Formula 1 Shakedown 2

As promised, a preview of the remaining 5 teams follows.

Toro Rosso

This team was the surprise of the 2008 season, managing to pull out the surprise win at Monza. It showed that small teams can still make it in F1, although this is disguising the fact that the car was largely the same as the Red Bull. The RB5 (on which the STR4 is based) is looking better than its predecessor (more on that later). The team will be using the Ferrari engine again this year, which gave it the edge of the senior team last year, let's see if the Renault engine falls behind again this year.

Again it's a time of Seb's. Out goes the wunderkind Sebastien Vettel, in comes the rookie Sebastien Buemi. It will be tough for Buemi as he has big shoes to fill, and as the only rookie the pressure will really be on. For his French counterpart, Sebastian Bourdais it will also be a difficult year. This year he has to put the difficulties behind him,take over as the number 1 and show what he's made of. Soon, the IndyCar championships will be a memory if he can't deliver this year.

Red Bull

Overshadowed by its junior team last year, this year the team has to deliver. So far the Adrian Newey effect has not paid off, but this year could be different. He has been usually very good at interpretating new rules and creating a fantastic car, such as the McLaren MP/4-13 in 1998. It's only when the rules are stable that he can push the envelope too far and go down a wrong route. The car this year does look quite different to the others and may be about to make a splash. Can Newey reclaim his mantle as designer extraordinaire? Not sure, the testing times look like it could get to the top of the midfield.

This year, Sebastien Vettel can build upon his reputation from last year. If he can regularly get the car on the podium I think he will cement his status as future world champion. It all depends on the man on the other side of the garage. If Mark Webber blows Vettel away as he has to all other team mates, then Webber will show that he should have been in a top team and Vettel's status will be diminished. If the opposite happens it could be the end of Webber's dreams of a top team and foreshorten his career. 2009 is make or break for Mark Webber.

Williams

It's been a tough few years for my favourite team. Times are still tough as their primary backers have suffered through the credit crunch. If there is a year for this team to find it's feet again it's 2009, they focused on the FW31 halfway through the 2008 season. They also may have made the right choice to use a flywheel version of KERS, it's too early to say yet. The testing pace has been great at times, showing that maybe it is time for a Williams resurgence.

For Nico Rosberg this may be his last year in Williams. If the Williams team can provide him with a good motor then we may be able to get a measure of the man, otherwise it will be another wasted year. There is no way that Rosberg can afford to stay if the car is bad, and he will probably jump to McLaren.

Kazuki Nakajima has shown a turn of speed and is regularly able to get the car home. He is regularly a couple of tenths behind his team-mate and he must get closer this year if he is to progress.

Force India

This team has shown some promise in testing, it now has the use of McLaren engines and gearbox, which will aid costs and reliability. If this team can occasionally find itself ahead of other teams then it will have done a great job.

It's amazing that Giancarlo Fisichella is still on the grid. He shows well when at the back of the grid, but falls asleep in races when he's in a top team. He's had his chance and been found wanting. This should surely be his last year.

Adrian Sutil was unlucky last year to lose out on points at Monaco, and at times as shown that he is the real deal. But at other times he's been ordinary, this year he really needs to pull out the stops.

Brawn GP

This could be the surprise of the season. After coming close to a complete no show, the team managed to get several testing sessions under their belt before arriving in Melbourne. And wow! From nowhere, the cars seemed to be the fastest. Whether this will show up in a Grand Prix, we'll have to find out in a few days time. Jenson Button thinks it's the fastest car he's driven in quite a few years, and it appears that Ross Brawn's technical and organisation genius has been brought to bear just at the right time. This could cause the biggest upset in quite a few years!

The cars look a bit bare, as they don't have the necessary sponsorship, but if the car proves to be fast expect all the real estate to be painted shortly.

For Jenson Button, it may be that he has made a very shrewd move by placing his career on the line with this team. If the car is fast, this may be his best chance to clink a world championship or at least to show that he's still a force to be reckoned with. The new cars rip the rear tyres up a bit, but Jenson's smooth driving style should be an advantage on the long runs.

It's understandable that Ross Brawn went with Rubens Barichello rather than a young gun for this year, he needs to lay some solid foundations for the future and he knows Rubens well. Hopefully both drivers will enjoy 2009 after two lousy years. Good luck to them.

Squiffy.