Williams-Toyota

Four seasons have passed since Williams last won a grand prix - with Juan Pablo Montoya in Brazil 2004 - and that's a drought of 72 races. The fresh start offered by the new regulations gives the team the chance to claw back its on-track losses, and the fact that Williams was one of the first to devote its full developmental attention to 2009 is a clear statement of intent.

How well the team performs will have a big influence on its future. On the one hand, the financial tide within the sport is turning in favour of independent teams such as Williams, but on the other the wider world is in economic turmoil.