AUTOSPORT's 2014 F1 grid guide

The time always comes when dominant forces in grand prix racing are toppled. After steamrollering the opposition over the past four years, Red Bull goes into a season in the most uncertain shape since it emerged as a race-winning force in 2009.

On pre-season testing form, retaining the world championship is inconceivable. But this is Red Bull and it has set new standards in recent years. Write off Adrian Newey's squad at your peril.

As Sebastian Vettel has pointed out during pre-season testing, the unnerving thing about this situation is that he has no idea how good the car really is.

While Newey has admitted that aggressive packaging played a part in the team's struggles early on in testing, the primary problem is Renault's 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine which, according to Newey, is probably the weakest of the three power units in terms of cooling demands.

This is a stern test of Red Bull's status as the Renault works team. It became a Renault team in 2007 using a 2.4-litre V8 that had long since been designed in collaboration with the marque's factory team (which has since morphed into Lotus) so this is the first time it has worked to produce an engine/car package from scratch. Of the three factory teams, it is the one in the weakest position.

From where Red Bull is now, a good season would be one of steady improvement with it perhaps fighting for wins in the second half of the campaign. Whether that is possible depends on the engine and how a team that has become accustomed to winning can adapt to life lower down the order.

As McLaren, Williams and Ferrari know, it's easy for F1 powerhouses to slip down the order. The way Red Bull and Renault react now will have serious repercussions for what happens in the next few years.

#1 Sebastian Vettel

2013 stats
Wins: 13
Poles: 9
Fastest laps: 7
Points: 397

After landing four consecutive drivers' titles and 34 victories during the past four years, Vettel is facing up to the possibility of heading into a new season well and truly on the back foot. The question is, how will he respond?

Most likely, very well. The German has excelled in the best car but, given Red Bull's and Renault's pre-season struggles, the idea that the RB10 will even be able to finish races at the start of the season, let alone do so quickly, is laughable. Even if Red Bull-Renault does spontaneously turn things around, it's almost impossible that the car will be at anything like its full potential early on.

This means Vettel will likely be doing his racing down the order. And he will excel. After all, he has been there before and, aside from a few rookie moments, acquitted himself well.

He has proved beyond doubt his ability to thrive in all conditions. He's stunningly fast, arguably the best qualifier in the business and can control races brilliantly.

Overtaking, once cited as a weakness, is not a problem for him and for all the complaints about him only winning in the best car, he also won the 2008 Italian GP in a Toro Rosso. If Red Bull is struggling, don't count against him pulling out some impressive results.

#3 Daniel Ricciardo

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 20

The Australian is fast. Seriously fast, as he has sporadically shown during qualifying sessions over the past few years. After two years at Toro Rosso, plus a half-season before that at HRT, Ricciardo has matured as a driver and did enough to show he was as ready as he is ever going to be for a spot alongside Vettel.

It's difficult to predict how he will do. In addition to his impressive qualifying performances, Ricciardo has had some convincing results. While he has a reputation for going backwards in races, this is regressing to the mean after exceptional Saturday laps rather than any particular raceday malaise.

But how he will fare against Vettel? He certainly merits his shot, but the history of F1 is littered with good drivers made to look poor by greats like Vettel.

The feeling in the team is of uncertainty, something not helped by pre-season problems with the car that has made it impossible for Vettel or Ricciardo to do a great deal of serious driving. There is confidence he will deliver, but he can't prove that until he gets on the grid with a top team.

The first challenge will be of mental strength if the Red Bull isn't up to the standards of recent seasons after working so hard to gain promotion.

The unprecedented overhaul in regulations for this season represents Mercedes' best chance of becoming world champion since it returned to Formula 1 as a factory entity in 2010.

Mercedes has generally underachieved since buying out Ross Brawn's title-winning ex-Honda outfit at the end of 2009. But there is a sense the squad built some real momentum last season, winning three races and keeping pace in the development war with all bar Red Bull's energy-drink-fuelled juggernaut.

Brawn oversaw a necessary expansion of his old team under new ownership, in order to take on Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

Whether the team can take the next leap and match the aerodynamic might of Adrian Newey's Red Bull wizardry is unknown, but in a season in which engines should be thrust back to the forefront of competitive thinking, the fact Mercedes is a factory outfit (and the one that seems to have made the best fist of the job over the winter) should be of benefit.

