Ferrari Line-up
Michael Schumacher Driver
Profile
Rarely far from controversy, Michael is the most brilliant driver
of his generation and some would argue of all time. While Schumacher
resists the challenge of having a Raikkonen, Villeneuve or Montoya
in his own team, the jury will always be out. Known as the 'Regenmeister'
for his sublime car control in wet conditions.
Rubens Barrichello
Driver Profile
Following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, Rubens Barrichello
inherited the hopes of Brazil's F1 fans. One of the unluckiest
F1 drivers on the grid, 'Rubinho' as he's known back home, is
easily the fastest team-mate Michael Schumacher has ever had.
After a faltering start at the Scuderia, when he thought he
was going to be allowed to race Michael on equal terms, Rubens
has accepted his role in the team set-up, but pushes when he
can.
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Williams Line-up
Ralf Schumacher Driver
Profile
Having the World's undisputed best driver as your brother is
always going to bring comparisons - so if Ralf sometimes looks
glum, that's part of the reason. In truth he's done extraordinarily
well to forge his own career and though F1 pundits were tempted
to lionise Juan-Pablo Montoya after he scored five successive
pole positions in 2002, Ralf has shown his mettle by taking
the subsequent three.
Juan-Pablo Montoya Driver
Profile
Nicknamed 'The Monster', Juan-Pablo has been groomed for success
by the Williams team who sent him off to CART when there wasn't
an F1 seat available. The former Indy 500 winner is still learning
his craft in F1, and with the exception of Hungary, has improved
on the tracks where he failed in his first year. Juan-Pablo
is the most laid-back driver on the grid, always joking with
his mechanics, always talking on his radio. His early on-track
scuffles with Schumi have given away to a mutual respect bordering
on friendship.
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McLaren Line-up
David Coulthard Driver
Profile
David Coulthard's career suffered from being in the shadow of
Mika Hakkinen, who was always the 'favourite son' at McLaren
especially after his accident in Adelaide. DC has always been
fast, but over time he's married this to an assured race craft
that gets the car home when others would break it or put it
in the scenery. Articulate, likeable and urbane, David (apart
from one hand gesture) is the perfect role model for aspirant
drivers.
Kimi Raikkonen Driver
Profile
Kimi Raikkonen's signing surprised the whole of F1 when the
normally conservative Peter Sauber announced he'd taken on a
driver with just Formula Renault experience. Raikkonen's stunning
debut in 2001 proved the doubters wrong. The fact that McLaren
paid Sauber a small fortune to release him from his contract
shows that Ron Dennis believes Kimi to be the new Mika Hakkinen.
Evidence from 2002 would surely back that up.
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Renault Line-up
Jarno Trulli Driver Profile
Known as a driver who can put a demon qualifying lap together,
Jarno rarely races at the same intensity. He's also not one
of the most combative drivers on the grid. In 2002 he was dogged
with reliability issues from his Renault transmission and would
have been closer to his team-mate in points scored if his machinery
had held together. Jarno's duel with Fernando will be one of
the key areas to watch in 2003.
Fernando Alonso Driver
Profile
Fernando Alonso had a good debut season for Minardi in 2001.
The Flavio Briatore-managed driver tested for Renault in 2002,
but it was his performance in a one-off test for Jaguar, where
he instantly outshone Pedro de la Rosa, that re-inforced the
view that he has the ability to join the elite group of top
drivers - Schumacher, Raikkonen and Fisichella. With Renault
he finally has the chance to prove his ability.
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Sauber Line-up
Nick Heidfield Driver
Profile
Though McLaren supported Nick Heidfeld in F3000, the arrival
of Kimi Raikkonen has put a damper on his long-term career aspirations
with the Woking team. Spells at Prost and Sauber have not exactly
set the F1 grid alight, but he largely kept Felipe Massa at
bay in 2002, while keeping his own car out of the barriers.
The arrival of wiley old fox Heinz-Harald Frentzen will certainly
keep him focussed.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Driver
Profile
Many in the pitlane were surprised that Peter Sauber was prepared
to lose a driver such as Felipe Massa who was clearly doing
a lot of growing up in public. But there is no doubting that
Heinz-Harald is a class act. He squeezed himself into the C21
and was instantly fast at Indy in 2002. With more room in the
C22 cockpit he has a chance to shine with his former team.
