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Renault will be a new kid on the block, but with some deep technical knowledge and experience. This team is the revised Benetton team now that the clothing manufacturing family has exited the sport stage right. Jenson Button returns to try and live up to the original expectations that were given to him in the 2000 season. If no major improvements are made, expect to see him in either a test driver role or exiting F1. Jarno Trulli moves over here from Jordan to fill the second seat on the team. The team did demonstrate that they could get their act together with better performances later in the season. Now that Renault is putting a larger factory effort into the team, they should get closer to the front. Renault has been on the cutting edge of technology in the past and should come out of the gate running at the beginning of the season. Rumors are that the wide-angle engine will be running without camshafts. They should give the Honda powered teams a run for their money. Expect to see continuous improvement.
BAR will repeat the same lineup from 2001 with both Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis returning to the struggling Honda powered team. With Eddie Jordan jockeying for position better than Craig Pollack as far as dealing with Honda, the team definitely has their backs to the wall. The goal for next year will be to beat Jordan and do so convincingly. The all-important Honda single team support will occur in 2003, and that will be key to a front running machine. Will all of this pressure help the struggling team? Only time will tell. They have signed with Bridgestone for the upcoming season, so they have figured out how to play politics Japanese style.
Tom Walkinshaw's team has been lost in the mush of the lower rung teams lately, but he signed a deal to get the latest spec Cosworth engines (not that they are doing Jaguar any good). Verstappen has been signed, but as of this time, the second seat is available. Anyone have a couple of million they want to blow for a really fast ride?
Sauber will be coming back with two blows. First was the loss of Kimi Raikkonen to McLaren and the second was the loss of major sponsor Red Bull. With a smaller budget than last year, Peter Sauber has gone with Nick Heidfeld and newcomer Filipe Massa. Heidfeld no longer has the pressure of the fast moving Finn, so there is now a chance for him to shine. Massa is an unknown, but Peter Sauber has a knack at spotting young (and inexpensive) talent. With their Swiss headquarters very close to Maranello and with the proven championship winning drive train, Sauber could be a spoiler for some of the top teams who can't find reliability.
The Ford owned team also has their work cut out for them in 2002. Hopefully by now the management shakeup is complete and they will be able to focus on development of the car rather than the hierarchy of the company. The ouster of Jac Nasser who was a strong supporter of the team complicated the managements' outlook. The team will continue with the same drivers lineup of Eddie "my mouth moves faster than my brain" Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa. 2002 should be a tough season for the team.
I hate to say this, but who cares? Nothing will save this low budget team except massive failures on the part of all of the other teams. Expect them to work on aerodynamics over the winter to be a more efficient chicane. A switch to Asiatech engines may or may not help. Yoong has been signed, but discussions continue to fill the second seat.
The team headed by the professor just won't die. It was announced in late November that the team went into receivership, but press releases from the team have made a point out of the fact that they will be competing in the 2002 season with Ferrari power. Latest rumors indicate that Briatore may try and provide financial support to the struggling team that he once owned under the Ligier banner. Funding problems mean that the drivers' lineup is still in the air. Expect all of the stops to be pulled out to keep Heinz Harald Frentzen in a seat as long as possible.