The only certainty with the new teams is that old favourites Lotus will make their return to the sport after 15 years in the wilderness, and Richard Branson will have a different crack at Formula One with Virgin Racing.
The other 2 teams are supposed to be Campos and USF1 but with just 10 days to go until the cars take to the track, neither team is certain to be lining up in Bahrain.
Campos is aiming to be the first Spanish outfit on the grid but their participation has been shrouded in doubt about their car being ready in time. With nephew of the late Ayrton Senna driving for the team, there is a huge amount of pressure to make sure the car is ready on time. Despite this pressure, at the time of writing this, Bruno Senna is the only confirmed driver for the team. Even if the team do manage to get to Bahrain on time, it is very likely that the car will have been rushed to be completed and will be some way off the pace. The phrase 'baptism of fire' comes to mind.
Having said this, Campos have got it easy compared to USF1. The team is on the verge of collapse having not received the funds they were hoping for. The American outfit was originally set up by YouTube founder Chad Hurley so it's a surprise to most that the team does not have enough funds. This has to raise the question, do the team actually have the passion and desire to compete at the highest level of motorsport?
All the speculation is putting Serbian outfit Stefan GP as the natural replacements for USF1. Unlike the majority of the new teams, Stefan GP have proven that they have the funds available as they are backed by the Serbian government. The team has been releasing statement after statement saying they are ready and that they expect to be on the grid in Bahrain, whether it's as a replacement for USF1 or with their own slot. Fronted by businessman, Zoran Stefanovich, the team is using the design from Toyota's car after they pulled out of the sport. This will definitely provide a solid base as the Japanese car manufacturer produced a stable mid-field team in 2009. The team has also lined up 2 potential drivers for the first race; hapless Japanese driver Kasuki Nakajima and former world champion Jacques Villeneuve. I fully expect Stefan GP to be on the grid for the first race in the place of USF1 who will have to defer their entry for 12 months.
Of the teams that are certain to be there in the dessert, neither Lotus or Virgin look to be particularly quick or reliable.
Lotus have a stunning design on the car, but have yet to produce the pace required to compete. In just their second day of testing, former McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen crashed the car and lost valuable running time that would've been crucial to the Norfolk team. Before the crash, Kovalainen was a full 5 seconds off the pace of Willams' Rubens Barrichello. But with veteran Jarno Trulli alongside the Finn, Lotus have a promising driver line up that have the potential to get the best out of the car.
Richard Branson is having his 2nd crack at Formula One having been a major part of Brawn's success last year. Branson's company Virgin has taken over the team and the name of the original new entry, Manor GP. The team has been blighted by reliability problems in testing, with their first test being cut short by numerous amounts of front wing failures. The original pace of the team is promising, but keeping the car going on race day will be the issue. Former Toyota driver Timo Glock is certainly a coup for the team who also have rookie Lucas di Grassi.
Out of the rookie teams, I predict Stefan GP to be the most successful, should they get on the grid. If not, Lotus should have the best base to do a solid job with the reliability of all the new teams being a key feature for success.
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