Formula 1 warning to Ferrari and McLaren: Serious competition ahead!

Last year was a two-horse race with the Formula One championship being bitterly fought by the two leading teams – McLaren and Ferrari. Much was expected from the then defending champions, Renault, but sadly without their star driver, Fernando Alonso, they couldn’t impress much and leading the rest of the class was a shaky but resurgent BMW Sauber.

But the burning question is: will 2008 turn out to be yet another two-way fight or will the teams stand up and be counted?

Well, first let’s compare the races that have been held to date this year with the corresponding events in 2007. The first five races of 2007 saw all the podium positions occupied by drivers from McLaren Mercedes and Ferrari. The first five races of 2008 have already seen five podium positions going to teams other than the two dominant ones: in fact, only  five podium places were won by teams other than Ferrari and McLaren in all the races of 2007!

So, with BMW Sauber already notching up a pole position and two fastest laps, the season is certainly going to be a three-way fight peppered with a few surprises along the way. And here are the people and teams to watch out for this year: