Whether it's down to the new rules, to Ferrari's rivals raising their game more than the World Champions, or to the hard-fought tyre war, the 2003 Championship is turning out to be one of the closest in many years, with at least three drivers in prime position to take the title. Atlas F1's Richard Barnes looks at the Championship situation and ponders how it is likely to develop in the remaining part of the year

Credit the new rules. Credit Michelin's continuing improvement. Credit Ferrari hitting the development ceiling for the current evolution of their F1 design. Credit Williams' pedigree of always bouncing back to the top. Whether it's one or all of the aforementioned factors, it's salvaged Formula One from the doldrums of the 2002 season, and Sunday's French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours illustrated just how brilliantly poised and balanced the sport has become.

It seems like decades since we've had such a close-fought Championship entering the home stretch, although that is the result of the typically short memory span surrounding F1. Both the 2000 and 1999 seasons were just as close after the tenth race of the season. In 1999, McLaren's Mika Hakkinen and Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen were locked in battle with Eddie Irvine, driving the 'wrong' Ferrari to the head of the Championship table after Michael Schumacher's traumatic season exit at Silverstone. In 2000, Schumacher had returned to his customary P1 place in the Championship, but had the McLarens of Hakkinen and David Coulthard within striking distance.

However, both of these close Championship battles were contrived to an extent. In 1999, there was always the feeling that Hakkinen's class would prevail, and that Irvine and Frentzen were hanging in doggedly with only superior mechanical reliability in their favour. A year later, it was Schumacher's unprecedented mid-season run of bad luck and DNFs that served to tighten up what had been a runaway Championship. Without those three successive retirements, the German would likely have scampered away to a comfortable title.

This year, the battle is genuine and truly balanced, with three different cars vying for the ultimate honours. None of the top three Championship contenders, the two Schumachers and Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, has enjoyed season-long dominant machinery nor suffered poor reliability, they are all there on driving merit. The different styles and experience levels of the three has only made the contest that much more fascinating. To top it off, the current pace of the cars is inversely proportional to the Drivers' Championship position, with third-placed Ralf Schumacher looking to have the edge for the next couple of races at least.

The new points system has served its purpose well in tightening up the Championship. Under the 2002 points system, Michael Schumacher would now be 12 points clear of Raikkonen and 16 ahead of his brother. The new system has shrunk those gaps to 8 and 11 respectively although, even under the old system, this season would still be developing into a thriller. And, just like any top-notch thriller, the answers are being left till the very end.

Ferrari and Bridgestone insist that they are not in a crisis situation, and that counters can be found quickly to the Williams/Michelin challenge. It's reminiscent of the post-race interviews in early 1998, when a stiff-lipped Michael Schumacher, seated alongside the victorious McLaren pair, would intone regularly that 'we need to work on the whole package and find more speed by the next race'. Goodyear was unable to find effective answers, and Bridgestone look to be in a similarly vulnerable position.

The Bridgestone advantage of the last two seasons has been based on a superior intermediate tyre, better cool weather performance, and Michelin's quirky characteristic of losing pace for 6 - 10 laps while the tyres scrubbed in. The performances of Montoya and Raikkonen in the greasy conditions at Brazil and (for the few laps that it was damp) in Austria showed that Michelin have shut down the intermediate loophole. In 2003, the French tyres have also proved more consistent and durable for the entire stint, without losing pace during the scrubbing-in period. Critically, the Michelins also enjoy a significant performance advantage for one-lap qualifying.

Short of full race downpours or unseasonably cool weather for the rest of the season, Bridgestone looks unlikely to reverse the trend in just one flurried week of testing. Throwing a bunch of new compounds and tyre choices at the problem seems more of a 'hit and hope' approach than genuine confidence at finding solutions. It took Michelin a while to build their current superiority, it stands to reason that it will take Bridgestone more than a week to reverse it.

Bridgestone and Ferrari do still have a trump card in Michael Schumacher. During Sunday's French Grand Prix he atoned for his mistake, a week earlier at the Nurburgring, with one of his finest drives of recent years. It won't be remembered that way, as F1 is acutely results-oriented and the minor podium position is seldom memorable. But Schumacher's composure and race-long effort in France was a far better achievement, both in driving and Championship terms, than many of his dominant wins of the last two seasons. Leapfrogging the McLaren duo was a fine achievement, even with Coulthard's refuelling and Raikkonen's brake problems.

However, without the dominant package of 2002 and with brother Ralf closing fast in a seemingly bulletproof Williams, the question of Ferrari team orders must surely come into play again. Ralf is a fantastic leader from the front, but all too often distracted and less effective when he has to fight his way to the lead. With Barrichello running well below Michael Schumacher's pace, Ferrari wouldn't be able to benefit from traditional team orders, even if they were still legal. However, they could ostensibly fuel Barrichello light to get him on pole, and try to break Ralf's rhythm and ability to lead from the front. At the very least, it would tighten up the race if Barrichello was able to hold back the charging Williams cars, even for a short first stint. Ferrari have done nothing this season to suggest such a tactic, but as the Championship tightens further, the temptation will surely be there.

Coulthard is also in a possible spoiler position for McLaren although, like Barrichello, he hasn't shown the qualifying pace to be a factor at the head of the race. That leaves Juan Pablo Montoya, who is in the most interesting position of all. Just six points adrift of Ralf, Montoya will be keenly aware that there is no worse position in F1 than being the teammate of the newly-crowned champion. Montoya won't be doing Ralf any favours over the remaining six races. At the same time, the Colombian has never shied away from controversially aggressive passing moves against fellow Championship contenders Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. So the Championship may end up being decided indirectly by the Colombian, even if he doesn't win it himself.

Montoya has already played a small but significant role by pressuring Michael Schumacher into a two-point mistake at the Nurburgring. With his genuine qualifying and race pace, Montoya will be mixing it up with the leaders for the rest of the season. Even if the two Schumachers and Raikkonen are smart enough not to bang wheels and compromise their chances in such a finely balanced contest, Montoya may give them little option.

None of the top three teams is radiating confidence going into Silverstone. Ferrari are displaying their customary guarded approach, McLaren are still iffy about the debut of the new car, and Silverstone could represent a 'wake up call' for Williams and their newfound superiority. All three appear to acknowledge that this season could be won and lost in a single moment - and that moment could happen anywhere between Silverstone and the season finale at Suzuka in mid-October. When that moment does happen, it's a fair bet that Juan Pablo Montoya will play a central role in it.