LEWIS HAMILTON is being hotly tipped to win a second world title as Formula One receives a much-needed shot in the arm from a whole raft of technological changes.
Hamilton's team Mercedes has appeared to adapt better than its rivals to the new regulations - and the Briton thus has high hopes that the German outfit can supply him with a car good enough to land a second Championship, six years after his first.
Of course, much of the intervening period has seen Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team utterly dominate the sport.
The German won a fourth successive Drivers' Championship - and it was ultimately his most clear-cut success yet as he racked up nine consecutive race wins, a record for a single season.
But, sadly for F1 in 2013 - which had actually begun brightly with several different winners - the repetitive Vettel victories in the second half of the season eventually became an exercise in tedium.
The streak could even be said to have been aided and abetted by rival teams, some of whom openly admitted they had already shifted their focus to 2014.
At least Vettel will find it more difficult this year - indeed, it could be a real struggle if Red Bull's form in winter testing is anything to go by.
The champions hit a new low in the second spell of Bahrain testing where Vettel failed even to complete a single lap.
But the irony of the situation is that, if the German can still get some big results in a bang average car, he may actually enhance his overall reputation.
One driver who knows plenty about that sort of thing is Fernando Alonso.
For some years now, the Spaniard has outperformed a Ferrari team which has finished third in the Constructors' Championship for three of the last four years.
With so many changes going into 2014, the Italians simply must see this as a chance to win back that title for the first time since 2008 - and the Drivers' Championship for the first time since 2007.
That title, seven years ago, was won by the 'Ice Man' Kimi Räikkönen and, following a couple of years rallying and a couple more at Lotus, the Finn is back at Ferrari.
His arrival provides us with a fascinating in-house rivalry but it could, of course, work against both drivers.
After all, sooner rather than later, one of the two drivers will need to be favoured, although it is not just at Ferrari where this is an issue.
At Mercedes too, Hamilton will receive plenty of competition from his German team-mate Nico Rosberg, and the team may have also dropped a clanger in bizarrely parting ways with phenomenal technician Ross Brawn.
The situation at McLaren is rather clearer. Ron Dennis is firmly back in charge and Jenson Button is the Woking-based team's obvious number one, lining up alongside Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen.
The Frome Flyer really must use his position to is advantage - although he can only hope McLaren provides a better car than last season's unprecedented disaster.
Williams also struggled last year, as it has for some years now. However, with a Mercedes engine and the best livery (pictured) on the grid thanks to sponsorship from Martini, the Oxfordshire team wants to show it will not just be a pretty face.
Felipe Massa arrives from Ferrari, a good match with both team and driver seemingly in need of a pick up.
How apt it would be if the Brazilian Massa could deliver it with a race win, 20 years on from the ill-timed loss of his compatriot Ayrton Senna - who met his tragic end in a Williams, of course.
Certainly, Williams can look forward to this season with great optimism and an expectation that it can leapfrog the trio of respectable mid-table bunch - Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso.
Even the Lotus, fourth in the Constructors' race last year, is eminently catchable after a truly dire winter in which the E22 somehow completed fewer laps than the new Red Bull.
Added to that, Lotus has opted for the curious strategy of retaining Romain Grosjean (though he improved last year) and pairing him with another crash-happy driver, Pastor Maldonado.
Yes, Lotus could be the team to watch in 2014 - but only for all of the wrong reasons.
Finally, there come the stragglers. For, although the sport this year is expected to bring a whirlwind of change, the backmarkers will feature familiar names and faces.
Caterham, who finished bottom last year, fields Kamui Kobayashi and Swedish debutant Marcus Ericsson, both of whom have owner Tony Fernandes' threat to quit F1 ringing in their ears.
But, at least, there is more hope at Marussia, which - with Ferrari engines - may raise a challenge to Toro Rosso.
This is good news, of course, for the third Briton on the grid, Max Chilton, who became the only driver to finish every race of his rookie season last year
However, the 22-year-old from Reigate will need to get much closer to his French team-mate Jules Bianchi for 2014 to be considered a success.
