expected that one car will be driven by one of last year's drivers, Adrian Sutil or Vitantonio Liuzzi. Sutil would seem to be the faster option, Liuzzi the least expensive with regard to both salary and car rebuilds. The current favourite for the other car is Pedro de la Rosa, the hugely experienced Spanish driver who has been the McLaren number 3 for some years. With McLaren and Mercedes both having a stake in the team, it would seem to be a reasonable shot, although it could just as easily be a role Heikki Kovalainen could fill for identical reasons. Kovalainen would be the faster choice, but de la Rosa is an old and experienced head as well as being a hugely capable driver. Anyone expecting an Indian driver for the team will most likely be disappointed - the best bet would be Karun Chandok, but his achievements in lower formulae are trumped by too many rivals for him to be a serious contender. Also in the frame, hugely promising Scottish driver, Paul di Resta.

Toro Rosso-Ferrari have set out their store as a junior team and will, as such, remain truthful to their youth policy. Sébastien Buemi was impressive last season and will continue in 2010. He is likely to be joined by Jaime Alguersauri, who acquitted himself well in the second half of 2009. However, he also made a few costly mistakes, and the team may be tempted by one of Red Bull's many other youth stars. Brendon Hartley, the New Zealander who would make Jaime Alguerauri look like a wizened old shepherd is one of the youngest people to ever be granted a superlicence. A better bet may be Mirko Bortolotti, a very impressive young Italian driver with strong Ferrari links. Not only would he appeal to both engine supplier and team, but he is very, very fast and a successful test for the team - lined up for late this year - could swing things in his favour.

Now, onto the new teams. If they all make it, there will be four brand new outfits on the grid next season, plus the probable return of the Sauber name in place of Toyota. First up are Campos Meta-Cosworth, a Spanish team experienced in lower formulae and run by 1980s Minardi driver Adrian Campos. They have confirmed Bruno Senna in one of their cars, which has excited much of the sport. Senna hasn't been as electric on his way to the top table as his late uncle was, but as I have often said, a driver's CV is often little guide to Formula 1 performance. In the second car, the early rumours were for a Spanish driver, experienced Pedro de la Rosa being the obvious choice. However, he looks more likely to fit in elsewhere. This would leave Andy Soucek, the Formula 2 champion, as the obvious choice. He tests for Williams later in 2009 as his prize for winning the F2 series, and will give some indication of his capabilities. Whilst Soucek is confident of securing a drive for next season, the team may blanch at having two rookie drivers in a rookie team. In that case, they may well keep a weather eye on Nick Heidfeld's status at Mercedes.

Lotus-Cosworth are the newest of the new teams, backed by Malaysian money and with Mike Gascoyne designing their car. The hot tip is that Jarno Trulli will be their first driver, bringing with him a lot of experience which would prove invaluable. Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson are believed to be the rivals for the second seat, although I would venture that they would be a better partnership than Trulli plus one or the other of them. Why do people keep hiring Jarno Trulli? Fairuz Fauzy is the hottest young Malaysian driver, 2nd placed in this year's World Series by Renault championship. He is tipped for the third driver role, rather than a race seat.

Manor-Cosworth are likely to start next season called Virgin Grand Prix but other than that are fairly well settled. An experienced team, a respected designer in former Simtek boss and Benetton pencilman Nick Wirth and solid sponsorship behind them. Of all the new teams, this is the one that no-one doubts will make it to the grid. When they do, Timo Glock will be driving the first car. He'd been tipped for the drive alongside Kubica at Renault but was seemingly put off by all the uncertainty at the team. He'll almost certainly be joined by old Renault test driver Lucas di Grassi from Brazil, a driver whom I think will acquit himself very well in F1.

USF1-Cosworth are the first American-owned Formula 1 team since drivers used to race with a lit cigarette in their mouths. There's been much scepticism from some quarters as to whether or not they will make it, but all signs coming from the team seem to be as positive and constructive as one might expect from an outfit managed by Peter Windsor, ex team manager at Williams and a Formula 1 journalist of huge experience and repute. The FIA inspected their American factory and were hugely impressed, whilst the team have backing from internet giant YouTube. In their cars, it could be absolutely anyone... of all the teams looking to be in F1 next year, USF1 have the least heat and rumours surrounding their likely line-up. The team have stated that they may very well not have an American driver, handy as most drivers from over the Atlantic are more interested in IndyCar and NASCAR careers. The best bets would be Marco Andretti, grandson of Mario and son of Michael, Graham Rahal, son of Bobby, or Danica Patrick, whose gender would be explosively exciting for the sport, which hasn't had a female pilot since 1992. More likely than any of these would be Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, who is actively seeking a return to F1. Maybe not as pretty as Danica Patrick, but the better driver. Personally, I'd like to see Villeneuve joined by Dario Franchitti, the twice Indycar champion and long overdue an F1 drive. His Kiwi rival Scott Dixon would also be a welcome addition to the sport.

Lastly, the Sauber team. The former BMW outfit were bought by Qadbak and listed as the season's first reserve on the official entry list. With Toyota gone, I expect a team of some guise, run by Peter Sauber and powered by Ferrari, to be on the grid next year, particularly with Jean Todt now in charge at the FIA... Todt was the man responsible for the deal with Sauber in the late 1990s for the Swiss team to use Ferrari power. In the cockpit could very well be Jacques Villeneuve, who spent 18 months with the team in the middle of this decade. Nick Heidfeld will almost certainly be looking at this team as a fallback option, so he's not out of the picture either. However, youngsters - particularly those managed by Jean Todt's son Nicolas - could find themselves in favour too, so don't discount people like Jules Bianchi or Mirko Bortolotti. Christian Klien, the ex-Red Bull driver, spent 3 years with the team as a tester and may also find his loyalty repaid.

