Team-by-team guide to the 2003 Grand Prix season

FERRARI

Michael Schumacher (Germany).
Age: 34. GPs: 178. Wins: 64. Championships: 5.

Rubens Barrichello (Brazil).
Age: 30. GPs: 162. Wins: 5. Championships: 0.

Still setting the standards and should lead the way again this year, when they bid for a fifth consecutive constructors' championship. Barrichello harbours his own ambitions, but Schumacher is expected to win a sixth title and surpass Juan Manuel Fangio's record, established in the 1950s.

JORDAN-FORD

Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy).
Age: 29. GPs: 107. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Ralph Firman (GB).
Age: 27. GPs: 0. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

The Silverstone camp with a reputation for fun have seriously underachieved in recent seasons and been undermined by financial problems. However, their irrepressible owner, Eddie Jordan, has kept the show on the road.

WILLIAMS-BMW

Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia).
Age: 27. GPs: 34. Wins: 1. Championships: 0.

Ralf Schumacher (Germany)
Age: 27. GPs: 100. Wins: 4. Championships: 0.

One of only two teams with any realistic prospects of challenging Ferrari, but they admit they are not yet in a position to do so. Montoya and Ralf Schumacher have made it clear they need a better car to take on Ferrari, although their inconsistencies have not helped the cause.

JAGUAR

Mark Webber (Australia).
Age: 26. GPs: 17. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Antonio Pizzonia (Brazil).
Age: 22. GPs: 0. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

All change at Ford corporation's flagship team – structure, management personnel and drivers. Their objective is "respectability'' and the foundations for a stable and prosperous future.

McLAREN-MERCEDES

David Coulthard (GB).
Age: 31. GPs: 141. Wins: 12. Championships: 0.

Kimi Raikkonen (Finland).
Age: 23. GPs: 34. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Confident they have raised their game since last season. They concede they may not be ready to beat Ferrari in the early stages of the season but believe that by the end of the year Coulthard and Raikkonen should be ruffling Michael Schumacher's feathers.

RENAULT

Jarno Trulli (Italy).
Age: 28. GPs: 96. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Fernando Alonso (Spain).
Age: 21. GPs: 16. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

A big concern with big ambitions, but they may do well to hold fourth place. We should see how good Alonso, preferred to Jenson Button, really is. Trulli still has to prove himself a racer as well as an occasionally quick qualifier.

SAUBER

Nick Heidfeld (Germany).
Age: 25. GPs: 51. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany).
Age: 35. GPs: 143. Wins: 3. Championships: 0.

The Swiss team quietly go about their work, confounding many of their rivals, but then they do benefit from technical links with Ferrari. They also have an eye for good drivers and this season the young German, Heidfeld, is partnered by the not so young German, Frentzen.

BAR-HONDA

Jacques Villeneuve (Canada).
Age: 32. GPs: 116. Wins: 11. Championships: 1.

Jenson Button (GB).
Age: 23. GPs: 51. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Could be one of the most interesting camps. The car-engine package should be improved and Villeneuve has raised the in-house stakes by stating that Button, released by Renault, has yet to earn his respect.

MINARDI-FORD

Justin Wilson (GB).
Age: 24. GPs: 0. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

Jos Verstappen (Netherlands).
Age: 31. GPs: 91. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

The Anglo-Italian outfit continue to cling on by their fingertips and deserve a chance to show their worth. Wilson, the 2001 International Formula 3000 champion, merits his promotion and his partnership with the experienced Verstappen should be healthy for the team.

TOYOTA

Olivier Panis (France).
Age: 36. GPs: 125. Wins: 1. Championships: 0.

Christiano da Matta (Brazil).
Age: 29. GPs: 0. Wins: 0. Championships: 0.

If any team are capable of breaking from the pack and joining the big boys, the German-based camp are. They have the facilities and resources and, led by the diligent Panis, should head in the required direction this season.