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Monday, February 26
Is Montoya Villeneuve or Zanardi?
Reuters

LONDON -- A new wave of drivers make Formula One debuts in Australia this weekend with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya leading the pack.

As the countdown ticks away to the opening race of the season in Melbourne, the Williams driver has already taken much of the attention from Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher and McLaren's Mika Hakkinen.


	Juan Pablo Montoya looks to conquer the world circuit the same way he dominated the American tracks.

Unlike the other new faces who will be on the grid for Sunday's start, the 25-year-old arrives with a reputation as a fearless and exciting winner poised to unsettle the established order.

"Melbourne cannot come soon enough for me," he said recently. "While we may not be contesting the championship, we will be aiming to take something from Ferrari and McLaren."

Montoya has two main Formula One precedents -- one suggesting a brilliant future and another a less flattering outcome.

In 1996, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve made his Formula One debut with Williams in Melbourne.

He was a CART champion and Indy 500 winner in the United States and seized the pole position in his first Formula One race on a circuit he had never driven before. He finished second and went on to win the title in 1997.

Enter Montoya. He won the CART title in 1999 and the Indy 500 at his first attempt last year. The big question now is what he will do at Melbourne's Albert Park.

Main Battle Between Ferrari and McLaren
Williams, powered by a BMW engine, was good enough to challenge for podium places last year but theirs is no longer the dominant machine that Villeneuve stepped into.

Italian Alex Zanardi, another CART champion who joined Williams with high hopes in 1999 and left after failing to score a point, raises the alternative scenario.

Williams does not see Montoya going down that route.

"Juan Pablo loves his racing and he's the sort of driver that I think both Frank and I like having in the team," said technical director Patrick Head.

Fireworks can be expected with teammate Ralf Schumacher, Michael's brother, who desperately wants a first career win. But that can only add to the fun for spectators.

The main spoils will doubtless be between Ferrari and McLaren, the teams who have won every race here since 1996.

Schumacher, Hakkinen and McLaren's British hope David Coulthard have all won in Melbourne before.

But the mid-field battle promises to be particularly fierce, with teams like Jaguar and Prost eager to redeem dreadful 2000 results with strong early showings while Jordan hopes to start its push back up the ladder.

Prost has Ferrari engines now while Jaguar has former champion Niki Lauda cracking the whip along with team principal Bobby Rahal, a three-time CART champion.

Eight of the 22 drivers will be looking for the first points of their careers and there are four rookies, not including Jaguar's Brazilian Luciano Burti who has one grand prix behind him as a stand-in last season.

Spain's Fernando Alonso arrives at the age of 19 for the "local team" -- Australian-owned Minardi -- while Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi is a new face at Arrows.

There are also two "returnees" in BAR's Frenchman Olivier Panis, who won the Monaco grand prix in 1996 with Ligier, and Brazilian Tarso Marques at Minardi.

Kimi Raikkonen will be making his debut with Sauber at the age of 21 and in what will be only the 24th single-seater outing of his career.

The Finn will be under intense scrutiny amid suggestions that he is too inexperienced for Formula One.

Briton Jenson Button, the 21-year-old who received similar treatment last year, is now at Benetton since he vacated his Williams seat for Montoya.

A track duel between him and the Colombian would be another treat to watch out for in Melbourne.

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	Williams set for driver friction