With an excellent driver line-up, strong technical leadership, and plentiful resources at its disposal, Mercedes has put itself firmly in pole position heading to Melbourne.

#44 Lewis Hamilton

2013 stats
Wins: 1
Poles: 5
Fastest laps: 1
Points: 189

Hamilton showed buckets of the speed we've come to expect of this child prodigy (as five pole positions in 2013 proved), but everything didn't quite come together in his first season at Brackley.

He won the Hungarian Grand Prix (his fourth success in seven attempts at the Hungaroring - the sort of technical track that rewards his skills), but inevitably there were teething troubles as driver and team tried to get to know each other better.

High-profile public spats over the radio at the US GP in Austin, parking his new car in his old squad McLaren's pitbox in Malaysia, and Hamilton's difficulty gaining the feel he requires from the brakes, were all part of this. Another winter has passed and the relationship should move up a level this season.

Hamilton is no fan of an era that demands pure speed be tempered with tyre conservation and fuel management, but the F1 W05 looked to be the strongest package in pre-season testing, which should help Hamilton better harness his phenomenal ability, and challenge for the elusive second world title he craves.

#6 Nico Rosberg

2013 stats
Wins: 2
Poles: 3
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 183

Regarded by many as a second-rate driver early in his career, Rosberg confounded critics (and proved getting the better of Michael Schumacher 2.0 was no mean feat) by pushing Lewis Hamilton hard in their first season as team-mates since the karting days.

Rosberg finished 18 points behind in the championship, and was narrowly outqualified 11-8 across the season, but the German won two GPs to Hamilton's one, including an expertly-judged tyre management race on the streets of Monaco.

Rosberg has continued to improve during his time in Formula 1, and his cerebral approach and strong work ethic endears him to a team in which he is already well ingratiated after four seasons at Brackley. F1 2014's intense technical challenges, which will require careful discipline to control tyre wear, fuel consumption and energy recovery, as well as utilising speed and racecraft, should suit Rosberg's strategic style.

If Mercedes is indeed the frontrunner of the brave new-world order (and all the indications from pre-season suggest strongly that it is), Rosberg could be a real contender to emulate father Keke and claim a maiden crown this year. If he does, the critics will be silenced for good.

Ferrari is perhaps the only team on the grid where it becomes a big story when it doesn't win.

So after four consecutive years of seeing rivals Red Bull triumph, the pressure is now immense on the men from Maranello to deliver and knock its Milton Keynes rivals off the top spot.

Yet in spite of the heightened expectations, there is a quiet optimism at the team about at least being able to put up a good fight in this year of immense change in F1. While the headline-grabbing signing of Kimi Raikkonen as Fernando Alonso's team-mate has captured the interest of fans, it is behind the scenes where the more significant changes have taken place.

A revamped windtunnel, improved simulator tools and a push from new technical director James Allison have given it reason to believe that Ferrari is moving forwards and finally ready to deliver on its high expectations.

#14 Fernando Alonso

2013 stats
Wins: 2
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 2
Points: 242

Fernando Alonso may have been a frustrated man over the second half of last year, but all will be forgiven if Ferrari can deliver him a car capable of title glory in 2014. Championship near-misses are not good enough anymore, and Alonso knows that the clock is ticking on his career - and it's time to get back to the top again.

What Alonso wants to see more than anything is progress, which is why things were so difficult in the middle of last year as Ferrari slipped back from a promising start to the campaign.

The new F14 T certainly seems to be solid; but it will not be until the first races of the campaign that we will get a proper idea of how it stacks up against Mercedes - and the recovering Red Bulls.

What the outcome of that is will likely define the remainder of the campaign. If Ferrari has got it right, then expect a fully fired up Alonso to push all the way. If it goes wrong, then there will be a very different type of fireworks.

#7 Kimi Raikkonen

2013 stats
Wins: 1
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 2
Points: 171

Kimi Raikkonen returns to Ferrari as a changed man from the one who was dropped early by the outfit at the end of 2009.

His time away from F1, allied to two years with Lotus, have matured him - and served to mould him in to one of the most consistent men on the grid.

It is that reliance that Ferrari is counting on this season, for if the team is to achieve title glory it needs a man that it knows can be up there every weekend delivering the points alongside Fernando Alonso.

Raikkonen is also someone whose speed is going to keep Alonso on his toes, which should ensure Ferrari has everything performing to the maximum as it bids to end its title drought.

Whether or not Raikkonen can actually go one better and overhaul Alonso is the subject of debate, but his ability to eke out points and podiums could prove crucial in deciding the pecking order going forward.

For a team that has been dogged so much by speculation about its financial plight, Lotus continues to confound its doubters by remaining a force to be reckoned with in F1.

There are no doubts that the money difficulties - especially in the second half of last year - hurt it. For it lost several key figures over the past 12 months, including Kimi Raikkonen, James Allison and Eric Boullier.

But there remains strength in depth at Enstone and the established fighting spirit is still intact - which is why the team is bullish enough to set its sight on being Renault's leading team this year.

Its ultimate fate in 2014 will rest on how quickly Renault can get on the pace, but the team has a point to prove and, with its finances having been bolstered over the winter, it should help it focus on its on-track battles than off-track issues.

#8 Romain Grosjean

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 132

By the end of 2013, everything had clicked for Romain Grosjean. The crashes had stopped. The mental approach had calmed down. The speed was still there - and possibly even growing, as he began to consistently assert himself over then-team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus. The stage was set for the Frenchman to complete a rare successful F1 'second chance' tale and prove he could win races and fight for titles.

But a turbulent-to-the-brink-of-disastrous winter for Lotus could squander all those gains. Grosjean's challenge is now to avoid regression as he starts the season with a car unlikely to get him anywhere near the front at first, or to run long enough for him to get anywhere at all.

So far in his F1 career, the pressure has been from the team on Grosjean to start channelling his ability properly. Now roles have reversed and he'll be waiting for Lotus to step up, and that's a very different situation. He struggled to put a brave face on matters as the problems snowballed in the Bahrain tests. Will the confident serenity he projected in 2013 survive at the other end of the grid?

#13 Pastor Maldonado

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 1

Maldonado joins Lotus after one of the most tumultuous winters in the Enstone squad's history. The financial uncertainties that convinced Kimi Raikkonen to leave the team dragged on through the off-season, and it was left trying to play catch-up after having to miss the first test at Jerez.

While Maldonado's arrival helps ease those financial strains, it's fair to say that Lotus failed in its mission to make up ground during the final two Bahrain tests. New-car troubles combined with Renault-engine issues limited Lotus to fewer miles than any other team, but Maldonado did at least get 56 more laps than team-mate Romain Grosjean over the two Bahrain tests.

During the 2013 season, a switch from Williams to Lotus would have looked like a big step up the grid. In the early part of this year - at the very least - it doesn't look like it's going to turn out that way for Maldonado.

On the back of its worst campaign for several decades in 2013, McLaren is heading in to the new season reinvigorated by an improved car, a new rookie driver and new management.

A final year with Mercedes, prior to the switch to Honda for 2015, could well pay dividends with the German car manufacturer having seized the advantage in early testing.

The Mercedes works team is certainly not taking it for granted that it will automatically be the best of its bunch, while McLaren is eager to beat its partner and get back to the front after the misery of last year.

It's been all change behind-the-scenes at Woking, too. A winter boardroom coup has brought Ron Dennis back into a position of influence, and it is Eric Boullier who will take control of the troops at races.

The driver partnership should deliver some excitement too, with the vastly experienced Jenson Button facing a new challenge from speedy rookie Kevin Magnussen, who has already raised eyebrows with his bold form in winter testing.

#22 Jenson Button

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 73

The 2009 world champion's troubled season last year with McLaren has been well documented, but there is renewed hope for 2014.

For much of pre-season testing, the MP4-29 looked like providing the main threat to the works Mercedes squad, though McLaren appeared to slip back in the final Bahrain test.

"I think the basic car is good but we're still waiting for our upgrades," said Button at the end of February. "The first race package will hopefully move us a bit closer because we are behind quite a few teams at the moment."

