All of these questions and more await answers in 2010. To get us started here is a look at the teams and drivers readying for the challenge of the full season and their outlook:

VODAFONE MCLAREN

Drivers: Jenson Button (1); Lewis Hamilton (2)
Outlook: Racing for a title

Through much of the testing period I thought McLaren looked to be the best team. Their impressive showing must have scared some of the competition. Alas, all is not well here.

A problem arose as the first GP is getting closer as team Red Bull has been attacking McLaren’s unusual rear wing design as being against the rules.

The team has made it clear that they believe that the wing has been designed according to the rules, but they have also signalled that if the FIA finds it to be unacceptable they will be ready to change that part of the car even in Bahrain. A

nyways, controversy aside the drivers here have a good chance to be fighting for the ultimate trophy. Button won last year’s drivers title, and Hamilton is as hungry as ever.

MERCEDES GP

Drivers: Michael Schumacher (3); Nico Rosberg (4)
Outlook: Racing for a title

It is go for gold time with Mercedes. They have a young star and the returning superstar as drivers. They have actually overtaken last year’s best constructor (Brawn GP). All of this means nothing if they are unable to be in the title hunt. The testing season has been up and down for them, but who would bet against a hungry Michael Schumacher?

RED BULL RACING

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel (5); Mark Webber (6)
Outlook: Racing for a title

Vettel and Webber return with a car that is looking just as good as last season. In fact there have been news coming from Bridgestone reporting that the Red Bull car actually conserves tires better than any of the other cars.

If this were to mean that they can use the softer compounds it could result in a rather unfair advantage and faster lap times. Others pointed out that one of the reasons for the lower tire wear might just be because the Red Bull cars are in fact slower than the top three.

I doubt that this is true, there was no indication of this during the testing period. Vettel looks to be a possible bet for the season’s best driver and Mark Webber is not far behind.

In fact they might once again mean competition to themselves and that was one of the reasons why Jenson Button managed to maintain an early lead against Vettel in the end last year.

FERRARI

Drivers: Felipe Massa (7); Fernando Alonso (8)
Outlook: Racing for a title

Promptly the top four teams have the top 8 car numbers. Thus Ferrari rounds out the teams most likely to be in the hunt of GP wins.

With Massa and Alonso the team is certainly going for broke. These two are proven winners and whilst Massa has yet to win a season title his experience and impressive past certainly have him in almost the same heights as his ex-champion teammate.

Alonso will finally get a car that is worthy to win a title and many betting lines now actually feature Ferrari as the team most likely to get the constructors title.

Going back to the driver numbers, Ferrari might have the last two numbers from the top 8, but they will make sure that these do not indicate the reality of the strength of the top teams.

WILLIAMS

Drivers: Rubens Barrichello (9); Nico Hülkenberg (10)
Outlook: Chasing for points from the middle of the pack.

Barrichello came on strong in the second half of last season.  He may be one of the senior citizens of the circuit, but he surely is one of the better drivers as well.

Hülkenberg is a young talent with no prior F1 experience. Usually this spells trouble, but since the way Lewis Hamilton debuted there is always a possibility of a big bang rookie appearing.

Especially seeing just how dominant Hülkenberg was in GP2 last season.  Alas, this Williams car has not looked too intimidating thus far. Much like last season their best case scenario is to lead the next tier of teams following the top 4.

This should mean points, but I do not see them overtaking any of the teams that are thought to be ahead of them.

RENAULT F1

Drivers: Robert Kubica (11); Vitalij Petrov (12)
Outlook: Chasing for points from the middle of the pack.

Renault might be ready to take a step forward, and at the same time it may look like a step back.

Let’s face it, Renault as a car was more likely within the range of how their second drivers finished from race to race. Fernando Alonso did some amazing things with an awful car and thus Renault was looking better in the standings than they should have.

They have a chance to have another similar season though as Kubica is clearly one of the better drivers in F1, whilst Petrov is a questionable choice.

Sure the Russian youngster is very talented, and he managed to win two races last season in GP2, but there is a huge question mark hanging over him. Is he ready for F1? Well, we will find out soon.

