Gascoyne predicts 'great' F1 season

Just days before the 2007 campaign kicks off in Melbourne, Gascoyne has told autosport.com that the uncertainties caused by a lot of movement on the driver front in particular have made predicting the outcome of the title more difficult than ever.

"I think it will actually be a good season," said Gascoyne, who has returned to F1 with Spyker following his dismissal from Toyota after last year's Australian Grand Prix.

"There are three teams who can actually win the championship. Michael Schumacher has left, so if Ferrari win it will be with someone else. Can Kimi Raikkonen win a world championship?

"Renault have won two, but Fernando Alonso is not there. So can Fisichella step up to it? Two teams out of the top three have got rookie drivers, which is I think is fairly unique in F1.

"There are a lot of potential fuck-ups, and lots of things in the mix - which makes for a great season.

"Whereas if McLaren were sitting with their car with Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya in it you would think, 'Wow, they look strong!' If Ferrari were sitting there as they are now with Schumacher and Felipe Massa again and Ross (Brawn) was on the pit wall you would say, 'Wow, they look strong!'

"If Renault were sitting there with Alonso and Fisi again you would say, 'Wow, they look strong' But there is a mix in all of them, isn't there?"

Despite feeling that the fight between Ferrari, McLaren and Renault is too close to predict with certainty, Gascoyne feels that Ferrari probably have the edge because of their more experienced driver line-up.

He thinks that Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen are more likely to make mistakes as rookies - which could prove costly in terms of championship points.

"At the moment it looks like there are three cars all within a couple of tenths of each other and the fight will be down to who will make the fewest mistakes," he explained.

"And you have got to say when at 2pm the lights go out, you probably don't want a rookie driver. Because no matter how good they are, they will make the odd mistake.

"That is just natural. So I think if you had to put your money down you would have to put it on Ferrari."

Gascoyne also says he is unsure about whether BMW-Sauber, the surprise package of winter testing, will have what it takes to seriously challenge the three top teams.

"I think it will be great if they are up there, and they look like they have made a step - so well done to them," he said. "But I would be slightly surprised because I am not so sure what has changed.

"Willi Rampf (technical director) is a lovely guy, I really respect him, but they haven't brought a lot of new people in and changed things. I would be surprised if they really pushed the top three.

"I think they are behind the top three and ahead of the next group. Some say they might be challenging them, but I would say it is a might at the moment."

Although Gascoyne's own ambitions with Spyker will be much further down the grid, as he bids to help lift the team from the back of the field, he claims that he is enjoying being in the sport once again after his troubled time at Toyota.

"It (being at Toyota) was very frustrating from a management point of view because, for the first time, you couldn't make clear engineering decisions and have everyone do them," he explained. "I think here (at Spyker) obviously you can.

"It has its own frustrations - like you are a small team and you don't have the budget. But it is a fun challenge and I think the one thing for me here - anyone you can beat you shouldn't be beating them.

"It is the great British underdog thing. That is a challenge that I find quite invigorating."