A personal positive is that the measured approach that is expected to be required to get the most out of the new cars should suit the cerebral Button. And he will have exciting rookie Kevin Magnussen in the second car to push him in a way McLaren felt 2013 team-mate Sergio Perez did not.

#20 Kevin Magnussen

2013 stats
Wins: -
Poles: -
Fastest laps: -
Points: -

Had the McLaren and Sergio Perez relationship not stuttered to a halt after just one year, perhaps Kevin Magnussen wouldn't have got his chance to graduate from winning the Formula Renault 3.5 championship to an F1 race drive with the team.

But looking at it the other way, if the McLaren junior hadn't looked so convincing during his 2013 season, perhaps there wouldn't have been as much pressure on Perez. Magnussen did everything his mentors could have asked of him in 2013, and McLaren deserves praise for being bold enough to reward deserving talent.

The Dane's outright speed has never been in doubt through his career, and it is that trait that is surely going to cause team-mate Jenson Button the most headaches over the course of the season.

Magnussen developed other areas of his driving over the latter part of his time in FR3.5 at the advice of McLaren, which means that he should be considered more than a quick kid lacking the all-round game to make the most of that speed.

Force India is the perennial midfield team trying to make good. Team owner Vijay Mallya and long-time right-hand man Bob Fernley talk of the squad operating under 'five-year plans', and 2014 represents the start of the second.

The first (which began in 2009 after a season of transition) was about raising the team formerly known as Spyker from back-of-the-grid bottom feeder into midfield regular. That's been achieved. Now the focus is on trying to lift Force India to the status of regular podium contender.

The team's engine deal with Mercedes, which stretches back to 2009 and is now a full-blown technical partnership, could bear serious fruit as F1 enters its complex new turbocharged era.

The Mercedes power unit is generally considered to be ahead of rival efforts from Ferrari (a former engine partner of Force India) and Renault, so Mallya's team looks in good shape to be in the fight to be 'best-of-the-rest' behind the factory outfit, certainly during the early races.

The team has re-signed one of the best drivers on the grid in Nico Hulkenberg, and the VJM07 looked impressive on race runs during pre-season testing in Bahrain, so there's every chance Force India could deliver on its Indian promise.

#27 Nico Hulkenberg

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 51

Quite how Nico Hulkenberg finds himself still living a nomadic existence in the F1 midfield is a mystery to most.

However, his return to Force India after just one year away at Sauber could be well-timed, and it is unlikely that he has regretted not waiting around for the financially-troubled Lotus team to make a decision on him over the winter.

Even as one of the smaller Mercedes-powered teams, Force India must be eyeing a few giant-killings in 2014, and Hulkenberg is likely to be at the centre of those. As he showed by frustrating some illustrious names with his Sauber last year, he doesn't scare easily when he's in among the big boys.

By the end of pre-season testing Force India had a reliable car that enabled them to carry out set-up and race simulation work on all four days of the final test. That should mean the VJM07 is in better shape than most for the start of the campaign, and if it makes the finish early on then there will be plenty of points to be had.

#11 Sergio Perez

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1
Points: 49

Did his spell at McLaren come too early? Did a perceived arrogance undermine his time at Woking - and will it do likewise in 2014? Or will a switch to Force India be the re-making of 'Checo' Perez?

It's easy to forget the Mexican was one of F1's hottest properties just over 15 months ago following three podiums - and that near win in a remarkable Malaysian Grand Prix - for Sauber. Ferrari rumours grew, before McLaren snapped him up to replace the departing Lewis Hamilton.

Despite ruffling several feathers, he actually stacked up pretty well against world champion team-mate Jenson Button, even winning the intra-team qualifying battle.

While that wasn't enough to win an extended stay, a switch to Force India has proved a welcome silver lining. Matching up with Hulkenberg may be a massive challenge, but doing so would also prove 2012 was no flash in the pan and offer Perez the chance to re-establish his credentials as a top-line driver.

Sauber has a mid-grid budget, mid-grid technical resources and mid-grid drivers, so no prizes for guessing where the Swiss squad is likely to do most of its racing in 2014.

That sounds like damning with faint praise, but Sauber's longevity is rooted in its conservatism.