Frankly though, at this stage, who knows what is going to happen between now and the final race in Abu Dhabi where the horribly-gimmicky double points will be awarded.
At least that will probably mean the title goes to the wire - but only after the best season in years for thrills and spills anyway.
The campaign begins in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. Qualifying will be held at 6am GMT on Saturday with the race starting 24 hours later.
ON THE GRID
RED BULL-RENAULT| 1 | Sebastian Vettel (GER) | GPs 120 | Pole 45 | Wins 39 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) | GPs 50 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
MERCEDES
| 6 | Nico Rosberg (GER) | GPs 147 | Pole 4 | Wins 3 |
| 44 | Lewis Hamilton (GBR) | GPs 129 | Pole 31 | Wins 22 |
FERRARI
| 7 | Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) | GPs 194 | Pole 16 | Wins 20 |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso (ESP) | GPs 217 | Pole 22 | Wins 32 |
LOTUS-RENAULT
| 8 | Romain Grosjean (FRA) | GPs 45 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 13 | Pastor Maldonado (VEN) | GPs 58 | Pole 1 | Wins 1 |
MCLAREN-MERCEDES
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen (DEN) | GPs 0 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 22 | Jenson Button (GBR) | GPs 249 | Pole 8 | Wins 15 |
FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES
| 11 | Sergio Pérez (MEX) | GPs 58 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 27 | Nico Hülkenberg (GER) | GPs 58 | Pole 1 | Wins 0 |
SAUBER-FERRARI
| 21 | Esteban Gutiérrez (MEX) | GPs 19 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 99 | Adrian Sutil (GER) | GPs109 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
TORO ROSSO-RENAULT
| 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA) | GPs 39 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 26 | Daniil Kvyat (RUS) | GPs 0 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
WILLIAMS-MERCEDES
| 19 | Felipe Massa (BRZ) | GPs 193 | Pole 15 | Wins 11 |
| 77 | Valtteri Bottas (FIN) | GPs 19 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
MARUSSIA-FERRARI
| 4 | Max Chilton (GBR) | GPs 19 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 17 | Jules Bianchi (FRA) | GPs 19 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
CATERHAM-RENAULT
| 9 | Marcus Ericsson (SWE) | GPs 0 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
| 10 | Kamui Kobayashi (JPN) | GPs 60 | Pole 0 | Wins 0 |
2014 RACE CALENDAR
As with the last two seasons, Sky will broadcast every race on their dedicated channel (Sky 408). Where Sky is listed in the column below, the satellite channel will have exclusively live coverage and the BBC will only show extended (delayed) highlights. The BBC has live coverage of nine races where its name is listed below, notably omitting Monaco in May.| Date | TV | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winner | |
| 16 March | Sky | Australian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Rosberg | Rosberg |
| 30 March | BBC | Malaysian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hamilton | Hamilton |
| 6 April | Sky | Bahrain Grand Prix | Rosberg | Rosberg | Hamilton |
| 20 April | Sky | Chinese Grand Prix | |||
| 11 May | BBC | Spanish Grand Prix | |||
| 25 May | Sky | Monaco Grand Prix | |||
| 8 June | BBC | Canadian Grand Prix | |||
| 22 June | Sky | Austrian Grand Prix | |||
| 6 July | BBC | British Grand Prix | |||
| 20 July | Sky | German Grand Prix | |||
| 27 July | Sky | Hungarian Grand Prix | |||
| 24 August | BBC | Belgian Grand Prix | |||
| 7 September | BBC | Italian Grand Prix | |||
| 21 September | Sky | Singapore Grand Prix | |||
| 5 October | BBC | Japanese Grand Prix | |||
| 12 October | BBC | Russian Grand Prix | |||
| 2 November | Sky | United States Grand Prix | |||
| 9 November | Sky | Brazilian Grand Prix | |||
| 23 November | BBC | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
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