Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's United States Grand Prix.

	Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello:
After four DNFs in the season's first five races, he has recovered to drive exceptionally well; won grand prixs of Europe, Hungary and two weeks ago in Italy to give him total of four in his career, all since joining the Italian team Ferrari; in addition he finished on the podium in five other races and has earned 61 points total, good for second in the standings with races left at Indianapolis and Japan; since Canada in June 9 (eight grand prixs), he has only failed to finish in France, and all his wins were recorded in that time frame.

David Coulthard:
Involved in a three-way battle for third place in championship with Williams BMW drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Montoya; Coulthard is five points behind Ralf and seven back of Montoya; has done well in the two grand prixs at Indy since the circuit returned to America in 2000; that year he finished fifth and last season he improved to third on the podium; posted some good results this year, with a victory at Monaco, second in Canada, third in Brazil, Spain and France, among other points-paying finishes.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
The veteran driver will drive for Sauber Petronas at the U.S. Grand Prix, replacing rookie Felipe Massa; tested with the team at Silverstone, England to get used to the machine; signed with the team for the 2003 season; the 35-year-old started his career with Sauber, driving for the Swizz-based team from 1994-96; finished third in the inaugural grand prix at Indianapolis in 2000 while driving for the Jordan team; was 10th last year; earned just two points in 15 races this season with sixth place finishes in Spain and Monaco.

	Montoya

Juan Montoya:
The 27-year-old wants to accomplish something event the great Michael Schumacher cannot this year; he wants to become the first driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Montoya won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 in runaway fashion while driving for Chip Ganassi and then moved to Formula One next year at BMW Williams F1; trying to become only the fifth driver to win a USGP and the Indianapolis 500 during their careers -- others are Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti, but none at Indy which made its F1 debut in 2000; last year, the 1999 CART champion had a shot at winning the grand prix taking the lead from Schumacher on lap 34, but five laps later he coasted to a halt on the main straightaway with a hydraulic problem; in 31 F1 races he has four podium and a win at the 2001 Italian GP and this year has started from the pole seven times; third in the standings with 44 points, 17 behind Rubens Barrichello, but only two in front of his teammate Ralf Schumacher.

Kimi Raikkonen:
The five grand prixs he has finished this year were all in the points positions; the other 10 races, he not only did not earn any points, but did not finish them; the highlight of the season was his near-victory at the French GP where an error late allowed Michael Schumacher to pass for the win and consequently clinch his fifth F1 title; Raikkonen finished second and also was third in Australia and the European GPs, with fourth place results in Canada and Hungary.

Michael Schumacher:
He has earned his fifth Formula One title in the bag since France and has dominated the year; set just about every record there is in F1 racing; tied Juan Manuel Fangio with five drivers championships, and he did it in record time with six races to spare; victory in Belgium was his record 10th in a season; owns 63 career wins which is the most in F1 history; broke his own record of most points (123 set in 2001) in a year with 128 and two races remaining; scored points in all 15 grand prixs this year and has finished on the podium in 17 consecutive races dating to last year; holds record for career points earned, fastest race laps and laps led; won the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2000 when Formula 1 returned to America; last year he finished second; started from pole in both years.

	Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher:
In the hunt for third place in the final standings, a battle with Williams BMW teammate Juan Montoya and David Coulthard; is fourth with 42 points, five more than Coulthard and two behind Montoya; one victory this year came in Malaysia in March; also made the podium in five more grand prixs.

Jacques Villeneuve:
Another driver who has an opportunity to win both the Indianapolis 500 and F1 grand prix at the track; however, he's had a poor season with just one finish in the points - fourth place finish in England; and he has not qualified better than ninth in 15 races this year; winner of the 1995 CART Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 F1 championship.