UNOFFICIAL F3000 INFORMATION

1) Stephane Sarrazin (F) has to start as championship favourite for the new season. His McLaren junior team has set a new benchmark for professionalism in F3000, and took Nick Heidfeld to dominance last year. The team should be able to refine the talent Sarrazin has shown since his debut in 1998, and if the Frenchman matches his consistency from last year with a little more pace he will be hard to beat. He has already demonstrated the required speed by dominating the official Jerez tests in January and the February Valencia tests.

2) Tomas Enge (CZ): There have to be question marks over Enge's prospects in 2000. He is finally with a team worthy of the talent he demonstrated in his stunning 1998 debut half-season and at Magny Cours last year. The questions lie over whether McLaren is capable of running a two-car team or just concentrating on their championship elect Sarrazin. Enge has the necessary speed to win races and even be a possible championship contender, but Nicolas Minassian and Mario Haberfeld both had dismal seasons as Heidfeld's team-mates at McLaren in 1998 and 1999. The Czech must buck this trend. Testing times suggest he will.

3) Nicolas Minassian (F): The former British F3 runner-up looked a changed man last season, scoring some good results and dominating at Silverstone. Certainly he laid to rest the memories of the 1998 season where he was nowhere in relation to his title-chasing team-mate Heidfeld. Now with three-time champions Super Nova, undoubtedly F3000's top team until McLaren arrived, he has the chance to launch a title assault. Certainly race wins should be likely at least.

4) David Saelens (B): Officially the rookie of the year last year, having joined Super Nova after three races with WRT Fina, the former French F3 champion was on occasion put in the shade by fellow rookies Franck Montagny and Justin Wilson. Nevertheless he progressed as the season went on, finishing fifth in both of the final races. This progression should continue this year. A championship challenge may be too much to ask against the more experienced opposition, but his debut win can't be too far away. One to watch.

5) Jaime Melo, jr. (BR): The runner-up in South American F3 last year, Melo follows in team-mate Bruno Junqueira's footsteps into the team. Last year the champions and frontrunners of even the more important F3 series found the going difficult upon graduation to F3000, and Jaime is likely to find the same. He will want to make progress through the year and could score points on occasion. He has been quick in testing.

6) Bruno Junqueira (BR): Despite his status as joint favourite in many people's eyes, Junqueira would probably prefer to have just finished qualifying a WilliamsF1-BMW when the first F3000 race kicks off at Imola. Having lost the drive to Jenson Button, at least he has a good chance of winning races this year. And win races he must; last year he was the revelation of the season, always fast but often prone to mistakes. He blew away his highly rated team-mate Max Wilson all year, rubbing it in by winning the Hockenheim race by passing Wilson on the grass! Remaining in the Williams affiliated Petrobras Junior, the sister team of Super Nova, for a second year, Junqueira must be a good bet for top honours.

7) Fernando Alonso (E): The winner of the Euro Open Nissan series last year, this little known Spaniard should theoretically find the going tough in his rookie F3000 season. But look at what Marc Gene did at Minardi after winning the same title. Certainly a talent, it is good to see another Spanish driver in F3000 after Gene (1997) and Polo Villaamil (1998/99) both failed to score any points at their attempts. Alonso proved fast on his testing debut with Coloni, and learning from the experienced team at Astromega he could score some points. The newly-signed Minardi test driver ran in the F1 team's Telefonica livery in testing, setting some stunning times.

8) Fabrice Walfisch (F) A strange driver: either very fast or very mediocre. A smooth run to third in the season opener last year was followed by a number of midfield drives for Draco. He then emerged from nowhere to claim pole at Budapest and lead until he suffered car problems. He proved it wasn't a one-off by qualifying second at Spa the following race. Top team Astromega were obviously impressed though, and they will hope he can do a similar job to the late Gonzalo Rodriguez. It seems doubtful whether the former French F3 runner can, unless he dramatically improves his consistency. Could score some good results on occasion.

9) Andre Couto (MAC) After being Italian F3 runner-up in 1997 Couto made a highly impressive F3000 debut with Prema in 1998. Last season with Gauloises junior was less successful, despite his first podium finish. Sarrazin generally had the upper hand. Now he has been promoted to the role as effective team leader, for team-mate Bourdais will need to learn before he can make his mark. If he improves his consistency and generally improves his performances Couto has the chance to win races, although a title challenge seems unlikely.

10) Sebastien Bourdais (F): He should be proud as French F3 champion from last year, but there is no question that the French series is in decline. Like the F3 graduates last year, Bourdais could be expected to struggle at first. Perhaps a driver to watch for the future, although he has been right on the pace in pre-season testing.

11) Andrea Piccini (I) Highly impressive in his rookie season last year, he also reminded us on occasion that he had come directly from Formula Opel by failing to qualify. In 2000 he should progress on his two points finishes from last year, but realistically the Italian could hope for a few podium finishes at best.

12) Bas Leinders (B): The 1998 German F3 champion had a difficult first full season last year with Witmeur KTR, scoring just one point and suffering a hand injury after a crash in Barcelona. He undoubtedly has talent, and a move to KJR may prove beneficial. The sensible qualifying procedure this year should see him score some good results, perhaps the odd win, but the driver and team pairing look unlikely to challenge for consistent wins at this stage.

15) Ricardo Mauricio (BR) The diminutive Brazilian was no sensation in British F3, so it's no surprise he struggled last year. After switching from Super Nova to Red Bull Junior, he was outpaced by teammate Bernoldi and ended the season with just one point. He will need to improve this year, and has a good team in RSM Marko to get the best out of him. Surprised many by topping the times in the final pre-season tests at Silverstone.