But if I'm perfectly honest with you, I'd like Valentino Rossi and Sébastien Loeb to be in Formula 1 next year. Plus other dominant sportsmen, like Usain Bolt, or Phil 'The Power' Taylor.

Two world champions

If, as it is widely anticipated will be announced some time this week, Jenson Button joins Lewis Hamilton at McLaren for the 2010 season, it will be the first time in 21 years that two past world champions have driven in Formula 1 as teammates. In fact it was 23 years ago, in 1986, since two previous world champions joined one another in a single teams lineup; in 1989 Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had been together already for one season, in which Senna won his first world title.

So, whilst it's relatively common for history and hindsight to show us examples of champion teammates - the most recent examples being Alonso and Hamilton at McLaren in 2007, Alonso and Jacques Villeneuve briefly at Renault in 2004 and Damon Hill and Villeneuve at Williams in 1996 - having two men who have already accomplished the feat joining one another is a much rarer prospect. In fact, in 60 seasons of the Formula 1 World Championship, it's so far only occurred three times. Today on +1 lap, we're going to look at those occasions and, more importantly, how they went.


1967: Graham Hill (1962) joins Jim Clark (1963, 1965) at Lotus

The story: Such significant driver moves happen maybe once in a lifetime. For the previous 5 seasons, Formula 1 had been largely the preserve of Hill and Clark. Only unreliability prevented the two men from winning all the titles on offer in that time. As it was, they had won three, Graham Hill's disciplined, self-taught determination in the BRM scoring first in 1962 and Jim Clark's fingertip natural brilliance in the Lotus bringing him success in 1963 and 1965. All things being equal, went the paradigm of the era, Jim Clark would win with Graham Hill second. So when Hill tired of his surroundings at BRM after a poor season in 1966, Lotus - Formula 1's fastest and most innovative team - were the obvious choice. However, Lotus was the home of Jim Clark, and the stage was therefore set for a monumental battle. Imagine Mika Häkkinen joining Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 2000 and you'd have a fair idea of the situation.

The result: Lotus' 1967 season was all about the debut season for the epoch-making Ford DFV engine. Its power was far above and beyond anything ever seen before in the sport, but early teething troubles and compatability issues with the drivetrain of the car made for an unpredictable season. If the car held together, Clark or Hill would walk the event. However, the story of the year is that it never did so with enough frequency to make either man champion of the world - that title went to Denny Hulme in the slightly slower but hugely reliable Brabham-Repco car. Lotus nevertheless won 4 times in 1967, Clark enjoying the better of the mechanical luck and taking all four victories. For 1968, the team started as firm favourites. Jim Clark won the season opener in South Africa with Hill second. However, between then and the next race, he was killed in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim. Hill carried a devastated Lotus team to the 1968 drivers and team titles, with three wins and a further three 2nd place finishes.

Head-to-Head: Jim Clark and Graham Hill spent 12 Grands Prix as teammates. Their head-to-head qualifying perfomance was 9-3 in Clark's favour. The breakdown of their results together are as follows:

JIM CLARK: 5 wins, 7 pole positions, 6 fastest laps, 50 world championship points; GRAHAM HILL: 0 wins (best result: two 2nd places), 3 pole positions, 2 fastest laps, 21 world championship points.

The verdict: It's impossible to call this for anyone other than Jim Clark. Certainly, Graham Hill suffered more than his teammate with Lotus' and Ford's mechanical failures... he and Clark agreed to share wins in the final two races, with Hill (literally) winning the toss at Watkins Glen, only to have his engine run out of oil with 4 laps left. But there's no denying the brilliance of Clark, perhaps the greatest and best Grand Prix driver of them all, making Hill's relative failure no cause for shame. The simple fact is, though, that when both men finished, Clark was always the car ahead.


1974: Emerson Fittipaldi (1972) joins Denny Hulme (1967) at McLaren

The story: Fittipaldi was very much the hotshoe of the time. In 1972 he had become the youngest ever man to win the World Championship, and much of the previous 3 years had been taken up with his thrilling battle for superiority in the Lotus against Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell. Stewart's retirement at the end of 1973, though, saw a 2010-style shake-up in the driver market. Fittipaldi had enjoyed a reasonably successful year in 1973, finishing second in the championship. However, the Lotus 72 car was now four years old and approaching the end of its useful life. McLaren's new M23 - like so many of its rivals, based on the brilliant Lotus car - was showing great promise and had won three races in its debut season. Fittipaldi joined 1967 champion Denny Hulme, who had been with McLaren - established by his fellow Kiwi and rival Bruce McLaren - since his title defence year of 1968. He had won five races in that time, but 1974 was to be his final season in Formula 1.

The result: It was Hulme who made his mark first, winning the season-opening Argentinian Grand Prix. However, this was to be the last of his eight career wins. From then on it was a Fittipaldi benefit. Aside from a second place in Austria, Hulme could do not better than five 6th places in 1974, whilst Fittipaldi took three wins and a further four podium finishes on his way to winning the 1974 World Championship. The two had also combined to give McLaren their first ever Constructors' Cup.

