Motorsport News: Russ Bond's Weekly Report

The World's Fastest Soap Opera May Just Be Ahead of the Most Entertaining Season in Years

In just over a month from now, the assembled masses that make up the Formula 1 'circus' will be sweating it out in Bahrain,

Can Renault take the F1 championship again for 2006? (Photo: Renault F1)

site of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix - the first stop on the 2006 Formula 1 World Championship calendar.

Before anyone arrives at Bahrain, there is still much testing and development to be done on the new cars, and teams. This season could well be one of the most entertaining - I know, a word not often used in F1 circles anymore - we have seen in some time. For starters, gone are the screaming V10s, replaced by screaming V8s. Qualifying has changed yet again, now it is sort of a knockout tournament, which appears to be a vague attempt at keeping the

F1 fans will tell you that even a single well-executed pass in one of the series' races is more exciting than 100 passes in NASCAR. (Red Bull F1)

television audience entertained (there's that word again) for a full hour. What remains to be seen is if the powers at be have addressed the core problem in Formula 1, and that is to make the races interesting, and well... you know, entertaining. Tire changes during the races are back, and this will be the final year with two tire manufacturers - in 2007 Bridgestone will be the single tire manufacturer.

It's about time we take a look at the line up for 2006, and guess at just how it will all play out.


Renault

Renault

Renault and Alonso are back, but will they win again? (Photo: Renault F1)

is back with defending World Champion Fernando Alonso, who will guide the R26 on Michelin tires. The new V8 is the RS26 and to think that Renault will not take a serious run at both championships - driver's and constructors - boarders on disbelief. Giancarlo Fisichella is back to moan for at least one more year on how he got robbed each round, but Renault's results lie in the hands of Michelin to a large extent. They will probably go as their tires go. One interesting thing to keep an eye on is H. Kovalainen, the third driver, expect him to challenge for Fishi's seat before year's end.

McLaren Mercedes

Returning

McLaren Mercedes, in its new orange livery, may still suffer from reliability issues. (Photo: McLaren Mercedes)

drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya are looking straight in the face of a difficult year. The new Mercedes Benz FO 108S engine has been suffering some reliability issues in testing, and it is expected that one of the two drivers will be gone by year's end - but which one? Many think Raikkonen will move on to Ferrari, but it could well be Montoya being the odd man out if his results don't improve from last year.

Ferrari

The only

Can Ferrari get back on top? (Photo: Ferrari F1)

race Ferrari won last year was the six car U.S. Grand Prix fiasco. Michael Schumacher and new boy Felipe Massa will be at the helm of the new 248F1 and Ferrari really needs to rebound this year to keep Schumacher around to challenge for a few more championships. I actually expect Ferrari to be strong this year, if for no other reason than they were embarrassed last year... oh, and its Bridgestone tires should have the edge over Michelin now that tire swapping will once again be part of the mid-race pit strategy.