After a dire first half of 2013, Sauber claimed some startling results with Nico Hulkenberg after the August break. That is testament to a sound aerodynamic design and development team, which is able to make the most of its high-quality windtunnel facility, even if the megabucks budget isn't there to back them up.

The biggest concern is the driver line-up. Hulkenberg was not universally loved inside the team, with some seeing him as too big for his boots, but nobody can argue with the quality of his performances.

By replacing him with the solid, but unspectacular, Adrian Sutil alongside Esteban Gutierrez, there is no doubt that Sauber has made a net loss even though it would be wrong to argue it had a poor driver pairing.

#99 Adrian Sutil

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 29

You usually know where you are with Sutil. He's not one of those drivers who will pull out a remarkable performance in a mediocre car that makes you think he is a potential world champion, but he is a reliable racer who can bring home a decent points haul.

Sutil has been one of the more vociferous voices against the new 2014 F1 machines, probably at least partly due to the fact that his Sauber squad is finding the change harder than most. In particular, the Swiss squad's brake-by-wire system has caused problems (and offs) in testing.

This season will thus be a stern challenge for Sutil, finally outside of the Force India fold. With no Nico Hulkenberg and inexperienced sophomore driver Esteban Gutierrez as its other driver, Sauber will be looking to Sutil to lead the squad in what could be a difficult year.

#21 Esteban Gutierrez

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1
Points: 6

The Mexican hasn't truly starred since winning the inaugural GP3 title in 2010. His subsequent GP2 seasons didn't bring the championship successes hoped for by his backers, and his F1 rookie season was muted - though expecting immediate fireworks from a rookie in a small team in the modern era, especially when up against a team-mate like Nico Hulkenberg, is perhaps unfair.

There were definitely signs as the season progressed that Gutierrez was finding his feet, and he showed enough potential in the latter races to justify a 2014 deal even without the financial bonus of his Telmex affiliation.

More is required in 2014, however. Gutierrez now has a full season under his belt and F1's comprehensive rules reset removes some of the inexperience disadvantages. Team continuity is also helpful. With Sauber in mediocre shape during testing, Gutierrez might have to focus on getting the better of new team-mate Adrian Sutil, who should not be underestimated.

Scuderia Toro Rosso is in the difficult position of being very clearly Red Bull's second-string team. Its mandate is to run the energy drinks giant's junior drivers, but there has been investment in its facilities in recent years and the ex-Minardi squad is ambitious enough to fight at the front of the midfield battle with rivals such as Force India and Sauber.

Under technical director James Key, now relatively experienced in that role and with a good record at both Force India and Sauber, the team did make progress in 2013 although it was probably the most inconsistent car in the field.

With further bolstering of technical facilities, things did look good on paper for Toro Rosso. But the switch to Renault engines, which made perfect sense given Red Bull also uses them, has proved ill-timed.

Aside from the Renault engine issue and the need to achieve better consistency, the big question mark is over the aerodynamic development side of the team.

Given Renault's struggles, expectations are relatively low for Toro Rosso. All it can do is get the best out of a chassis that, according to lead driver Jean-Eric Vergne, felt very good in testing, so that if and when the Renault engine does close the gap it can make hay.

The season will likely start off with an anonymous slog towards the back of the midfield. If things do improve, much will depend on Vergne's ability to deliver on his potential and start to achieve the consistent results he's capable of.

#25 Jean-Eric Vergne

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 13

Having missed out on promotion to Red Bull's A-team, Vergne enters his third year in Formula 1 knowing he must up his game.

While abundantly talented, it is the mental side of F1 that Vergne needs to crack. Failing to score a point once Mark Webber had announced his Red Bull exit typified his deficiencies in comparison with then-team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, and sealed his 2014 fate.

Vergne himself recognises the flaw however, and insists the disappointment has made him stronger. "I see myself as a really weak driver last year, especially in the head," is his own assessment. "If I had gone to Red Bull, I would have [had] a bad surprise to fight against Sebastian."

Instead he will be charged with leading Toro Rosso's stuttering charge. The STR9 might not be a weapon of choice, but it does at least offer the chance to ensure Red Bull rejection will not push him nearer the F1 scrapheap.