Head-to-Head: Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme spent 15 Grands Prix as teammates. Their head-to-head qualifying perfomance was 14-1 in Fittipaldi's favour. The breakdown of their results together are as follows:

EMERSON FITTIPALDI: 3 wins, 2 pole positions, 55 world championship points (World Champion); DENNY HULME:1 win, 1 fastest lap, 20 world championship points.

The verdict: Perhaps predictably, Fittipaldi easily had the measure of Hulme. The New Zealander was 38-years old and in his last year of Grand Prix racing, whilst the Brazilian was 28 and in a tearing hurry. However, the blend of youth and experience paid dividends for the team in the Constructors' Championship.


1986: Keke Rosberg (1982) joins Alain Prost (1985) at McLaren

The story: Keke Rosberg was the late bloomer, who had come from relative obscurity in 1981 to win a richly-merited title in the furiously competitive 1982 season, aged 34. Now 38, in what would turn out to be his last Grand Prix season, he left Williams - his home for the past 4 seasons to join the new World Champion, Alain Prost. Prost had narrowly missed out on the world title in each of the previous 4 years and was widely regarded as the best driver in the sport. The pairing also created a real clash of styles - Rosberg was swashbuckling, thrilling to watch on his own or in traffic. Prost was calmer, his more cerebral and measured approach in stark contrast, it seemed, to the speed he achieved. Both intelligent and amiable men, the pair nevertheless made it work for the good of all involved.

The result: Struggling with the handling of his new mount (as well as the demands put on driving style by the strict fuel limits of the time), Rosberg had an adequate, but little else, season. He scored points on seven occasions, took one pole position and had one podium finish. He also notably led much of the season's finale, also his last race in Formula 1. However, Alain Prost was a class apart from the rest, regardless of team. The McLaren-TAG Porsche was technologically inferior to the Williams-Honda of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell, but with huge discipline Prost stayed with them, finishing just behind when he could do no better but never letting go once a chance presented itself. Benefitting from the infighting at Williams, as well as his own skill, Prost won the World Title in the thrilling decider in Adelaide. Rosberg came away from the year telling anyone who would listen that Prost was the greatest driver he had ever seen.

Head-to-Head: Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg spent 16 Grands Prix as teammates. Their head-to-head qualifying perfomance was 12-4 in Prost's favour. The breakdown of their results together are as follows:

ALAIN PROST: 4 wins, 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps, 72 world championship points (World Champion); KEKE ROSBERG: 0 wins (best result: one 2nd place), 1 pole position, 22 world championship points.

The verdict: Like Clark and Hill, this result was never in question due to the era-defining abilities of one of the participants. Like Fittipaldi and Hulme, it was a match of youth and experience where the absolute motivation to run at the top level was starting to wane for one of the rivals. Like both of the above, however, Prost and Rosberg's relationship was notable for its good spirit and mutual respect, qualities one would always anticipate from champion drivers. It's not all about using your right foot, that game.


2010: Jenson Button (2009) to join Lewis Hamilton (2008) at McLaren?

And so we return to the present day. On paper, this is an explosive driver line-up, the two most recent World Champions. It is also a line-up I expect to work as a pair. There will, no doubt be tension, and no doubt it will be stoked up by a frenzied media interest. However, both men are intelligent enough to know that cooperation and respect will get them far further in the long run, even if deep down there is resentment. Both drivers, too, have experience of life within a team with an uncooperative teammate, and will be keen to avoid that path again.

The verdict: Lewis Hamilton is too good to be beaten over a full season by Jenson Button in identical cars. However, as Button is not yet even 30-years old and nowhere near ready to contemplate life outside Formula 1 racing, I expect this pairing of champions to be the most keenly fought battle yet.

Mercedes Benz

It's rare that the big news in Formula 1 is actually big news, but that was the situation that arose yesterday when Mercedes announced that they were selling their 40% share in McLaren and buying into a controlling interest in the Brawn team, which will be rebranded as Mercedes in 2010. As well as it being pleasing from the point of view of a major manufacturer increasing their involvement in the sport whilst many of their fellows distance themselves, it is also of huge historical significance. In fact, it represents the most successful Grand Prix team of all time purchasing their closest rivals for that title.

It's a fittingly stellar end to what has turned out to be Brawn's only season as a constructor, a fairytale which has only ever been equalled by the Stuttgart marque's brief foray into the World Championship in the mid-1950s. Indeed, for all of their famous pre-war exploits, their World Championship record remains amongst the proudest boasts in motorsport.

Both Mercedes and Benz took part in the first ever motor race, the Paris to Rouen event of 1894. But Mercedes Benz first really made their mark on European motor racing in 1914 with a 1-2-3 finish in the French Grand Prix, Christian Lautenschlager's D35 emerging victorious from an epic and politically-charged battle with Georges Boillot's Peugeot in Lyon, less than a week after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After the resumption of the sport following the Great War, Mercedes once again rose to prominence, in no small part due to the positive propaganda of such engineering excellence gave to Hitler's Germany. During the 1930s, the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows were the benchmark, along with their countrymen from Auto Union. Only the brilliant Tazio Nuvolari, frequently driving for Alfa Romeo, could ever really offer any consistent opposition to the German teams' dominance. In the end, such was the overwhelming superiority of the German machinery, even Nuvolari switched camps. Only the outbreak of the Second World War could put a stop to their towering achievements.

Mercedes' return to the sport, now formalised into the Formula 1 World Championship, was nothing short of spectactular. The team arrived half-way through the 1954 season and pulled out again at the end of 1955, after one of their cars was involved in the infamous Le Mans crash of that year, in which 81 spectators died. During that time, they contested 12 Grand Prix races, winning 9 of them. Also taking 8 pole positions and nine fastest laps, the team's 139.14 points were scored at an alarming rate of 11.595 per race. Naturally enough, they won both of the championships they contested, Juan Manuel Fangio winning the 1954 and 1955 drivers titles with a personal total of 8 wins from 12 starts.

Nobody, for all the technological innovations and performance increases in the 54 intervening years, was able to touch that record until Brawn this past year. Even Ferrari, hugely boosted by their stranglehold on the sport throughout much of the past decade, can only boast a points-per-start average of 6.299. However, in 2009 Brawn scored 8 wins, 5 poles and 4 fastest laps from their 17 starts, with 172 points scored at a rate of 10.118. It is perhaps a fitting monument to Ross Brawn's magnificent career in the sport that this record will now be set in stone next to his name. Of course, as the team principal of Mercedes Grand Prix, he is now concerned with making sure it remains the second best mark in the history of the sport.

That could be hard to do. In Mercedes' first spell in the championship, they had the distinct advantage of the pick of the drivers - only Alberto Ascari of that era's true greats never drove for the three-pointed star in a Grand Prix, and their beautiful W196 car enjoyed enormous technological superiority over a weaker field of cars than you would encounter in modern-day Grand Prix motor racing. However, what should also be remembered is that it was also an era before the institution of the Constructors' Cup. For all of their dominance, Mercedes have never been the Constructors' Champions of Formula 1. Indeed, despite the fruitfulness of their 15-year partnership with McLaren, even their engines have done relatively poorly, with just two titles to their name, the last of them being with the team they have now taken over.

For all this, it's hard to see Mercedes not being a success once more in their own right. They have bought into an experienced team with a growing appetite for excellence, and managed by one of the all-time great pit lane operators. Their drivers, likely to be Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld, are also more than capable of getting the job done, with the added incentive that neither has so far done so in their F1 career. Finally, they are extensively experienced at this level, having been providing engines to the top levels of motorsport in some form or other for almost twenty years, before you even consider their role as a technical partner has played in the life of the McLaren team for a generation.

For everything, though, the best news of all is that their buy-out has seemingly sent Jenson Button in the direction of Woking, to form an all-British McLaren-Mercedes superteam comprised of the two most recent world champions. There are some companies who come into Formula 1 and seem to be at odds from the start to their end. Mercedes Benz are ably demonstrating that there are others who immediately fit in and are a force for positive development in the sport. Their role in the racing of the past 15 years cannot be underestimated, and it would be a spectacularly hardened and embittered person who would not wish them luck and hope to see them compete well in their own right.

Formula 1 in the noughties, the drivers

The last decade can neatly be split down the middle, driver-wise. From 2000 to 2004, Michael Schumacher reigned supreme. From 2005 to 2009, the next generation of star drivers made their presence felt. All in all, it's a little unsatisfactory as an arrangement, as no one successor has helpfully pulled ahead of the rest of their rivals to fill the Michael-shaped void in the sport - for resolution to that issue we will, almost certainly, have to wait until the end of next decade. This is not to say that the field over the last 10 years hasn't provided us with a typically good mixture of brilliance, adequacy, unfulfilled promise and major new stars. Here's my top 10 drivers of the last ten years.

10. Rubens Barrichello (2000-2009)
172 starts, 530 points (@ 3.081). 11 wins, 12 pole positions, 17 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd place (2002, 2004).

As the Ferrari number 2 during their most dominating era yet was when Rubens clocked up the majority of his numbers, but it was perhaps in the final years of the decade where he most impressed. First, in an uncompetitive Honda he never let his head drop and gave his all in spite of the odds. Then, as the team became Brawn and the class of the field, he put up his most spirited title challenge to date - all the more ironic, then, that his two 2nd-place championship finishes date from his time of being well-beaten by Michael Schumacher.

Highlight: His brilliant, elbows-out swashbuckling drive to victory in the 2003 British Grand Prix.

9. Juan Pablo Montoya (2001-2006)
94 starts, 309 points (@ 3.287). 7 wins, 13 pole positions, 13 fastest laps. Best championship: 3rd (2003)

Explosive and exciting, Montoya was there or thereabouts throughout his brief Formula 1 career. Winner of at least one race in every year bar 2002 and his final, disappointing half-season with McLaren, perhaps his greatest achievement was making the established names sit up and take notice of him right from the off. And but for a catastrophic race at Indianapolis in 2003, he could have been a world champion.

Highlight: Passing Michael Schumacher into the first corner at Interlagos in 2001, then leading the race like a veteran in only his third Grand Prix. It should have been the start of something huge.

8. David Coulthard (2000-2008)
156 starts, 314 points (@ 2.013). 7 wins, 4 pole positions, 7 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd (2001).

He slid out of the sport rather anonymously at the end, but it should not be forgotten what a significant driver Coulthard was in the early part of this decade. A championship contender up until that perennial enemy - his own bad luck - reared its ugly head in 2000 and then runner up in 2001, Coulthard then went on to serve up perhaps his greatest ever Grand Prix win - holding off the field in an ailing McLaren at Monaco in 2002. The following season he won his final race in the sport and then in 2005 headed to Red Bull, where the results weren't as good but his experience was invaluable in the team's development. If he could have qualified as well as he raced, he could have been world champion.

