The Teams could throw out all the data gathered over the last couple of years with the new regulations this year. Especially the narrowing of the chassis and the grooved tyres made it almost impossible to predict the cars behaviour on the circuit based on old data.

Some teams have built a prototype first and have covered a substantial amount of miles. The Williams team is one of those teams, but still their number one driver, Jacques Villeneuve stated: "There are going to be major steps made before the start of the season because everyone is still running with questions marks."

What is known is with the new regulations the lap times will be some three or more seconds a lap slower. Drivers who drove the prototypes also complained that the cars were very difficult to drive. Alexander Wurz, with Benetton-Mecachrome, stated this again after their last test with the genuine 1998 car: "The new car is very different and more difficult to drive. But I think the racing will be very close."

So it's very difficult to predict who will be this year's favourite. Williams has gone fastest at the Barcelona track with Jordan and Benetton very close. McLaren has yet to test their 1998 car, but they are also tipped to go fast with the Adrian Newey design. And with the Ferrari team not present on the Barcelona circuit, like almost all the other teams, you can't have any idea where they stand.

What is known is that both the tyre company's, Goodyear and Bridgestone, are very close and what kind of tyres you are using doesn't really seem to matter. The picture of where every team stands will get clear on grid line-up of the first Grand Prix.