Formula One preview: Lee McKenzie's guide to the grid

RED BULL

Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber

They look to be streets ahead of everyone else and I'm absolutely delighted for them. The new Adrian Newey car is reckoned to be the complete package, and realistically the only question is how far ahead of the field they will be after the first few races.

Verdict: Champions

McLAREN

Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button

They didn't get out of the starting blocks quickly enough and both drivers have voiced their frustration. No other team is as good at playing catch-up, but it will take them three or four races to get up to speed with the other teams and by then they could have too much ground to make up, as happened last year.

Verdict: Third

FERRARI

Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa

Alonso remains incredibly strong and is my tip for the drivers' championship, but Massa probably won't score enough points to see them to the team championship. They've learned from the mistakes of last year, especially in Abu Dhabi, and will be much stronger. Ferrari and the tifosi won't put up with being beaten by a fizzy drink brand for long!

Verdict: Second

MERCEDES

Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg

Testing went badly in the early stages but Ross Brawn's team have turned the car around. There are plenty of positive noises but there are still big question marks over the car.

Verdict: Fighting with Renault for fourth and fifth

RENAULT

Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov

The car and team are built around Robert Kubica, who is unlikely to race this year after being injured rallying. Heidfeld is steady but is he good enough? Petrov also needs to score some points, and could be helped by a revolutionary exhaust which could do for Renault what the double diffuser did for Brawn.

Verdict: If Petrov fires, they could squeeze into fourth

WILLIAMS

Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado

They have a safe pair of hands in Rubens Barrichello but sacked one of the top young drivers in Nico Hulkenberg because they need the corporate cash that comes with Pastor Maldonado to survive; the Venezualan rookie is a completely unknown quantity, though.

Verdict: Will struggle to maintain last year's sixth-place finish.

FORCE INDIA

Adrian Sutil, Paul Di Resta

Owner Vijay Mallya is piling on the pressure after the disappointment of missing out to Williams by one point last year. The team have opted to take on Di Resta, who needs to get some points, while Sutil needs to stop making silly errors and find some consistency. Having Hulkenburg as the test driver will put extra pressure on both drivers.

Verdict: Scrapping with Williams for sixth, and probably winning.

SAUBER

Kabui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez

Sauber have gone for potential with these two young drivers. Perez is a possible star and could score points, but they are so inexperienced that there are question marks over whether they can set the car up well.

Verdict: Three-quarters of the way down the rankings, battling it out with Toro Rosso

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO

Sebastian Buemi, Jaime Alguersuari

This Ferrari second team suffers from a lack of identity. Who are they exactly? But they have two decent young drivers so they should be looking to score plenty of points.

Verdict: Midfield

LOTUS

Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen

This team captured the public's imagination and the hearts of Formula 1's fans last year. The best of the new teams, they should improve upon last year's showing and could even spring a couple of major surprises.

Verdict: Third bottom

HISPANIA

Narain Karthikeyan, Vitantonio Liuzzi

Goodness knows how they will fare, but turning up and treating the first race as a practice session doesn't bode well. They've gone for experienced drivers but their real battle is to see the chequered flag.

Verdict: A dogfight with Virgin for bottom spot

VIRGIN

Timo Glock, Jerome d'Ambrosio

They finished at the bottom last year and testing hasn't gone well. They have a new Russian backer, but their primary aim will be to finish races.

Verdict: Fighting it out with Hispania at the very bottom.