Highlight: A brilliant win in the 2000 French Grand Prix, going wheel to wheel with Michael Schumacher and making the German look slow-witted.

7. Felipe Massa (2002, 2004-2009)
114 starts, 320 points (@ 2.807). 11 wins, 15 pole positions, 12 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd (2008).

First there was wild and woolly Felipe, the man who wrestled his steering wheel and never brought his Sauber through a corner on the same line twice. Then came a formative year at Ferrari as a test driver. The man who returned managed to retain the same speed, but as the years went on learn to control it and turn it into results. By the time he arrived at Ferrari in 2006, he looked like he had everything he needed to fulfil his potential. Within 2 years, he had come as close to winning a world championship as you feasibly can, and looked set to go one better a lot more times until a chastening 2009. If he fully recovers from his accident, Massa could be one of the leading stars of the next decade.

Highlight: His two wins in the Brazilian Grand Prix, both drives of such speed and control you wondered how it was anyone else ever managed to win anything.

6. Sebastian Vettel (2007-2009)
43 starts, 125 points (@ 2.907). 5 wins, 5 pole positions, 3 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd (2009).

An outstanding arrival on the scene, Vettel became the youngest ever Formula 1 points scorer on his debut at Indianapolis in 2007. Later moving to Toro Rosso, he led the Japanese Grand Prix in the streaming wet before crashing out of third. By way of compensation, the following week he finished 4th. A new star was being born. The following season came consistency and speed, including an improbable but dazzling win from the front in Monza. His move to Red Bull's senior team brought yet more success and a runners-up place in the standings. A multiple world champion, just waiting for his chance.

Highlight: Winning for Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008.

5. Jenson Button (2000-2009)
170 starts, 327 points (@ 1.924). 7 wins, 7 pole positions, 2 fastest laps. 2009 Formula 1 World Champion.

He arrived a relatively unheralded 20 year old at Williams in 2000 and impressed everyone. A future world champion, was the line. Well, he got there in the end. But if the fun in anything is in the journey rather than the arrival, Button will be enjoying his success more than most. A disappointing second season at Benetton had people questioning his motivation, an accusation which would repeatedly rear its ugly head whenever Button went through any kind of rough patch. However, when the car was underneath him he was always brilliant. His first podium in Formula 1 in 2004 was followed by 11 more that season, and after a trying start to 2006 Button outscored all his competitors in the second half of the year. The surprise of 2009 is not that Button is a world champion, but that it took so long for all the necessary factors to align.

Highlight: Winning the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, having pulled the rabbit out of the hat at just the right moment throughout the weekend.

4. Lewis Hamilton (2007-2009)
52 races, 256 points (@ 4.923). 11 wins, 17 pole positions, 3 fastest laps. 2008 Formula 1 World Champion.

The decade's outstanding debutant. Hamilton arrived in 2007 as the GP2 champion, with a reputation for speed, aggression and resolve. He promptly finished on the podium for every one of his first 8 races, winning 2. Inexperience cost him a remarkable debut season title, but he was not to be denied in 2008, becoming the youngest man to ever win the world crown. His most impressive year of all, however, has been 2009. Battling against expectation and adversity in a very poor car, he and the team developed as the year went on, winning two races before the season was out. He could possibly be the most complete driver now in Formula 1.

Highlight: In a season where the field would normally be separated, front to back, by between 1 and 1.5 seconds, taking pole position in Abu Dhabi by 0.7 seconds, with more fuel onboard than the second-placed driver.

3. Kimi Räikkönen (2001-2009)
156 starts, 573 points (@ 3.673). 18 wins, 16 pole positions, 35 fastest laps. 2007 Formula 1 World Champion.

When he arrived in Formula 1, there were serious doubts as to whether Räikkönen, with only 24 single seater race starts to his name in Formula Renault, should have been granted a superlicence. Initially racing under a probationary period of 4 races, Kimi scored points in his first race and never looked back. By the following season he was at McLaren. Only inexperience, a tangle here, a mistake in qualifying there stopped him being world champion in 2003. But it was 2004 which was particularly impressive. In a brittle and unreliable car, Räikkönen's almost-certainly doomed gimlet-eyed pursuits of Michael Schumacher's immeasurably superior Ferrari were often the highlight of mid-season races. Second again in 2005, his move to Ferrari for 2007 immediately bore fruit. The last two seasons have been patchier, but as soon as he's written off, you can always rely on Kimi to produce something which makes you remember why he earns the salary he does.

Highlight: the final two races of his world championship campaign of 2007, where he came from 17 points behind by winning the Chinese and Brazilian Grands Prix takes some beating. But I'll pick his charge to victory from 17th at Suzuka in 2005.

2. Fernando Alonso (2001, 2003-2009)
139 starts, 577 points (@ 4.151). 21 wins, 18 pole positions, 13 fastest laps. 2005 and 2006 Formula 1 World Champion.

The only real rival to Schumacher to emerge during the German's reign in the sport, Alonso combines qualifying speed, great racecraft and consistency with Schumacher's greatest facet: the ability to read a race whilst in the cockpit. Seasons with an uncompetitive Renault team have seen Alonso's reputation take a little knock, but it's really the way he was kicked about by rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren that hurt him, and which sets up the great duel for the beginning of the next decade in the sport. A truly great driver.

Highlight: after the questionable win in Singapore, the following weekend's success in Japan was classic Alonso, grasping an opportunity and never letting go.

