Ready for the ride

Jensen Button has made the close season headlines

BBC motor racing correspondent Jonathan Legard will be reporting for News Online throughout the new season. His first report looks ahead to the first race in Australia on 12 March.

Stronger, fitter. Lighter, faster. Better, younger. And that's only Jenson Button.

Even Minardi went fastest in testing and they only got an engine a couple of months ago.

Then again, if you can't be optimistic for the first race in March, heaven help you by the season's end in October.

Schumacher was confident at Ferrari's launch

Even Michael Schumacher sounds confident about his prospects for the 2000 season and that's usually an ominous sign.

Pictures of him giving a victory salute before a wheel has been turned are as rare as soup kitchens in Monaco.

But if they're a true reflection of Schumacher's feelings then Mika Hakkinen's hunger for a third successive title may not be satisfied as readily as some have suggested.

It may be his new TinTin-style haircut. It may be the confidence of being a double world champion.

Hakkinen: New haircut, old champion

Whatever it is, Hakkinen looks the part. Which is why I still think he is the man to beat, not Schumacher.

It's also is why David Coulthard has got to be firing on every cylinder from the off if he is serious about being bracketed with those two.

His challenge flopped barely before it launched last year. Three non-finishes in the first four races.

Bad luck followed him around the world like a bad smell. If a McLaren broke you did not need to look to know it was car no 2.

Coulthard has been working hard pre-season

The team has promised him better. But improvement also demands a rethink from Coulthard.

He was beaten 13 times out of 16 by his team-mate in qualifying last year,m and guilty of errors like going off the road when leading the European Grand Prix.

World champions simply don't let that happen. They make things happen for themselves.

First to the first corner. First to the chequered flag.

Trulli: replaces Damon Hill at Jordan

Coulthard has said there'll be no more nice guy. The proof will be in the podiums.

Jordan and Jaguar could be there as well. Both will be disappointed if they're not.

Jordan's combination of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli looks one of the neatest on the grid. And the car is no slouch either.

But Eddie Irvine's new partnership with Johnny Herbert is the one to ensure Jaguar's F1 debut is a lively one.

Irvine has put the Jaguar cat on his new helmet

Both have points to prove, Herbert especially - given Irvine's long-term £6.5m annual contract and his own one-year deal.

Expect great things in qualifying. The engine's light and quick. And when it is reliable, the cat will be back with a leap rather than a limp in race trim too.

And so to the Boy Button. He has done well to get this far, but what next?

Publicity and profile are guaranteed. Results and performance less so.