Yet the car performed much better at tests than last season’s awful mess, and this could mean hope for the French team.

FORCE INDIA

Drivers: Adrian Sutil (14); Vitantonio Liuzzi (15);
Outlook: Chasing for points from the middle of the pack.

A natural step forward can be expected from this team after some nice showings at the end of last season. Force India is one of only three teams returning with the same lineup.

This continuity could help them early on in the season, and if they can show as much progress as last season, then maybe they could be in a good spot.

Anyway, both Sutil and Liuzzi have proven that they belong in F1, the question with both is can they elevate their status or will they just stay middle of the pack drivers?

TORO ROSSO

Drivers: Sébastien Buémi (16); Jaime Alguersuarri (17)
Outlook: Chasing for points from the middle of the pack.

Red Bull’s 'B' team took a big step back last year. In 2008 they were sometimes looking better as the A level squad, and they even managed to have some eye opening finishes, with the win at Monza being the ultimate performance.

Alas, last season was an utter disaster with the only silver lining being the last few races where Buemi was able to pick up some points finishes. A stable duo of drivers and some improved test results may indicate a move upwards.

LOTUS
Drivers: Jarno Trulli (18); Heikki Kovalainen (19)
Outlook: New team with nothing to lose

Lotus returns to F1 after a 16 year hiatus. At one point the most elegant looking car (the black and gold JPS Lotus of the 80s looked absolutely amazing), Lotus had a tough run in the early nineties, with the lack of sponsorships finally pulling the team under.

Well, now they are back, and the big name has been looking to get the biggest name drivers who were available and also willing to go to a new team with no credentials in the past decade.

Kovalainen had a bad time at McLaren as he was clearly upstaged by teammate Hamilton. Whilst Trulli has been struggling in the last few years with a mediocre team with huge budgets.

These two drivers are experienced enough and good enough to give Lotus some nice points finishes, but anything more than that would be an outright shock.

HISPANIA RACING

Drivers: Bruno Senna (21); Karun Chandhok (20)
Outlook: New team with nothing to lose

Whilst the expectations for new team Lotus might be a bit higher than usual, HRT is just hoping to keep pace at the moment.

Financial problems have made their start quite shaky already. The securing of Bruno Senna should at least provide a media interest early on. F1 icon Ayrton Senna’s nephew is bound to be closely watched due to being a a family member of one of the greats.

Bruno does deserve some attention and along with Karun Chandhok they recreate the 2008 iSport GP2 team. Still, financial troubles, a weak car, a completely inexperienced team and drivers might have been too much to overcome for Ayrton himself, let alone Bruno.

BMW SAUBER

Drivers: Pedro De La Rosa (22); Kamui Kobayashi (23)
Outlook: Mid-to-end of field

Anyone looking for the successor of last year’s BMW team, this is not it. In fact the only reason the team’s name includes BMW is because of the F1 naming rules.

This is more of a return of the Sauber team that was bought by BMW in 2005 and now resold to Mr. Peter Sauber in 2009. This does not bode well for their chances.

De La Rosa is exciting to watch due to his rather aggressive driving style, but he is not exactly one of the best. A good driver with enough skills to make them compete for some points finishes.

Kobayashi may be a special driver. He filled in for an injured Timo Glock last year at Toyota and after a shaky debut where eventual champion Jenson Button billed him as simply a crazy driver, he finished sixth in Abu-Dhabi earning his first F1 points.

VIRGIN RACING

Drivers: Timo Glock (24); Luca DiGrassi (25)
Outlook: New team with nothing to lose

Richard Branson invested some money into Brawn GP through sponsorship last season, and the team’s success seems to have drawn him closer to the sport, as he has pretty much decided to create his own team. 80% ownership is with Branson’s Virgin company.

There’s not much info on the car just yet, but looking at the main driver, Timo Glock may be an indication of things to come. Glock is an ultra talented driver who had to make due with a rather mediocre Toyota car throughout his F1 career.

Now it seems like he is going to be driving a rather mediocre Virgin car, go figure. Di Grassi is a talented young driver as well. He finished as a runner up to Glock in GP2 in 2007 followed by two third places in seasons results. He is fast but needs to learn composure.