SPORTS 2008 PREVIEW SPECIAL REPORT

After a year of scandals, Formula One will be on trial

If the leitmotif of the 2007 Formula One season was about top teams going to trial with the sport's governing body over high-technology espionage, the coming season will be that of the public putting the simple fun of the sport of Formula One on trial.

The sport has probably never been more popular. An unpredictable 2007 season - with the sensational story of Lewis Hamilton, the first black Formula One driver and the greatest rookie in the sport, and a four-way battle among drivers for the title - lifted television ratings and fueled interest in new parts of the world. When an underdog driver won the title in the last race, it was more than icing on the cake: It was a statement that the sport extravaganza can stand on its own, without all the politics and scandals around the edges.

Headlines over the second half of 2007 were dominated not by the sports stories, but by those about spy scandals, unfair trials, bad governance, cheating and a record fine. Despite rosy sounding, apparently definitive moves by the leading teams and the International Automobile Federation, the sport's governing body, to put an end to the controversies, Formula One fans and participants remain skeptical.

If the scandals do disappear in 2008, then the movements of drivers between teams and technical developments at several teams could mean that 2008 will deliver as good or even better racing than 2007 did.

Much of the interest will come from watching Hamilton try to live up to his rookie promise and cope with stress all the way to the end, instead of falling apart in the last two races as he did this year. Next year, he may have to deal with a lot more stress, as he takes on the role of the leading driver at McLaren - a role that he did not officially have as a rookie teamed with Fernando Alonso.

"We'll do a better job and come back even stronger," Hamilton said, looking ahead to 2008 after he failed to take the title this year. "I'll be fitter, more relaxed, more experienced and have a better car."

But Formula One is never predictable. Jenson Button, another Formula One driver, dismissed Hamilton's optimism, saying: "You can't say in my sport, 'Oh well, I only missed out by a point so next year I'll go one better.' It doesn't work out like that."

However he copes next year, Hamilton's 2007 battle with Alonso, his former teammate, will become more interesting as it is now a rivalry between drivers at two different teams. Hamilton remains at McLaren, but Alonso has returned to Renault, where he won his two world titles.

As Button indicated, however, that battle will exist only if both McLaren and Renault produce competitive cars. Watching to see whether McLaren returns to full power despite the spy scandal - and its $100 million fine, disqualification, loss of the drivers' title in the last race - will be a central focus of the show. Likewise, Renault will be worth watching to see whether it suddenly returns to strength after a poor season without Alonso, its star driver.

If so, the season will be a three-way fight, with Ferrari as the third team. Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa proved this year that they were both consistent winners. If Raikkonen loses his edge after finally taking in 2007 the title that narrowly eluded him twice before, Massa will be hungrier than ever.

The Finn, on the other hand, now liberated of having to prove himself, may drive even better than before.

"Next year should be easier - not just for me, but also for the team," Raikkonen said.

Most fans will be hoping that it turns into a four-way team battle, with the BMW Sauber team as the wild card. Having finished second in the championship this year - or third behind Ferrari and the disqualified McLaren - BMW Sauber proved that it is developing quickly and consistently. Its drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, are a homogenous pair, and Heidfeld, in particular, has the experience to make himself a contender.

None of the other teams is likely to challenge these four. But watching the stragglers will be as exciting as watching the leaders, in different ways.

Of the Japanese teams - Honda, Toyota and Super Aguri - Honda is expected to perform best, after it hired Ross Brawn as team director. Brawn was one of the main people who built the winning Ferrari team during the Michael Schumacher era.

Behind all the action on the track, however, Formula One and its fans will hold a collective breath, hoping that the sport does not find itself in the midst of ongoing spy or other scandals that hurt its image. A little scandal adds intrigue; too much destroys credibility.

F1 qualifying to be modified
for safety reasons

More from Formula 1:

• At Renault, Alonso returns to his roots
• Aspiring engineers on mini track to a Grand Prix career
• A youthful fascination with Grand Prix racing

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