In the silver corner
Brawn GP are the sole Formula One team to have won both titles in their debut season. Which masks the fact that previous owner Honda's millions had been pumped into building a 2009 challenger. With a head start over Ferrari and McLaren, they made the most of it. This season Brawn have been superseded by Mercedes and, having lost their champion, recruited a 41-year-old who may have a dodgy neck. On the plus side his name is Michael Schumacher.
Highs and lows of 2009
Being dumped by Honda left the Northamptonshire-based squad celebrating a meagre Christmas, so even finding the finances to make it to round one was an achievement. Oh to have been in Ross Brawn's company when the car hit first practice at the Australian opener and he understood just how quick it was.
Just don't mention
Damon Hill in 94, Jacques Villeneuve in 97 and Monaco in 06: take your pick from the list of Schuey's controversies.
Change is good
Aside from bending the rules, Schumacher is known for his adaptability: there isn't a driver better placed to cope with a car that will start a race with 220 litres of fuel and end it with as much as a gnat's fart. Brawn will also be key to calling the tyre changes.
Stands out in a crowd
Well, we can't say the Silver Arrow paint job. So, coaxing F1's most successful driver out of retirement.
Most likely to crash into
Will a sadistic Schuey play mind-games with former protégé, now title rival, Felipe Massa?
Pitboard message
Foot slipped off the brake? Or did you mean to hit him, Michael?
Who pulls the strings
After guaranteeing Ferrari's success, it's tempting to paint Ross Brawn as a raving despot who finally got to prove his unsung genius to the world last year. But given that in less than 12 months he'd sold out to Mercedes, that's not going to work. The Manchester-born über-brain sticks to Schumacher like melting rubber to hot asphalt. They make the most formidable combination in the paddock.
Cockpit compatibility
Luckily for Mercedes' masterplan for a national super team, Nico Rosberg, son of legendary Finnish driver Keke, is actually German. The 24-year-old has twice squeezed on to the podium with poor cars, so is entitled to feel a modicum of confidence. But Schumacher has 21 more victories than Rosberg has race starts (70) and a reputation for disregarding his team-mate. That's why he nabbed the No3 car with Rosberg's name on it. Best of luck, Nico.
What's in the boot
Brawn's BGP001 was found wanting during the latter stages of last season but its aerodynamics have been upgraded for a Red Bull-style treatment, and with the best engine on the grid and a seven-times world champion at the helm, title glory is expected.
Tiger in the tank
Schumacher fans hoping he would instantly top the testing timesheets were disappointed – but so were those detractors who thought he'd bin it at the first corner. Moderate times were set by a car that will look very different come this weekend's first grand prix in Bahrain, which is just as well since Rosberg apparently struggled to see over the new, higher nose.
Tweet this
Forget the flag waving, F1 is sport's most multicultural exponent.
Not this
Achtung baby! It's England versus Germany with screaming V8s!
Title odds
7-2
If they were an iPhone app
Dad's Taxi
Whether lost or stuck, this enables you to summon the skills of an experienced member of an older generation to ride to your rescue like a knight in shining armour to deliver you safely and accurately to your destination. Once there, the Aged P can regale you with tales of how things were better in his day, how dreadfully the young folk drive and offer refreshing views on the problems of the day such as music – 'It's just noise, basically'.
The drivers
1. Michael Schumacher, 41, Germany
He's the one who
Could make a decent living as Celine Dion's double. Divides opinion – his fans will liken his return to a Mount Rushmore statue coming back to claim the White House; his detractors will wonder how he continues to find a helmet to cover his horns and driving boots to fit his cloven hooves.
On track for
Seven-times world champion making a comeback at 41. Juan Manuel Fangio and Nino Farina won titles at even more venerable ages and he has the talent, experience and artfulness, some call it low cunning, to make it a success. It would be a miracle for a mere mortal but Schumacher has always played by his own rules.
In another life he'd be
Purchasing the soul of Doctor Faustus.
2. Nico Rosberg, 24, Germany
He's the one who
Looks in the mirror and thinks, 'Eat your heart out Leonardo di Caprio'. He also has the demeanour of a precocious and pampered 15-year-old who thinks his world keepie-up record entitles him to a starting place in the World Cup finals. A passion transfusion would be the making of him.
On track for
A make-or-break season. He has consistently picked up small-fry points in a dog of a car, hinting that his talent was being shackled by his vehicle as much as lapses in concentration. He now has the set-up but must show he has the pugnacity to prevent his illustrious team-mate overshadowing him.
In another life he'd be
Hoovering up the role of Templeton 'Faceman' Peck in the A Team remake.
Facts and figures
Debut France 1954
Grands prix 12
Wins 9 Poles 8
Constructors' titles 0
Drivers' titles 0
Based Brackley
Team principal Ross Brawn Technical director Paddy Lowe
The car, MGP W01
Engine Mercedes-Benz
Tyres Bridgestone