Preview: Bahrain Grand Prix 2005.

If Malaysia was going to show us who would be the real teams to watch out for in Formula One in 2005 after the rain affected opening race of the season, then it looks like we could have a new order finally emerging in the sport.

After years of Ferrari red at the top of the standings, the teams head to the Middle East this weekend with Renault standing proudly on top of the pile. While that is no surprise given the pace shown by the R25 during pre-season testing, few would have placed bets on Toyota and Red Bull Racing being second and third, but alas that is the situation F1 finds itself in ahead of the second ever Bahrain Grand Prix - round three of the championship season.

The new rules didn't cause the engine problems we expected to see in Malaysia, BAR aside, so the teams will be confident that reliability won't be an issue in the heat of Bahrain - with most of the field having new engines for this weekend.

Tyres will also be key this weekend, with Kimi Raikkonen and Rubens Barrichello among those to have problems. Michelin has been praised for its product by series leaders Renault after the opening two races and will have a 'special' tyre for this weekend which should help the teams to cope with conditions in Bahrain. Bridgestone will also look to pick up a good result this weekend having admitted it was disappointed with Malaysia. The tyre company is working closely with Ferrari, and with the F2005 making its debut, will be looking to try and secure a first win of 2005.

If people thought that the dominant display by Renault in Australia was a one off then they were left in no doubt that the French team are serious title challengers after the team made it two wins from two in Malaysia. While Giancarlo Fisichella's win in Australia was impressive, Fernando Alonso's success at Sepang was even more so - with another start to finish victory for the team and a comfortable margin over second placed Jarno Trulli by the finish.

Quite simply, no-one seems to have a car to match the R25 at present and even F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that it looks like Renault could emerge as the team to beat this season.

Fisichella is expecting more of a fight this weekend while the team admits that it isn't taking anything for granted despite two wins from two. But then again the team expected more of a challenge in the last race in Malaysia and if anything the win was even more convincing than in Australia. It remains to be seen if the others can raise their game enough - but at least one team will hope that is the case.

Renault aside, the biggest smiles in the paddock at Sepang were at Toyota, where the huge amounts of money ploughed into the Formula One programme were finally rewarded with a maiden podium finish. Pre-season suggested that Trulli and Ralf Schumacher could be in for a challenging year - but instead the duo are firmly focused on securing more trips to the podium.

Despite that joyous result two weeks ago, Trulli is right to be cautious about the rest of the season with the TF105 given that a number of the expected front-runners are still finding their feet, but without doubt Mike Gascoyne and his team appear to have produced a car that is now more than capable of fighting for points finishes on merit, rather than having to hope for others to hit problems. With the promise of further improvements to the car to come, and both Trulli and Schumacher buoyed by the early season performance of the team, Toyota could be a dark horse for more points this weekend as they aim to maintain second place in the standings.

Like Toyota, Red Bull Racing appear to be punching above their weight after two races of the season. For a start, who would have bet on the team formally know as Jaguar being the only one with a 100 percent points scoring record heading to Bahrain?

David Coulthard appears to be driving with a new lease of life and has more than risen to the challenge laid out in front of him, and while the team wasn't as close to the front in Malaysia as it was in Australia, the RB1 certainly had the pace to run comfortably in the points. With that in mind, DC will be disappointed if he can't secure his first finish at the Bahrain International Circuit and build on his current tally of eight points.

Rumours have suggested the team-mate Christian Klein could be replaced in the near future by Vitantonio Liuzzi despite the young Austrian having already matched his points tally for all of last season. Although it is unlikely that the team would want to upset the apple cart at a time when things are going so well, more points in Bahrain certainly wouldn't do Klein any harm and that's what he will be aiming for this weekend. Having run Michael Schumacher so close in Malaysia, there is a good chance that it could happen.

Schumacher though will have a new weapon for the weekend, as the pressure on the Scuderia to emulate 2004 becomes too great just two races into the new season.

For any other team, ten points at this stage of the season would be the basis for a solid year, but Ferrari is used to more - and for that reason the F2005 will make its debut in Bahrain. Schumacher is already 14 points behind championship leader Alonso, and with the points scoring system as it is in F1, it could be a big challenge to haul the Spaniard in, even with 17 races still to run.