#26 Daniil Kvyat

2013 stats
Wins: -
Poles: -
Fastest laps: -
Points: -

The Russian teenager appeared a left-field choice to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso, but the combination of his performances en route to the GP3 title and in Formula 3, coupled with Antonio Felix da Costa not living up to Red Bull's expectations in Formula Renault 3.5, created the opening.

Kvyat didn't look overwhelmed by the big step to Formula 1 when he sampled the 2013 Toro Rosso during Friday practice for the final two races of the year, but any hopes he had of building on that start have been severely derailed by the team suffering a difficult pre-season in terms of mileage.

Given his age, and the disrupted nature of his pre-season, it would be fair for Kvyat to expect a bit more patience from Red Bull than some of his 'brothers' that have come before him. However, getting on terms with Jean-Eric Vergne - who was overlooked in favour of Ricciardo for a promotion this year - is surely a must.

This isn't the first time Williams has raised hopes of a renaissance with a storming winter-test performance. Yet there are many more reasons to believe in its 2014 pre-season promise than there have been on the other occasions when Williams topped testing timesheets in recent years.

A Mercedes is emphatically what you want in the back of your F1 car at present, so swapping Renault for the German V6 has proved prescient. The car's design is effective and so far both competitive and sturdy - the basic statistics suggest the FW36 was top of the charts for both raw pace and reliability by the end of testing.

Williams has been through more changes than it would've liked in recent years, but the new Pat Symonds-led line-up is bedding in. Lotus has shown in recent years that a well-organised and ferociously determined team of 'real racers' can achieve a lot with limited resources, and Williams is set to channel that same spirit. That's not to say it's cash-strapped, with the Martini deal both a financial coup and a morale boost.

The driver line-up is ideal too: a young charger with big potential in Valtteri Bottas and an experienced race-winner with a huge point to prove in Felipe Massa.

The desire to rehabilitate his battered reputation means Massa has none of the jadedness that you might fear in an 11-year veteran transferring his way down the pitlane garages and Williams could be a rebirth for him, provided future star Bottas doesn't prove too hot to handle.

#19 Felipe Massa

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 112

After eight seasons at Ferrari, the move to Williams seems to have rejuvenated Massa. He may never again be the driver who so narrowly missed out on the 2008 title, but the environment at the legendary British squad seems to be suiting him.

And so does the testing pace of the Mercedes-powered FW36, with Massa ending up fastest of all during Bahrain testing.

"Williams is a team that is not there to fight at the back but at the front," said Massa. "It is something that makes me even happier than expected."

It would be a surprise to see Williams challenging Mercedes for wins, but decent points and maybe even the odd podium could be up for grabs.

The only potential thorn in Massa's side is Valtteri Bottas, his highly rated and hungry new team-mate. How the two compare could have a big impact on what both end up doing in the years to come.

#77 Valtteri Bottas

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 4

In many ways the slow-burn of Bottas's Formula 1 preparation is on course to properly ignite just as Williams gets itself back towards the sharp end.

The season of Friday free practice outings in 2012, followed by a year spent out of the spotlight and learning lessons in a difficult car in 2013, now looks like perfect preparation.

Last year Bottas was keen to point out that - regardless of results - he was able to learn a lot about being a Formula 1 driver during a tough rookie season, and now he gets the chance to put that theory to the test.

The 2014 rules shake-up in F1 seems to have created the perfect set of circumstances for the former GP3 champion to have a breakout season and prove that he is as good as many in the team believe.

New team-mate Felipe Massa offers an excellent benchmark, and if Bottas is serious about developing into a major player on the grid he will have to get the better of the 11-time GP winner.

This season perhaps represents the best chance for Marussia to make the leap it has been pushing for, and become a regular fly in the ointment of Formula 1's midfield teams.

It's an ambition that's so far proved beyond the reach of F1's minnows, since they were hooked by the bait of Max Mosley's cost-capped category that never came to be.

But to realise that (necessary) ambition, it will need a tidy and reliable car. The MR03 completed less running than all bar late-starter Lotus during pre-season, a bad omen in a year when many are expecting simply finishing to be key to a good result for F1's less-fancied teams.

Ferrari's new V6 turbo engine looks to be behind Mercedes, but maybe ahead of Renault in the 'power unit' stakes, so there's still a real opportunity for Marussia to stay ahead of Caterham, and maybe get the better of the midfield stragglers early in the campaign, so long as it can get its cars to the flag.

