Analysis: Schumacher's Rivals Racing Against Time

Fernando Alonso and Formula One's other champions-in-waiting want to beat Ferrari's Michael Schumacher more than ever this year.

Spaniard Alonso, still only 23, fears time could be running out as Schumacher aims for his eighth title at the age of 36 and as the oldest driver on the track when the season starts in Australia on March 6.

"Ferrari will be the team to beat again, that is for sure," said the Renault driver.

"We have to get everything perfect to beat Michael and Ferrari.

"From a driver's point of view, to win the title with Michael on the track is 10 times more important than the first title after Michael has retired," added Alonso, who could become the sport's youngest champion when the longest season yet -- 19 races -- ends in China in October.

"It will be an important season for all the 19 drivers because you don't know when it will be Michael's last. Just in case this is the last one, you have to win."

Schumacher has a contract through to the end of 2006 and has said he will keep racing for as long as he is still enjoying himself.

The German certainly did that last year, romping away with the first five races of the season and chalking up a record 13 victories in 18 starts.

Real Contender

Australian Mark Webber, a real contender after moving from Jaguar to former champions Williams, hoped the tide would turn.

"We have everything to win and not a lot to lose," said Webber, who got it completely wrong last year when he predicted a new champion would emerge.

"Michael can only go backwards. But he's an absolute legend of our sport, a guy who has achieved like no-one else before," said Webber.

"I'd be very disappointed if he wasn't racing this year because you want to race against the best guys.

"Hopefully when I win my first race, Michael will not be in the gravel but on the podium as well and you win fair and square," said Webber. "That's what the challenge is about, it's about racing the best."

Ferrari have won the last six constructors' championships while Schumacher has reigned for five years in a row and remains the only Formula One champion of the 21st century.

The German, with 83 career wins to his credit and a suspected target of at least 100, can be expected to keep on winning even if Ferrari do not intend to race their new car until Spain in May and have been testing with a revised version of last year's F2004.

"Their times around Barcelona are pretty impressive," said Webber's boss Frank Williams.

"They are very, very good at what they do. And, even worse, they make very few mistakes."

New Rules

The big imponderable is the effect of new rules designed to reduce speeds for safety's sake.

Yet even with revised aerodynamics, engines having to last for two races in a row and tyres for both qualifying and the race, Ferrari could still be setting the pace.

They have the most reliable engine and a special relationship with Bridgestone that enables the Japanese tyre manufacturer to focus on them.

Michelin -- with BAR, Renault, McLaren and Williams -- have more top cars on their tyres but Ferrari's rivals have all agreed to limit their testing during the season as a cost-cutting measure.

Ferrari, isolated and at odds with the other teams over the future direction of the sport, intend to test and win as much as they can.

Honda-powered BAR, overall runner's-up last year with Briton Jenson Button becoming a podium regular, have set themselves a target of a first win.

Yet pre-season testing already suggests BAR may not be Ferrari's closest challengers this time around.

New Faces

Renault and McLaren, who had a nightmare start to last season and finished fifth, are the ones whose new cars have made the biggest impression.

McLaren have a fire and ice line-up in Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, moving from Williams to replace Briton David Coulthard after winning the last race of 2004, and Finland's Kimi Raikkonen.

Both are race winners and both have fought for the championship before, Raikkonen finishing runner-up in 2003 when Montoya was third overall.

Renault now have Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, whose reputation as one of the fastest drivers has never been matched by the machinery at his disposal, partnering Alonso after the departure of Italian Jarno Trulli.

Trulli teams up with Ralf Schumacher, Michael's younger brother, at a Toyota team needing at least a first podium in return for their huge investment.

There is a new race, Turkey in August, and plenty of new faces as well.

Narain Karthikeyan becomes the first Indian Formula One racer, with Jordan whose team founder Eddie Jordan has departed after selling up to Russian-born Canadian businessman Alex Shnaider's Midland Group.

Germany's Colin Kolles takes over as team boss, one of three new principals from 2004 with Nick Fry replacing David Richards at BAR and Christian Horner stepping into the hot seat at Jaguar's replacement Red Bull Racing.

Of all the 10 teams, one is unchanged: Ferrari. Rivals can only hope that even if the champions look the same as ever, their season will end differently.