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2007 was the beginning of a new era - post-Schumacher, and the top two drivers left (Raikkonen and Alonso) swapping teams. Nothing happened as expected, particularly the Hamilton Story. It was a fresh start.

This year is about unfinished business. Lewis Hamilton made history in his first year, but didn’t quite get the historic title he came so close to. McLaren want to prove they’re not cheaters. Alonso has to prove he isn’t going to throw his toys out of the pram every year. And Kimi, well, his first year at Ferrari was blighted by not being Schumacher - he’ll be wanting to show he can dominate just like the German could.

Ferrari

Last year’s Big Two are this year’s Big One Point Five, as McLaren have lost both a world champion and a Dr Evil-worthy hundred million dollars. Most of the winter has been dominated by Ferrari, who have the continuity of going into this season with the same driver line up as last year. Kimi Raikkonen started off the 2007 struggling to get to grips with the Ferrari, but he ended the year with seven consecutive podiums. There is no reason to believe he won’t start 2008 with seven more.

There was a time in 2007 when Massa looked like Ferrari’s brightest hope, but that faded towards the end of the season. Expect Massa to play second fiddle to Raikkonen again.

McLaren

If Kimi had it difficult in the first half of 2007, at least he knew all the circuits. Lewis Hamilton’s meteoric 2007 season is well documented and was all the more surprising for the fact that he was visiting many tracks for the first time. All things being equal, Hamilton would have an easy time this year and would walk the title. Unfortunately, things aren’t equal and McLaren’s woes will hit Lewis hardest.

Heikki Kovalainen is the only driver of the top four teams coming into a new team (remember, Alonso is returning to an old one). No matter how highly one rates the Finn, the disadvantage this poses are great.

Renault

Renault slipped from first to fourth last year - can the return of Fernando Alonso stem their decline? Yes, it can, but returning them to the front is another matter. Alonso has said he “has a 30% chance of winning the title this year”, no doubt due to pressure from sponsors to get some positive spin in the press, as he had previously admitted he doesn’t expect to be going for the title.

The most interesting driver pairing this year will be Piquet and Alonso. When in GP2, Piquet was the man who regularly out-qualified the man who regularly beat Alonso last year (do I have to spell out who?). Piquet has also never deserted the Renault team (as Alonso did two years ago). He is likely to get considerable support at Renault - and if he manages to beat Alonso on a regular basis, that support will get stronger. Remember what Alonso said the last time he worked for Renault

By allowing a rookie to beat a champion last year, McLaren lost a world title - but they gained a star. Renault’s Flavio Briatore is an intelligent man and if Piquet shows he is capable of beating Alonso, Briatore would be a fool to stop that happening. Alonso has his most difficult year yet ahead of him - if he was to be beaten two years in a row by two different rookies, his stock could never be so low.

BMW

With all the attention being heaped on Renault, things couldn’t be more different over at their nearest rivals, BMW. Only the German and Polish press care what happens to Heidfeld and Kubica, but that could work to their advantage. BMW have improved steadily since buying out Sauber and, assuming some pre-season issues are resolved quickly, everyone will benefit from the continuity and trouble-free winter the team has had.

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