1. Michael Schumacher (2000-2006)
121 starts, 799 points (@ 6.603). 56 wins, 45 pole positions, 37 fastest laps. 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 Formula 1 World Champion.

Michael Schumacher's total domination of Formula 1 at the start of the decade will stand as a benchmark for years to come. Indeed, only once in the history of the sport - Fangio's similar spell in the 1950s - has anything comparable been achieved. Yes, you can question some of his tactics, but hey, he got away with it. And yes, he had the best car. But that's immaterial, when you consider the work he put in with an uncompetitive Ferrari outfit for the previous 4 seasons to get into the position. Michael Schumacher may not be the greatest racing driver you or I will ever see, but he's very possibly the best.

Highlight: winning the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix in a car crippled by brake problems: one of Michael's few sleight of hand masterpieces in a decade where normally winning came easily.

- - -

And, just for the sake of balance, here's five who were never quite in contention:

5. Nelson Piquet Jr (2008-2009)

Aside from his sourpuss sad face and continual moping, aside from his part in the race fix in Singapore, Piquet just didn't cut it at this level. He's by no means the fifth worst driver of the decade as drivers go. But as a total package, you'd rather train a monkey.

4. Gaston Mazzacane (2000-2001)

Ah, the pay driver. Such a common sight in F1 during the late 80s and early 1990s, when there were hundreds of teams with names like brands of cough medicine, less prevalent in the noughties where the largest ever field was 22 cars. Mazzacane's cheque cleared, though, and he raced for Minardi and Prost in 2000 and 2001, which must have depressed both equally.

3. Alex Yoong (2001-2002)

The first Malaysian to ever start a Grand Prix, Alex Yoong was the last driver to fail to qualify for a Grand Prix on lack of pace alone. His time at Minardi can most charitably be summed up thus: he was pretty gentlemanly when it came to letting people through to lap him.

2. Luca Badoer (2009)

Just two races for the stalwart Ferrari test driver in the noughties, but two races which will live long in the memory. Qualifying last for both, he then raced through to last place. This made Ivan Capelli, still smarting from his own disastrous spell at the Scuderia in 1992, very happy no doubt.

1. Yuji Ide (2006)

The previous 4 drivers in this list really have nothing on this specimin, a pay driver who raced the first four events of the 2006 season for Super Aguri. Like Kimi Räikkönen, Ide's lack of experience was rewarded with a probationary period. Unlike the Finn, Ide spent much of the time lagging around at the back. After causing a number of nasty shunts at the San Marino Grand Prix, the FIA politely suggested that Ide go away somewhere else and get better at driving before he came back. We await this with baited breath.

Formula 1 in the noughties, the races

The key fact when considering the relative quality of the actual on-track action in Formula 1 over the last decade is refuelling. For the first time in the sport, a whole ten year span featured mandatory pit stops for fuel, and the attendant strategic element became the fundamental factor in determining victory or defeat. However, if you race 20-odd 800 bhp cars against one another 174 times, you're always bound to throw up some memorable moments. Here's my choice of the finest ten Grand Prix races of the last ten years.

10. 2007 Japanese Grand Prix
Fuji Speedway, 30th September 2007. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/22-Mercedes)

Perhaps the first great masterpiece of a burgeoning Formula 1 career, Lewis Hamilton won from pole at a streaming wet Fuji Speedway, and looked to have won the world title along with it. In only his 15th Grand Prix, he dominated proceedings in impossible conditions, whilst his teammate and key rival Fernando Alonso crashed in the spray. Coming through the mists, however, was a hugely significant cameo from Kimi Räikkönen in the Ferrari, keeping himself in mathematical contention for the title he would later snatch at the final race with some breathtakingly brave passes for position in dead reackoning conditions. Particularly memorable was his sweep round the outside of Heikki Kovalainen's Renault with his wheels millimetres from the grass and certain oblivion. This was also the race where Sebastian Vettel first nailed his colours to the mast and made everyone take notice, running a strong third (and becoming the youngest ever leader of a Formula 1 race to boot) in the Toro Rosso, before embarassingly hitting Mark Webber's Red Bull during a safety car period.

9. 2000 Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 8th October 2000. Winner: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F1-2000)

The last great summit duel between Michael Schumacher and his greatest rival, Mika Häkkinen took place at a dingy Suzuka with the world championship title waiting in the wings. Schumacher needed to beat the Finn to secure Ferrari's first triumph in 21 years. However, as he so often did, he made a poor start and it was Mika who made the early running, Michael chasing him down. Häkkinen was eventually undone by traffic and a brief rain shower at a critical time, during the second pit stop window. Schumacher, always with the edge over his rival in reduced-grip conditions, got the job done. What made this race stand out for me, though, was the sheer quality of the driving on display. The two finest practitioners of the sport at the time, head-to-head and leaving everyone else in no doubt that they were nowhere. The third place man - apparently David Coulthard but realistically, it could have been anyone - finished 69 seconds behind at the flag. You could easily believe that there were no other cars on the circuit. The irony of this result, with hindsight, is that after such a finely-balanced tussle, Schumacher won the world crown that he would not relinquish again for a shade under five years.

