I think I'll make some assesements and predictions for the new teams ahead of Bahrain practice, seeing as now know the full driver line up and have a better understanding of where each stand.
I am rating them out of 5 relative to each new team, rather than relative to the current teams. So, 5 is the best possible for a new team, for example, Trulli and Kovy get 5 as a line-up not because they are Schumachers, but because for a new team they are as good as you can get.
Lotus F1 Racing
Drivers: 5/5
Extremely experienced line-up here, both race winners and combined with the experienced technical staff should accelerate Lotus' development over the year while keeping the cars on the road and avoiding typical rookie mistakes (though Kovy is a worry sometimes). Both are good qualifiers, which makes it easier for the team to know what the car's potential is.
Technical team: 5/5
Gascoyne is a known quantity, he's taken many teams towards to the top but he is steady in his methods, which can be seen in the car. The rest of the staff are a mix of Toyota and Renault staff. So lots of experience here and clearly well organised if you consider their time to get ready.
Preparation: 4/5
With only 5 months to design and build the car, its clearly meant a very basic and possibly slow design has had to be used. They have used some unreliable parts for their hydraulics and gearbox (both Xtrac parts) which will possibly hamper them early on. Fortunately though, Virgin and HRT have a similar problem. Otherwise, the team has made 2 tests and gained a lot of mileage. The speed that they have put the team and car together is quite amazing really, but of course it was made a lot easier with all those experienced personnel around. Prepared but with a slow car.
Car design: 3/5
Lotus' weakest area, the signs are that it might be the slowest of the new teams. However, it appears to be highly reliable as Gascoyne has gone for a basic but solid base to start from. The only issues that came up in testing were a lack of hydraulic power and an inadequate gearbox, both of which are going to be solved through the year.
Overall: Should be a good learning year for Lotus, they are the best prepared of the new teams, they have the strongest team. Fernandes seems a fun guy and quite a rational team principal. I'd bet on them for points in the odd race where there is a small number of finishers.
Virgin Racing
Drivers: 4/5
A great line up really, its only missed out on 5 because the Lotus line up is there. Glock is an experienced and measured driver, he's experienced smaller teams before (Jordan) and he impressed me a lot over 2008. He seems to have a real skill for making long strategies work in a race, which is all that Virgin will be doing this season. Di Grassi is a little unknown, but again he is experienced as a test driver for Renault and is well-rated from his junior formulae. Rookie mistakes are expected but he's got a great driver to learn from with Glock.
Technical team: 4/5
Wirth has a fair bit experience in F1, though not much recently. His Acura LMP's are doing well so he isn't a complete idiot when it comes to design. The Simtek's were aerodynamically sound back in the day too. However, he does have a questionable history with the split-rear wing idea, etc. John Booth and Manor Motorsport are one of the best and most professional teams around in European open-wheel motorsport, so there is little doubt they should be competent in F1. I heard some Renault personnel also moved with Di Grassi, so experience is here too.
Preparation: 4/5
Almost the opposite of Lotus, they've had far more time to prepare and have made it. Their design appears to be well developed but the testing has raised a major issue with their hydraulic system as well as some new team mistakes like not attaching front wings properly! However, they should be able to overcome these problems now they know from testing, unlike HRT.
Car design: 3.5/5
I was going to give 4 based on their possible speed, but Barcelona raised more questions about reliability and whether they do have much advantage over Lotus in speed at all. Reliability is a big question going to Bahrain and the CFD-only approach may hurt them over the season.
Overall: If they have their troubles sorted for Bahrain, similar year for them as Lotus, though they may make a couple more mistakes with the relative lack of experience in the team. Might not make the points, but they should challenge Lotus a bit, maybe even beat them, who knows?
Hispanic Racing F1 Team
Drivers: 2/5
The worst driver line up of the new teams. Let me just say that this is not a reflection on Senna or Chandhok's skills but purely a note on them both being rookies with little experience in F1. Senna has had some tests though. Senna was ok in GP2 but Chandhok was nothing special. Buemi and Kobayashi have proved you don't need to be brilliant in GP2 to shine in F1, but its still a worry. Rookie mistakes will be rife, especially with zero testing this season for either driver with this car.
Technical team: 3/5
Slightly better than drivers, thanks to the Dallara partnership. Kolles is experienced and knows what not to do. But they have their work cut out to sort the car out in Bahrain practice. Dallara is pretty much their saving grace and should provide a decent design at least.
Perparation: 1/5
Very poor preparation, no testing, barely even made it to the grid really. I expect a mass of reliability problems in the early races and big struggle for them to finish the season if they are still chasing sponsors. Neither driver is prepared, the team has been rushed together at the last minute (Kolles said Campos basically had a few people...so I guess they have had to mass-hire very quickly recently).
Car design: (4/5)
Ignoring the bad preparation I actually think Dallara may have designed the best car, at least for speed. However, I can only guess so hence the score in brakets. Its a complete unknown but judging the design of the car, it appears well developed.
Overall: The awful preparation and huge lack of experience in this team puts them at the back without a doubt. Their future is still very much in question and I wonder if they will finish the season. The car may have pace but this team is going to be stuggling from the start.
Bahrain Qualifcation prediction: (assuming no problems for all teams and all manage a fast lap).
Positions 1-18 - Current teams.
19th: Trulli
20th: Kovalainen
21st: Glock
22nd: Di Grassi
23rd: Senna
24th: Chandhok
