Michael Schumacher was beaten hands-down by team-mate Nico Rosberg on his return to F1 in Bahrain - but how is he really performing and how long will it take him to get back on the pace?

Seven-times champion Schumacher's return to the F1 grid was like Shane Warne returning to cricket, creating the hype and then failing to get a single wicket. In Schumacher's case, he got the F1 equivalent of a duck as he failed to better Rosberg in any pre-race session then finished behind the younger German in the race itself.

So what will Schumacher do to rectify the situation?

Well, firstly, it is important

One of the most intriguing F1 seasons in recent history is about to begin — but with testing results leaving more questions than answers, what stats can tell us who will win the driver's title in 2010?

This year's winter testing was odd. On the one hand, it finished with most people claiming it was too difficult to predict what was going on, and on the other it had most people saying Fernando Alonso looks a strong bet to take the title.

So how does that work?

Well, it's the start of the season, so you've got to have a stab in the dark, and despite the fog over the timesheets in Spain (due to

The launch of Ferrari's new F10 machine marks the long-awaited arrival of two-times world champion Fernando Alonso in the Maranello stable - but can the Spaniard become the team's new favourite son?

The departure of Michael Schumacher to Mercedes has, in fact, done Alonso a favour.

Ever since his original retirement, Schumacher had been a regular in the Italian outfit's pit and paddock, offering his advice and guidance to the team and its drivers, talking race tactics and laying down his glowing aura of authority throughout the team.

Felipe Massa, once German Schumacher's occasionally

The F1 world is buzzing now Michael Schumacher has decided to strut back into the sport - but with the odds split over whether he will rise or fall, which way is his comeback going to go?

Schumacher was desperate to do this. Although he's been out of the professional cockpit for several years, his mind has never stepped away from it.

As soon as there was a possibility to get back in a Ferrari last year, he tried to jump at it. When he failed, he was devastated. When a second chance appeared, with Mercedes, he started talking - and once confirmed fit he grasped the chance with both hands.

But

While the race for victory in Bahrain may have been a bore, there was plenty of intrigue at the back of the grid - but were the new teams a success or a disaster and who will come out on top in the end?

To be fair, they didn't have much time to get ready. Bahrain took place just six months after the go-ahead was given for Lotus, Virgin and Campos (which ultimately became HRT) to enter, but as expected they were all at the back for the opening race.

The technical approaches taken by each team, however, are each dramatically different, and after an initial first report, it will be interesting to

The creation of McLaren's dream team looks great on paper - but how will new world champion Jenson Button fare against Lewis Hamilton and did he really choose to take him on?

Every racing driver has to believe they are the best, and Button's world title success will have made his self belief stronger than ever. He was certainly the best man in the best car this season, but in moving to McLaren he must succeed where Fernando Alonso failed and take on Hamilton on his 'home' ground.

Hamilton's position in McLaren is possibly stronger than it has ever been. He was backed from the start, having

Mercedes GP unveiled its racing livery this week but its true colours won't be revealed until the opening race of the season - and there is still plenty of time for Michael Schumacher to make his input.

Ross Brawn openly admitted at Monday's Mercedes GP launch that his engineering team had run out of time to complete the new W01 machine for that momentous occasion. Instead, the marketing men had to be satisfied with displaying their new colours on the old Brawn GP model while Brawn continued to focus on getting ready for racing.

In fact, even the car that rolls out for the opening pre season

In the week since most of the leading teams' new cars hit the track, the extreme approach to diffusers has been a focus - so with the new Red Bull machine about to appear what might Adrian Newey have in store?

All the new cars have incorporated designs to maximise the double diffuser concept as best they can, but while some look relatively simple - such as Sauber's relatively basic back end - others are pushing the window to its limits.

The double diffuser has been banned from 2011, but because of the fundamental influence of its design on car layout, once it was declared legal early last