Schumacher says he has a good feeling about the new car having run in it for the first time last week, Rubens Barrichello believes it is better in everyway than the F2004M that replaces and technical director Ross Brawn has been quoted as saying that it hasn't done the team any harm to 'have their arses kicked.' Fighting talk indeed from the wounded champions, and Alonso and Fisichella might have to look out for a scarlet car bearing down in their mirrors this weekend.

Ferrari can't afford to have any teething trouble with the new car which has to be on the pace from the moment in hits the track in Bahrain. Ideally, Sunday would see a repeat of the one-two finish of twelve months ago, but with the opposition having taken a leap forward since then it will be a challenge. However if there isn't at least one car on the podium, then there could be long faces in the Ferrari camp.

Only time will tell if the decision to start the season with the F2004M means it is too little, too late for the team and its title aspirations.

Ahead of the Australian GP, Frank Williams and Patrick Head warned not to expect too much from the BMW Williams team in the early stages of the season, as the team simply wasn't up to speed.

However, after two races, it is only those incidents at Albert Park and Sepnag, that prevent both Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber sitting on a 100 percent points finish heading to Bahrain.

Malaysia especially showed that the FW27 is heading in the right direction, with Heidfeld on the podium and Webber running well up the order before his coming together with Fisichella. Technical director Sam Michael has confirmed that the team will introduce a new aerodynamic package this weekend which should help close the gap to Renault, with Webber certainly aiming to reduce the advantage the French team currently has over the rest of the field.

On a high after his Malaysian podium, the only problem for Heidfeld could be a second race in succession for his BMW engine - having elected to go with a new powerplant for the last race - although BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen has expressed confidence that it won't be an issue.

The McLaren 'dream team' of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya hasn't had the start to the season the team was hoping for and, thanks to a game of tennis, it looks like things won't improve for Montoya this weekend. Should the Columbian not be fit to race, then his seat will go to test driver Pedro de la Rosa - but the Spaniard hasn't taken part in a Grand Prix since the 2002 season when he last competed for Jaguar.

Raikkonen will be keen to put his title challenge on track this weekend having picked up just one point from the opening two races of the season. That single points comes after problems in both Australia and Malaysia, but the young Finn remains confident that the pace shown in Malaysia is an indication that the team will be on the pace this weekend in the Bahrain.

While the loss of Montoya will be a blow if, as expected, he does miss out - de la Rosa will be keen to put his put his name firmly in the shop window in a race situation and prove that he still has a lot to offer, and could well pull a strong result out of the bag.

At this point last season, BAR were the team everyone was talking about. Jenson Button had just picked up his first podium finish and the team was looking like it could be a realistic challenger at the front of the field.

Well heading to Bahrain 2005, BAR are again one of the most talked about teams - unfortunately for them it is for vastly different reasons. Two races have yielded no points, and with the team electing to pull both Button and Takuma Sato out of the Australian GP to exploit a loophole in the engine regulations, one which has now been closed, no BAR car yet completed a full race distance this season.

Honda are confident that the problem that forced Button and Anthony Davidson out of the last race has been sorted and won't be an issue this weekend, something that both Button and the returning Sato will hope is the case as they look to pick up points for the first time in 2005. If Button is going to be a realistic title challenger, as many believed he would be this season, then the Brit must start scoring points this season with the Renault duo having already established a healthy advantage at the front.

Sato will also be hopeful of putting Malaysia behind him and will be keen to return to race action with a points finish.

No-one on the grid will be under as much pressure as Jacques Villeneuve this weekend. A poor result in Australia was followed by a retirement in Malaysia - with friend David Coulthard suggesting that the pressure from the media could make the Sauber driver walk away from the sport.

Villeneuve however would never admit such a thing was possible and believes things are heading in the right direction - although Bahrain is the worst possible race for the Canadian as one of the circuits he has never raced on before. Hopefully for the former world champion, practice on his computer game will help him get up to speed quickly.

Team-mate Felipe Massa believes the Bahrain circuit will suit the C24 and should be a track where the team will shine - Villeneuve for one will certainly hope that proves to be the case.

Jordan and Minardi both struggled for pace again in Malaysia and it is likely that the two teams will remain near the back this weekend. The four rookie drivers will look to get more mileage under their belts and improve their knowledge of F1 with the aim remaining to be more on the pace as the season progresses.

And so we wait for the challenge of the desert this weekend, with Renault aiming to make it three wins in a row to start the season. However with the F2005 making its debut, Ferrari for one will be keen to ensure that isn't the case...

Let battle commence.