Formula One racing looks certain to be much more competitive this year, thanks to changes in the rules. Among the most significant of these are those affecting tyres. These are to be much smaller this season and only seven sets are to be used per car per event. No doubt some number one drivers will be keen for the lion's share of the 14 sets available to a team but it is clear they must be shared equally as the regulations state. As in 1992, there will be no qualifying tyres allowed. 

Round one in South Africa will be the first time the teams have run on the new tyres in a hot climate. Drivers must also cope with a much-changed Kyalami circuit and, to add to their problems, there has been a substantial reduction to the amount of track time available. For 1993 there are just 45 minutes for free practice and again for qualifying on both days, with spare cars now only permitted when a race car has not been run on that day. These radical changes throw the races wide open this season.

The South African GP will favour those drivers who understand that to win a race you first must finish. The new car regulations will also affect the result, here and throughout the season. A driver will need to use his head and not just his feet. No-one will have run on the new-size wet weather tyres in race conditions and, at this time of the year, rain at Kyalami during the afternoons is not unknown. I anticipate an intriguing and exciting start to the season. 

1993 will be the last season of the high tech Formula One car, for which I, for one, am grateful. McLaren and Williams have led the way here while everyone else has fed off them like pilot fish. I believe drivers should retain manual control of all car functions. Performance gains did not provide better racing, just the opposite as only the top four teams have sufficient funds and human resources to exploit such things.