Teams of the world... It's Showtime...

A new season, a new beginning and a whole new look... Teams of the world... It's Showtime...

2006 promises to bring one of the most closely fought battles on the F1 circuits with Alonso all set to defend his crown and Kimi n Schumi fired up to challenge him. While everyone was away from all the action, there have been a few changes in the rules, teams and circuits as well.

Major rule changes this year include:

1. Teams now have to use 2.4 L V8 engines instead of 3.0 L V10s last year. This theoretically means lesser power, lesser speed and eventually a safer race. Some teams like Toro Rosso have been allowed to use last years V10s with a limit on their Revs which I'm sure is going to raise some eyebrows. For engine manufacturers, this change means that they'll have to work harder to make their new V8s stable and extract as much power from them as possible.

2. Last year's most controversial rule has now been taken back by FIA. So teams can now use 7 sets of dry-weather tires, 4 sets of wet-weather tires and 3 sets of extreme-weather tires. Does this mean that Bridgestones are back in the race? Only time will this but racing is surely going to get more interesting as drivers can draw out that extra bit of performance from cars without worrying about the tire ware.

3. Following its tradition, FIA has yet again introduced a new Qualifying format. It seems complex and promises to lessen advantage for front-runners. It consists of 2 mini-qualifying sessions of 15 minutes in which 6 slowest cars drop out. These are followed by a 20 minute session for top 10 positions. These first 10 cars have to start the race with the same fuel load as they had in the 20 minute qualifying session. The remaining 12 cars can change their fuel strategy as they wish. This means that teams at the end of the grid can be more flexible with their fuel strategy as compared to their counterparts starting at the head of the grid.

Teams for Formula1 Season 2006:

There have been loads of changes in the teams this year. Narain couldn't bag a race driver's seat in any team but managed to clinch a test driver's assignment at Williams. There have been a few additions in the F1 Family and a few divorces and marriages between engine and chassis manufacturers. Different teams and their drivers this year are:

Team name: BMW Sauber
Engine: BMW
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Jacques Villeneuve, Nick Heidfeld

Team name: Ferrari
Engine: Ferrari
Tires: Bridgestone
Drivers: Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa

Team name: Honda
Engine: Honda
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button

Team name: Midland F1 (Earlier Jordan)
Engine: Toyota
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Tiago Monteiro, Christijan Albers

Team name: Mclaren
Engine: Mercedes-Benz
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya

Team name: Red Bull (Earlier Jaguar)
Engine: Ferrari
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: David Coulthard, Christian Klien

Team name: Renault
Engine: Renault
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella, Fernando Alonso

Team name: Super Aguri (New Entry)
Engine: Honda
Tires: Bridgestone
Drivers: Takuma Sato, Yuji Ide

Team name: Toro Rosso (Earlier Minardi)
Engine: Crossworth
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed

Team name: Toyota
Engine: Toyota
Tyres: Bridgestone
Drivers: Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli

Team name: Williams (Earlier Williams BMW)
Engine: Crossworth
Tires: Michelin
Drivers: Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg

My Predictions:

Now the most interesting part... My predictions for the season. I think Renault have done good enough to maintain their Drivers’ Championship. Constructors’ Championship however is a tough one to predict. It is going to be a cut throat competition between Mclaren and Renault but I think in the end Mclaren will have a slight edge on Renault in Constructors' as their Kimi-Montoya duo seems to be more promising than Alonso-Fisichella pair. All in all, good teams, good venues and good competition... What else can you ask for?