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

	Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello:
In three years with Ferrari, he has improved every season in the standings from fourth in 2000 to second last year; earned a career-high 77 points; the No. 2 driver at Ferrari is once again full of confidence that the new season will bring more success; won four grand prixs in 2002, with the most notable one at Indianapolis where he and teammate Michael Schumacher attempted to make history by crossing the finish line with the smallest gap in F1 history; the effort did not work out as the Brazilian claimed the flag by a narrow margin; best finish in Australia was second in 2001; last year was involved in accident and did not finish.

David Coulthard:
Partnered with young Kimi Raikkonen last year for McLaren, but it turned out to be a mediocre year; only victory, the 12th of his career, was at the Monaco GP; one of only four drivers to win a race in 17 events last year; settled for fifth-place in the standings with 41 points, the fewest since 36 in 1997; won the 1997 Australian GP and was second in 1998 and 2001.

Cristiano da Matta:
The 29-year-old dominated the 2002 American-based CART circuit en route to winning the title with seven victories, seven poles and 11 podium finishes in 19 starts; "I have accomplished one of my goals by winning the CART title," said da Matta, who drove in North America for the past six years. Last November he signed a two-year contract to drive for the Formula One Toyota Racing team. "Now I am ready for the next challenge. It is great to be able to join Panasonic Toyota Racing and more importantly to further develop my already successful partnership with Toyota. I look forward to the exciting and demanding challenges that lie ahead."

	Montoya

Juan Montoya:
In his second year in Formula 1, the former CART champion collected 50 points to finish third in the championship behind the Ferrari drivers; won seven poles, including five straight in the middle of the season, but was unable to turn any of them into victories; was runner-up to Michael Schumacher in the Australian Grand Prix; looks to give tough challenge to the Ferrari drivers in 2003.

Kimi Raikkonen:
The young Finn put in some superb performances in 2002, even qualifying better than his teammate David Coulthard on several occassions; also came very close to winning his first F1 grand prix in France, but the 22-year-old ran wide and handed victory to Michael Schumacher; finished on the podium four times, including the runner-up in France.

Michael Schumacher:
The three-time defending F1 champion tied Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five world titles; clinched the championship with six grand prixs to spare; also captured titles in 1994-95; only spot last year was in Austria where Ferrari ordered teammate Rubens Barrichello to yield at the end, giving victory to Michael; fans booed during the podium celebrations; all-time F1 winner with 64 checkered flags to his name, among other records; a winner in Australia the past three years, he has his sixth world title in sight; never qualified lower than sixth at this race and that was in his first year here.

	Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher:
The younger brother of five-time world champion Michael looks to better his performance for Williams BMW in 2003; finished fourth in the standings the last two years, the best of his six-year F1 career; started last year with accident on first lap with Rubens Barrichello in Australia; he went airborne over the Brazilian and came to rest on the gravel trap; but the next grand prix in Malaysia was better, winning his the only race of the season; Ferrari proved too strong throughout the year; top finishes were third in 1999-2000.

Jacques Villeneuve:
The 1997 Formula One champion scored just four points last year and failed to finish in seven races; finished fourth at the British Grand Prix and was sixth at the U.S. Grand Prix; has not been a factor in the series since his championship season; enters the last year of his contract with British American Racing.