New engines, new rules, new players.
Will Fernando Alonso and Renault defend their championship titles with their new V8 engines?
Will Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren find consistency in a world of uncertainty?
Will Michael Schumacher and Ferrari climb back to the top of the F1 podium?
Will American Scott Speed be as quick as his name suggests?
Only time till tell, as the 2006 season begins this weekend in Bahrain.
Check out the season's first qualifying session on the Speed Channel Saturday at 3:00 AM PT and the Grand Prix of Bahrain Sunday at 3:00 AM PT.
carlisimo says:
03:44 PM, 03/10/06
I was amazed to find out how much less Renault spent last year than the bigger players, in the high $200MM's, vs some teams spending $500MM. I'll be rooting for Alonso again, but it'd be great for the sport if Williams made a good run. Best of luck to all the small teams.
It looks like Mercedes-McLaren is still having reliability issues. Kimi's weakness is pushing his car too hard; it's probably McLaren's weakness too, since it would explain why their cars were the fastest.
On the other hand, Alonso's known when to keep the revs down during mechanical troubles, giving up a couple of places to get 6 points instead of 0 for blowing up. Despite the return of tire changes, this aspect of racing is going to be with us this year in a very noticeable way.