A Frozen Watershed

Each New Year brings with it the promise of a new dawn in the sport, a fresh cycle in the ebb and flow of fortunes, the ascendancy and waning of F1 empires, the next level in the technological race for supreme dominance. Often, the new season turns out to be little more than a continuation of the status quo. However, the 2007 season offers a combination of a sea change in some areas of the sport - and no change at all in others.

If motor racing is the complete blend of humanity and machinery, it is the human face of F1 that will change in 2007. Gone are the scarlet star-bedecked helmet, the consummate professionalism, the all-weather preparedness, the podium victory leap, the perspiration-free meticulously worded post-race interviews and the other trademarks that seven-time champion Michael Schumacher brought to the sport. For that alone, 2007 will be a watershed year as the sport welcomes a new generation of challengers.