8. 2008 Italian Grand Prix
Monza, 14th September 2008. Winner: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso STR3-Ferrari)

Wet races at Monza are as rare as hen's teeth, so 2008 was a rare treat. However, what it produced was easily the most unlikely result on the entire decade, as Sebastian Vettel took his Toro Rosso (née Minardi) car from an unlikely pole position to a magnificently controlled win. Nobody else was ever really in contention, in spite of the title's destination still being very much in the balance between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa at the time. The racing down the field was as entertaining as one has come to expect in wet conditions, but the man at the front was serene. There's every chance that, come the end of the next decade, we'll look back at this race and see that it wasn't all that surprising after all. At the time, though, Vettel became the youngest ever man to win a Grand Prix and it was a brilliantly refreshing sight.

7. 2008 British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 6th July 2008. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/23-Mercedes)

Another streaming wet day, another Lewis Hamilton masterclass. As chaos reigned throughout the field in impassable conditions - notably Felipe Massa, who spun no fewer than five times - Hamilton stroked it home in a diabolical British summer rainstorm. Starting from fourth on the grid, he made his superiority clear from the lights, blasting past the cars ahead with ease, literally sideswiping his teammate (and polesitter) Heikki Kovalainen out of the way at Stowe. At one point, his team radio broadcast pleaded with him to slow down and not risk his place. His reply, at a time when he was lapping 1, 2, 3 seconds per lap faster than anyone else, was that he didn't see HOW he could go any slower without stopping. It's times like this which are indicative of genius. Hamilton went on to win by 68 seconds. As for the rest, the star was Rubens Barrichello. The 2008 Honda RA108 was a tractor of a car, but Barrichello in the wet is a force to be reckoned with, quite the equal of anyone in the field. He nailed car after car to finish a well-deserved 3rd, which went on to account for a large proportion of the Japanese team's points total come the end of their final season.

6. 2007 European Grand Prix
Nürburgring, 22nd July 2007. Winner: Fernando Alonso (McLaren MP4/22-Mercedes)

This was a race that had it all. Starting in the dry, within the first few laps the Eiffel Mountains produced a rainstorm of Biblical proportions, sending half the field spinning off the track, particularly at the first corner, which was literally flooded. The restarted race took its grid order from a few laps before and saw Markus Winkelhock's Spyker, the German in his first and so far only Grand Prix, on pole position after a gamble from the team to start him on wet tyres. Surprises out of the way, the field then moved onto standard levels of excitement for a wet race. However, this event was set apart from others by its thrilling finale, with Fernando Alonso tracking down and passing the long-time leader, Felipe Massa in the Ferrari, with just 4 laps remaining.

5. 2005 San Marino Grand Prix
Imola, 24th April 2005. Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault R25)

After 5 years of Ferrari domination, it was the Renault team who hit the ground running at the start of the 2005 season. By the fourth round, it was fairly clear that Alonso would be the man to beat. Ferrari hurried their new car through and gave it a decent debut in Bahrain, Michael Schumacher running second before his brakes overheated. At Imola, however, he was nothing short of inspired. After qualifying only 13th, he spent much of the early running stuck behind Jarno Trulli's Toyota. Taking advantage of an early pit stop and his Bridgestone tyres, superior on the day in a season where mid-race tyre stops were banned, Schumacher came alive, setting lap after lap faster than anyone else on the track. After the second fuel stops, he was right with Alonso, who had led comfortably after early leader Kimi Räikkönen's driveshaft failed with the Finn in a commanding position. What followed was thrilling stuff, Schumacher climbing all over the back of Alonso but unable to find a way past. It was an epochal moment in Grand Prix racing. If you ever needed to know the point that the baton was passed to the new generation of drivers, this was it.

4. 2000 Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, 27th August 2000. Winner: Mika Häkkinen (McLaren MP4/15-Mercedes)

Ferrari had made all the early running in 2000, but a spell of first lap accidents for Michael Schumacher helped Mika Häkkinen, back at the top of his game from mid-season, close the points gap. By the time they arrived at Spa, the Finn was now leading by 2 points. What followed, on a typical wet-dry day in Belgium, is perhaps the most famous wheel-to-wheel dice of the decade. An inspired Häkkinen - who, on his day even had the measure of his rival in wet conditions - led the early running. As the track dried, his advantage grew: Häkkinen had gambled on a dry weather set-up for his car, making him demonstrably quicker in a straight line than Michael Schumacher's compromise set-up Ferrari. However, Häkkinen then spun at Stavelot, allowing Schumacher to breeze past into a commanding lead. The Finn's comeback drive was spectacular. With a handful of laps remaining, he was back with Schumacher, who had been warned by radio that his opponent was dramatically fast in a straight line. Häkkinen's first attempt at the lead saw Schumacher try push his rival onto the grass at 200 mph, which did nothing to dampen the now furious Häkkinen's resolve. The following lap, the two happened upon Ricardo Zonta's BAR Honda at the end of the main straight, with Mika slipping inside the Brazilian to pass the backmarker and the Ferrari in one manouevre. Probably the greatest pass of the noughties, Häkkinen further enhanced his reputation by refusing to be drawn into a public spat about Schumacher's on-track ethics after the race.

3. 2003 British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 20th July 2003. Winner: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari F2003-GA)

Rubens Barrichello has made quite a career of winning races interrupted by on-track invaders. At Silverstone in 2003, it was noted British lunatic Neil Horan who enlivened proceedings, running towards oncoming traffic on the Hangar Straight, seemingly dressed as C.U. Jimmy. The race put behind the safety car at a critical stage, the order was well and truly shaken up as early pit stoppers now took the advantage. In all the chaos, the one constant was Rubens Barrichello, racing and passing car after car in thrilling yet utterly decisive moves. The British crowd, deeply appreciative of his efforts after a superbly entertaining race from all of the field, greeted the winner with the sort of cheer normally reserved for Nigel Mansell. An epic performance on a day of fine driving.