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Jaguar Line-up
Mark Webber Driver Profile
Mark Webber didn't exactly shine so much in his rookie year
at Minardi as fail to do anything wrong. While Sato, Massa,
Davidson and to a small extent McNish all made mistakes, Mark
kept out of trouble and far enough in front of team-mate Alex
Yoong. His test with Jaguar wasn't as stellar as Alonso's but
it was impressive enough for a step up into the big time in
2003.
Antonio Pizzonia Driver
Profile
Nicknamed 'Jungle Boy' because he comes from the Amazon region
of Brazil, Pizzonia arrives at F1 via two disappointing seasons
in F3000, but some impressive times as a Williams test driver.
Expect a driving style more akin to Juan Montoya than Rubens
Barrichello
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BAR Line-up
Jenson Button Driver Profile
It seems like Jenson's spent three years in F1 kicking his heels.
He wasn't expected to do much in his rookie year at Williams,
in his first year at Benetton/Renault he was driving an old
boat and in his second, he got treated like the family embarrassment
because he didn't have a Flavio Briatore contract. With BAR-Honda
he should finally get the car and engine to perform, plus a
spikey team-mate who will push him all the way.
Jacques Villeneuve Driver
Profile
Jacques put references to his famous father, Gilles Villeneuve,
behind him by clinching the World Championship in just his second
F1 season - 1997. From there it's been all downhill. Jacques'
move away from the Williams team has proved costly in terms
of success, though a rumoured annual salary of $19m at BAR means
he hasn't been out of pocket. 2003 is the year he has to re-establish
his reputation as a Schumi-challenger if he wants to return
to a top team and win GPS in 2004.
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Jordan Line-up
Giancarlo Fisichella Driver
Profile
Giancarlo should have won a GP by now and hasn't. He's the fastest
driver on the grid yet to score a maiden victory. The fact that
he hasn't puts a degree of doubt into his ability. Benetton
in 2001 and Jordan in 2002 haven't given him the car to demonstrate
his innate talent and many of his fans are just waiting for
a place in one of the Big 3 teams to become vacant. Whether
Jordan can develop the EJ13 enough in 2003 with just Friday
testing remains to be seen.
Ralph Firman Jr.
Brit Ralph was the last driver to be confirmed for 2003 and
makes it four rookies in F1 this year - though at 27, Firman
is a very experienced rookie. He battled it out with Juan-Pablo
Montoya for the British F3 title in 1996 and last year won the
Formula Nippon series in Japan. Like Jenson Button and David
Coulthard he's a former BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver
Of The Year winner.
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Toyota Line-up
Olivier Panis Driver Profile
Olivier's career is proof that F1 drivers can get back onto
the grid and be successful after a spell as a test driver. Panis
went from McLaren tester to BAR driver, but Villeneuve's intention
to stay put at the team at the end of 2002, meant that reluctantly
David Richards had to let him go. Honda's loss is Toyota's gain
and Olivier will look to far greater reliability levels in 2003.
Cristiano da Matta Driver
Profile
Cristiano is a Champ Car champion making his debut in the big,
bad world of Formula 1 in 2003. Champ Car champions have either
been fantastic successes - Villeneuve & Montoya, or dreadful
flops - Andretti & Zanardi. Da Matta will get a lot of support
from Montoya and Barrichello, but he will struggle to beat a
seasoned campaigner like Panis.
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Minardi Line-up
Jos Verstappen Driver
Profile
Dutchman Verstappen has been in and out of F1 teams over the
years and 2003 finds him back in the fold. It'll be good news
for best GP mate Michael Schumacher and also his legion of fans
in Holland - Jos (The Boss) reputedly has a bigger fanbase than
the five times World Champion. He'll need to outshine Justin
Wilson, but with Cosworth power he'll have the chance to compete
against other teams, not just follow.
Justin Wilson Driver Profile
Justin Wilson's career almost stopped before it started. He
was the runaway winner of the 2001 F3000 championship but his
6'3" height was always going to prove tricky to cram into
a modern F1 car. Thus when Alex Yoong stepped out of the Minardi
for two races in 2002, Wilson was due to drive it. He couldn't
fit in. In 2003 he'll have a chassis he can fit into and will
be out to impress.
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