Title contenders for Formula 1

Ask anyone in Formula One which teams will be competing for the big prize this year, and they will give you the same answer - Ferrari and McLaren.

Ferrari have had an especially impressive time in pre-season testing, looking strong every time they have gone out on to the track.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen is now fully settled at Ferrari, and with a car that looks like the class of the field and Brazilian Felipe Massa providing more than capable back-up, the team appear formidable.

What of their main competition? Lewis Hamilton was the driver of the year last season - notwithstanding Raikkonen's late surge to the title and the errors from the Englishman that assisted it - and he will be the Finn's main rival.

But, according to those who have watched testing closely, McLaren do not appear to have the pace to match Ferrari over a race distance, even if they are quick over one lap in qualifying trim.

So Hamilton's best chance may be in what appears to be a slight weakness in Ferrari's traditionally cast-iron reliability.

BMW look to be among the best of the rest behind the big two

This is where predictions start to get difficult - even members of the teams themselves are not sure how things will shake out.

Behind the big two, BMW Sauber ended last season in a little class of their own - not quite quick enough to challenge the big two, but not under much threat from anyone else either.

But it is far from clear they will hold on to that position.

More than one F1 insider has described BMW as this season's "dark horse", in that they have played their cards pretty close to their chest in pre-season testing.

Alonso will have to get used to not winning for a while

But they will face stiff competition from Renault, Williams and Red Bull.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso's return to Renault after a troubled year at McLaren has given the team a confidence boost, but they still seem a long way from rediscovering the form that helped the Spaniard to two straight titles in 2005-6.

Alonso's sheer class should ensure Renault have a better season than last year, but both Red Bull and Williams have shown impressive pace on occasions through the winter.

As for Force India, this is the third consecutive year the former Jordan team have started with new owners, but after a couple of unsettling seasons it at least looks like Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya is in it for the reasonably long haul.

Fisichella will help raise Force India to a new level this season

As Spyker, the team spent much of last year firmly rooted to the back of the field.

But now rebranded, and making a claim to be India's national team, they have produced a new car that is a huge step forward.

With veteran Giancarlo Fisichella - who is a massive step forward on the driver front - they can expect to make some reasonable progress this season.