Exciting times for Formula One

So the 2004 Formula One season is over, but things are certainly heating up for the 2005 season which promises to be the most tightly contested for sometime. There has been a lot of movement within the teams and with the new regulations coming into place this should make for a an exciting competition.

Among the major recent events Jaguar (owned by Ford) has been sold to Red Bull (and here's hoping that David Coulthard can score a drive with them) who have yet to announce their two drivers. They have retained their existing staff structure and engine supplier Cosworth (who Ford have also recently sold) which will provide some much needed stability for the upcoming season.

Williams have yet to announce their second driver to partner Aussie Mark Webber, who will look to deliver on his much vaunted reputation now that he should have a car capable of winning races. It's looking likely that test driver Antonio Pizzonia will be the man to partner Webber, however, it will be interesting to see if Williams will put these two together after their less than amicable relationship when racing together for Jaguar last year.

McLaren are probably the team to watch in 2005 after their lack lustre season in 2004. They have potentially the most exciting driver duo of Finn Kimi Raikonnen and Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya to mount a challenge to Ferarri's formidable paring of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Baricello who return in 2005 to try for a fifth successive title bid.

BAR with the same 2004 driver combination of Jensen Button and Takuma Sato, will look to continue their blistering rise in F1 which saw them claim the number two spot in the 2004 Contructors championship. Honda have recently bought a 45% stake in BAR which can only help improve their results.

It was a solid but inconsistent 2004 season for the Renault team who will again have the services of exciting youngster Ferdinand Alonso who will pair up with Giancarlo Fisichella who drove for the team when they were Benetton a couple of seasons back.

Former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve returns to Formula One full time with the Sauber team who finished sixth in 2004. He will surely be looking to impress and must be filthy about being fired at the end of 2003 from BAR considering their results in 2004. Hopefully he can channel this positively into some good performances. He will be paired up with Felipe Massa who returns for another season at Sauber.

The Toyota team could be one to watch with the combination of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli (who was one of only five race winners in 2004). The team with supposedly the biggest budget in F1 should move up the ranks with a couple of drivers capable of winning races.

Jordan will now be sourcing their engines from Toyota since Ford have decided to pull out of Formula 1, thereby ending their association with Cosworth. It will be a tough season for the Jordan team who were not looking confident in actually starting the 2005 season and are yet to announce their two drivers. One positive for them is the return of former chief designer Mark Smith who comes back from Renault as technical director - Smith work with Jordan for 10 years during their most successful period in F1.

F1 minnows Minardi are also still to announce their two drivers, like Jordan there was much speculation over whether Minardi would be on the starting grid when the 2005 season kicks of in Melbourne on March 6. Minardi like the Red Bull (Jaguar) team will also be running Cosworth engines in 2005.