16) Enrique Bernoldi (BR): The man who looked likely to win the 1998 British F3 championship before Mario Haberfeld took over the season had a difficult initiation in F3000 last season. Impressive on occasion, especially at Hockenheim, he had the upper hand on team-mates Markus Friesacher and Mauricio all year. If he improves his consistency this year he should take podium finishes and the odd win. A fast driver who should spring some surprises. Test times suggest the whole package has improved.

17) Kevin McGarrity (GB) The talented Northern Irishman has always struggled to find funds, from his time in British F3 to his part season for Nordic in 1998. He followed up a fourth place finish at Hockenheim in 1998 with a second at Imola this year, but struggled in qualifying afterwards. In the races he often went well, but started so far down that he couldn't reach the points. For 2000 the qualifying procedure and continuity should put McGarrity in a position to score some good results; a few podiums and a breakthrough win could be possible.

18) Justin Wilson (GB): Having won his 1999 Astromega drive as a prize for winning the 1998 Formula Palmer Audi series, Wilson impressed by qualifying for every race and scoring points in his rookie year. Like any rookie he was prone to errors, while also prone to the occasional assault by Max Wilson! In 2000 he joins McGarrity in the all-British Nordic team where he should be capable of producing some decent results.

19) Hidetoshi Mitsusada (J) The Formula Nippon frontrunner (occasionally!) has returned for a proper crack at F3000 after a few races in 1998. Whether he will translate his experience into results remains to be seen; a move to Europe in a series as competitive as F3000 is no easy challenge. Could surprise on occasion, but unlikely to trouble the contenders for wins. He has hardly impressed in testing. Mitsusada is also the Benetton F1 test driver for 2000.

20) Ananda Mikola (RI): The Indonesian, a former Italian F3 driver, impressed immensely in his Italian F3000 season last year. He even won on the road at Enna before being disqualified for a technical infringement on his car. The experience should help him graduate this season, although he is likely to take a while to settle in to the higher level of competition. One to watch.

21) Franck Montagny (F) For many Montagny was the best rookie of last year. Although David Saelens scored more points, Montagny was often in contention for good finishes with the DAMS team which is less of a force than in its early 90's heyday. The general trend suggests drivers need a year to settle in, so this season the former French F3 star could be a winner and should score podium finishes.

22) Kristian Kolby (DK): The Dane has performed well for Fortec in his two years in British F3 and deserves this break. He impressed massively in his Italian F3000 outing at Imola last year. Given time to settle in he should prove competitive and should be fighting to be the year's best rookie.

23) Darren Manning (GB): A great talent who, like Marc Hynes, has been overlooked amongst the media attention over Jenson Button. Manning turned to Japanese F3 after drives were not forthcoming in Britain, despite his excellent performances on his few British F3 outings in 1998. He promptly dominated the series and also won the prestigious Macau-Korea double header at the end of the season. BAR snapped him up as their 2000 test driver in F1 and he will race for Arden in F3000. Providing the team can improve their form there is no reason why Manning shouldn't win a race or two. A contender for rookie of the year honours.

24) Viktor Maslov (RUS) It's good to see Russia represented in International motorsport, but the title of Russian F3 champion does not justify Maslov's right to compete. A regular non-qualifier in 1999, he is only in F3000 because of the money Lukoil bring to Arden. One to make up the numbers. He will also compete for Arden in Italian F3000 as he did last year.

25) Mark Webber (AUS) A very talented driver, not to be underestimated. He returns to single seaters for the first time since his impressive 1997 British F3 season, having competed for Mercedes in the 1998 FIA GT Championship and at Le Mans in 1999 (where he didn't start after two flip-overs). Providing he quickly finds his feet and his European Formula team improve on their '99 form, Webber could bein contention for wins and certainly the rookie of the year title.

26) Christijan Albers (NL): The reigning German F3 champion deserves this drive, and given time to learn the new formula he could impress. Like F3 frontrunners before him (Bas Leinders, Wolf Henzler and Mario Haberfeld to name but a few) Albers and this year's crop of F3 graduates may find this to be a learning year. One to watch.

27) Jeffrey van Hooydonk (B) One of the few drivers to benefit from team continuity, van Hooydonk quietly impressed on occasion last year. This season he should be able to score some good results.

28) Yves Olivier (B) Another rookie from Formula 3, Olivier is likely to take most of the year to adjust to the very different F3000 cars like Kolby and Albers should be expected to. Only then will we see how competitive he can be. Certainly he has been trailing the field in testing.

29) Mario Haberfeld (BR) The 1998 British F3 champion had a terrible time last year. Teammate to dominant champion Nick Heidfeld at the junior McLaren team, Haberfeld failed to score a single point and had a string of non-qualifications. This year he seems to have been rejuvinated by the move to Fortec judging by the testing times. Should be a force to be reckoned with.

30) Andreas Scheld (D) Moving into F3000 from German Super Touring, German Scheld looks to have the weakest credentials of this year's rookies. His most recent single-seater experience was a few German F3 races in 1998. Testing times back up the obvious view that he will struggle in 2000.

31) Soheil Ayari (F) The dominant 1996 French F3 champion has always been a contender in his three seasons of F3000, but has also been erratic and accident-prone. The Coloni/Martello partnership does not look like being one of the strongest teams on the grid and Ayari will do extremely well to earn his third F3000 win. He is also competing for Brian Stewart Racing in the nine non-clashing Indy Lights rounds this year, so he will not be totally focussed on the job. Many considered last year to be his final chance, so his plans for 2000 seem a strange decision.

32) Fabrizio Gollin (I) Never more than one to make up the numbers, F3000 veteran Gollin nevertheless performed reasonably in his appearances last year. Realistically a few points are the best he can hope for judging by previous form.

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