Changes to rules, personnel will shape new F1 season

	Two-time world champ Fernando Alonso's switch to McLaren Mercedes will likely tip the balance of power in Formula One. Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
	Three intriguing storylines 1. Can Fernando Alonso win a third world champioinship with a different team? Alonso will be trying to do what Michael Schumacher couldn't. Schumacher won back-to-back titles for Benetton in 1994-95 and moved to Ferrari in '96. He didn't win his first championship at Ferrari until 2000. Alonso is also racing against the history of Emerson Fittipaldi, the driver he replaced as the youngest to win the championship. Fittipaldi won with Lotus in '72 before moving to McLaren in '74 and won his second title. 2. Is Lewis Hamilton the Tiger Woods of F1? Hamilton, 22, won the GP2 (the primary development series for F1) last season with five wins. A Brit with parents who emigrated from Grenada, Hamilton has been a McLaren development driver since age 13. He won Formula Renault UK and the Formula 3 Euroseries on the way up the ladder. 3. Is Jenson Button a contender or a pretender? Button broke through for his first F1 victory last season and returns with Honda. He's been in F1 since '00 and once was touted as a driver with the talent to win the championship. But at age 26, his time may already be running out with one win and 15 podiums in 119 starts. Button was third in the championship in '04 and sixth last season.

The winds of change have swept across Formula One at hurricane strength for the 2007 season, which opens this weekend in Australia. Fernando Alonso, the winner of the past two world championships with Renault, has switched to McLaren-Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen has moved into the retired Michael Schumacher's Ferrari. And a slew of technical restrictions has been instituted in hopes of placing an increased emphasis on teams and drivers.

And those are only the stories you may have heard. What else will shape the months to come? Let's take a look.

New faces: Over McLaren-Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton will become the first black driver in F1 while Heikki Kovalainen, with Renault, and Adrian Sutil, with Spyker, also will be making their first F1 starts Sunday at Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit. And on the track, Bridgestone becomes the sport's sole tire supplier with Michelin's withdrawal.

Technological restraint: Engine innovation is out and development will be limited. The 2.4-liter V8s were fundamentally frozen at the end of last season, to the specifications teams ran in the two Grands Prix at Japan and China. F1 has even set a rev limit of 19,000. That will teams likely to find only one percent more in the power plants this year. Engines still have to last for two straight races plus the Saturday practice and qualifying sessions. One area in which team can explore changes is in the chassis, which puts the future success in the hands of designers and drivers.

Familiar faces, familiar places: Veterans Felipe Massa, with Ferrari, Giancarlo Fisichella, with Renault, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, both with Toyota, David Coulthard, with Red Bull, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, with Honda and Nick Heidfeld, with BMW Sauber, all return with the same teams.

Budding careers: Nico Rosburg is back at Williams for his second season in F1 while Robert Kubica, the first Polish driver in F1, will drive in his first full season with BMW Sauber after competing in six races last season. Alex Wurz, a test driver in recent seasons, gets another shot in F1 with Williams. And Mark Webber moved from Williams to Red Bull.

Scott Speed, the lone American in F1, and Vitantonio Liuzzi are set for their second F1 seasons with Toro Rosso. Spyker will team Christijan Albers with Sutil, and Super Aguri will pair Takuma Sato with Anthony Davidson, who has three starts in his career.

Three races to watch

All of the changes fill the new season with more intrigue and the possibility of the unexpected than in previous years.

"There are a lot of new things in the sport this season such as new rules, all teams running on Bridgestone Potenzas, drivers changing teams," Alonso said. "Everyone is starting from zero and it is going to make things very interesting."

For very different reasons, Australia, Monaco and the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis are races you don't want to miss in this or any season.