GPL Drivers
 The first post-Schumacher season turned out to be highly watchable if at times controversial. It would be asking a lot for 2008 to live-up to the same billing, but there will inevitably be huge hype surround the prospects of the Swiss Wunderkint, Lewis Hamilton.  His nemesis returns to Renault hoping to revive both his and their fortunes while Ferrari continue with their 2007 line-up, possibly the strongest in the field.

Here they are then, allegedly the twenty-two finest drivers in the world. Strange to think that between them there may only be a second or so per lap but look at the huge difference in pay it produces. The last couple of tenths are worth a fortune to those with the talent, while to a Constructor it is usually cheaper to pay a good driver a massive salary than it is to engineer the speed into the car.

Look out for new boys Sebastien Bourdais, Nelson Piquet Jnr and (returning for their first full seasons) Timo Glock and Kazuki Nakajima.

"Nigel Mansell - the man of the race - the man of the day - the man from the Isle of Man"

GPL Drivers

As I point out each season, the twenty-two drivers shown above are unlikely to be the twenty-two who compete at Interlagos in October. As ever, it is further down the grid that the drivers are most at risk of being unceremoniously replaced.  The drivers at Force India, Toro Rosso and Super Aguri all need to perform straight away as their team management continually eye better commercial opportunties.  The drivers at Super Aguri will be especially vulnerable.

In my spreadsheet and other forms you'll see me refer to Drivers by three-letter contractions, hopefully the same as in the official timing screens. They are as follows:

HAM: Hamilton, RAI: Raikkonen
ALO: Alonso, KOV: Kovalainen, MAS: Massa
HEI: Heidfeld, KUB: Kubica, PIQ: Piquet
BUT: Button, COU: Coulthard, ROS: Rosberg
BAR: Barrichello, TRU: Trulli, WEB: Webber
GLO: Glock, NAK: Nakajima, VET: Vettel
BOU: Bourdais, FIS: Fisichella, SUT: Sutil
DAV: Davidson, SAT: Sato

Please note, should any Driver be replaced I will continue to refer to their vacated seat by the original contraction.

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