#17 Jules Bianchi

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 0

A late arrival to the 2013 F1 grid, the Ferrari-linked Frenchman impressed many with his performances for Marussia. This year the aim for the team, like main rival Caterham, will be to finally take on the established outfits in the midfield.

But the MR03 has had various pre-season problems, struggling to complete many laps. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried in the slightest, but I am very hopeful," said team boss John Booth during Bahrain testing.

Nevertheless, the issues suggest the Ferrari-engined machine will not be able to take advantage of Renault's problems early in the season, as had been hoped.

If that is the case, Bianchi will have to aim to do pretty much what he did in 2013: comfortably outshine team-mate Max Chilton, help Marussia defeat Caterham for 10th place in the constructors' table, and hope a seat opens up for him at one of the bigger outfits.

#4 Max Chilton

2013 stats
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Points: 0

Chilton started his rookie F1 campaign looking very much a second-class citizen compared with Jules Bianchi, but that was always possible given the very steep early learning curve.

The early races were never going to be the acid test though, so Chilton should be judged by the improvements he made as the season progressed. He only beat Bianchi twice in grands prix when they both finished (India and Singapore), but both came late in the year as he began to discover his stride.

His junior CV suggests he's not about to join the top echelons of the sport, but equally he's far from the no-hoper some have painted him. His time in GP2 should offer particular encouragement: from 20th in his first year with Carlin, he won twice and finished fourth overall the following season.

The fact he rarely put a foot wrong, save for putting Maldonado in the Monaco barriers, is an added plus, but in year two he must do more. Getting the better of Bianchi on a more regular basis will be top of the agenda.

Four seasons and 77 grands prix down, and the wait goes on.

Make no bones about it, Caterham is under desperate pressure to finally break into the grand prix points in 2014. Owner Tony Fernandes made the need explicit back in January, warning that he could cut his losses should the team once again fail to achieve more than being a perennial backmarker.

"This is it," he announced before pre-season. "The final chance."

The good news is the scale of 2014's regulation changes should open up opportunities. Gone will be the norm of one or two retirements per race, with massive unreliability set to characterise at least the early handful of grands prix. Simply finishing, in other words, could be enough.

The worry is that Caterham could struggle even to achieve that, given the extent of Renault's problems during pre-season. Being in the same camp as Red Bull will mean problems are rapidly addressed, but it nevertheless starts a potentially crucial 2014 campaign on the back foot.

#10 Kamui Kobayashi

2013 stats
Wins: -
Poles: -
Fastest laps: -
Points: -

Kobayashi's huge fanbase will be thrilled to see him back on the F1 grid - but can he sustain his folk-hero status in a car unlikely to allow him to express his flamboyant style too often?

Although Caterham has less reliability concerns than the rest of the Renault pack, it has shown little sign of picking up pace relatively to the midfield in testing. Heroic late-braking moves for 20th place might not have the same appeal.

His return is definitely good for F1, as his determination cannot be underestimated, his knack for a mischievous quote remains (though saying he'd be better off with a GP2 car for Melbourne probably wasn't ideal team PR) and his fights with Bianchi could be spicy if Caterham and Marussia are on a par at the back again.

But the novelty value of him coming back from a Ferrari GT car for another shot at F1 might be greater than anything he can actually achieve in that comeback.

#9 Marcus Ericsson

2013 stats
Wins: -
Poles: -
Fastest laps: -
Points: -

The young Swede might have two championships and a number of GP2 wins on his junior CV, but stepping up to Formula 1 for the first time - amid massive rule changes, and with a struggling squad - constitutes a huge hurdle.

The worry will be that Caterham's woes mask any flashes of brilliance, and leave him struggling to make any sort of impact. For Ericsson 2014, see Giedo van der Garde 2013.

But while being in one of the worst cars can make it almost impossible to create an impression, there is a silver lining in the form of new team-mate Kamui Kobayashi.

The Japanese will be a decent barometer for Ericsson, a reliable guide to just how well he manages his rookie start. It might therefore be something of a baptism of fire, but there should still be opportunities to impress.