2. 2005 Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 9th October 2005. Winner: Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren MP4/20-Mercedes)

Uniquely for this list, the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix was a dead rubber, the championship title having been won in Brazil 2 weeks earlier. The race in Suzuka, however, was sensational. The story began on Saturday, as rain showers interrupted qualifying and completely scrambled the usual grid order. Title protagonists Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen duly lined up in 16th and 17th places on a dry and sunny Sunday. On a day where the entire field battled royally to get their 'rightful' positions back, it was these two who really made the running. Alonso's pass around the outside of Michael Schumacher into 130R has gone into legend, but the real story was Räikkönen, stalking down car after car with relentless energy. Eventually he caught up with Giancarlo Fisichella, who had missed the worst of the Saturday weather and qualified 3rd, looking set fair for a race win. Räikkönen barely even blinked, blasting past the Renault into the first turn of the final lap to take his last win for the team. A mad, thrilling and, most of all, inspirationally skillful day of motor racing.

1. 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
Interlagos, 2nd November 2008. Winner: Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2008)

Final race title deciders were not a rarity in the noughties. Nor were excellent Brazilian Grands Prix: I could easily have included the 2001, 2003, 2007 or 2009 events in this list. However, this race was special. Having arrived in São Paulo in 2007 leading by 7 points only to leave with nothing, Lewis Hamilton must have been mindful that here he was again, in Brazil for the final race, leading by 7 points. This time, his rival was Felipe Massa, on home ground and in pole position. Massa blasted off into a lead he would barely ever cede, with Hamilton being rather more circumspect, on a damp track and with it all to lose all over again. The following 95 minutes were breathlessly tense stuff, as up and down the field battles raged and the weather lurched from damp to dry and to wet again. Late on, the rain grew heavier, and McLaren had no choice but to pit Hamilton - just about holding on to the 5th place he needed to be champion - for wet tyres. On the penultimate lap, though, he was passed into 6th by Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso, and that familiar sinking feeling must have struck him as much as it did for millions of his fans back at home watching the race at tea time. Of course, the race had a barely believable twist - one which was even called into question by conspiracy-minded types after the event. McLaren knew that Timo Glock's Toyota was still on dry tyres and floundering, lapping almost 20 seconds slower than his best in the downpour. The team could see that Hamilton was just about due to catch and pass him on the final lap. As he did so, at the last corner, Felipe Massa had just passed the finish line, his win as fine a drive as you could ever hope to see in such testing conditions and under such monumental pressure. For about 15 seconds, he was the Formula 1 World Champion, before Hamilton came through in the required 5th, a deceptively comfortable 6 seconds clear of Glock's car.

Before this year's race, I watched a 10 minutes highlights package of the event on the BBC website. To that day it still made my heart race, my stomach knot and my mind boggle. And even though I knew what would happen, it was still almost unbelievable when it happened. The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix is the most exciting motor race I have ever seen. I hope one day I will see one better. If I don't, however, I can't really complain.

Rogue's Gallery

For every great race, there are several dreary ones. We need the dreary ones. They make great things more special. However, the following five were beyond that. Soporiphic or just plan offensive, these are my top five worst races of the noughties:

5. 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

At the time it seemed a fairly standard race, not much on the track but enough novelty to make it interesting, plus an unexpected win for Fernando Alonso's Renault. Of course, now we know...

4. 2002 United States Grand Prix

Formula 1 seemed to have finally found a venue worthy of trying that hardest of all sells: Formula 1 to the American mass market. It promptly pissed very much on its own chips, just 3 events into its run at Indy. Ferrari, dominant all year, attempted this cod-brained attempt at a staged finish which saw Rubens Barrichello just pip Michael Schumacher (the mastermind of the scheme) by 0.011 seconds, tragically now in the history books as the narrowest margin in Grand Prix history. Trying to engineer a dead heat? Trying to make amends for Austria (see 2.)? What a bloody mess.

3. 2000-2009 Spanish Grands Prix

A bold choice, perhaps. But almost without fail, the Circuito de Catalunya produces the most dismally boring race of the entire year. It is speculated that this is due to its ubiquity as a test track. However, year on year, the cars line up two-by-two in order of aerodynamic efficiency and then trail around for hours on end, unable to pass. Fernando Alonso enlivened the 2003, 2005 and 2006 events a little, but not enough to make me relish the prospect of another race in Barcelona.

2. 2002 Austrian Grand Prix

The season before, Rubens Barrichello had been "asked" to let his teammate by into 2nd place "for the championship". This stuck in many people's craw, as round 6 of 17 is a little too early for such considerations. The following year, however, they trumped this magnificently, instructing Rubens to move over from a lead he had comfortably held from the start. I'm not one of these people who don't understand the sport and its history. I know the role of team orders and number 2 drivers. However, this, again at round 6, is one of the most offensive sporting spectacles I've ever witnessed.

1. 2005 United States Grand Prix

This 6 car extravaganza, caused by a mass pull-out by all the Michelin teams after the French company brought too soft a tyre to Indianapolis, creating a safety hazard, was sad beyond words. The political rumblings around, with all the teams unable to sort out any compromise in order to save the race, gave a very real indication as to why Formula 1 keeps on failing in North America. It's too busy shooting itself in the foot.