Surely this year! We've said it before and we may well say it again. BAR is one again a centre of attention in 2002 - if only for its change of leadership. But after three decidedly dodgy seasons, the team has to find success at some point, and they may well be looking for Honda to take a greater responsibility this year when it has produced a new engine.

Of course, the biggest upset of the off-season has been the replacement of Craig Pollock by David Richards at BAR. This suggests an entirely new regime in the future; people are already suggesting that BAT could sell the team to Prodrive in the future - and what would Honda's role be then?

But whenever you have a new man at the helm of a team, there are inevitably going to be changes. Richards has Formula One experience with Benetton. He is also boss of Prodrive which runs the Subaru World Rally team. He also is the commercial rights holder for the World Rally championship. It's a lot of work for one man, but he will have ideas of how he wants things done who he wants to do them.

So one would expect changes to be made at BAR in the future. He will be turning up the wick, coming in with a fresh mind, putting in new people, perhaps, to get the best out of those who are already there, and questioning why the team isn't more successful. Hopefully, it should also herald the start of a more politically stable era for the team.

But that doesn't mean that they will instantly find success. Every new era, heralded by new management, suggests a settling in period, and BAR has had enough of those. They need to find success. And there are other changes on the way.

On the engineering side, Geoff Willis, currently with Williams, moves to a new position under Malcolm Oastler, previously chief designer, which may see a rebuilding of the technical side of the team which has been disappointing for the last few seasons. So there may be a revival in the team's fortunes, providing Honda can provide competitive engines, which is apparently in some doubt (see Jordan).

BAR launched their new car just a day after Toyota - and a day after Pollock left the team. While Villeneuve and Panis were scheduled to stay with the team, Villeneuve's face at the launch suggested he might not be around for long. He would see how the car performed, he said.

It can't have been that bad, because Villeneuve is still with the team as we go into the first race. The team tested extensively, although not particularly impressively, judging from the competition. Anthony Davidson and Ryo Fukuda did a fair amount in one of last year's cars, while the two race drivers concentrated on testing in the new cars. It took until the 28th of February before the new car was consistently ahead of the older machine.

The team didn't seem to suffer consistently in any one area but they were never shatteringly quick, which was surely a disappointment. Honda have a new engine for them to share with Jordan but this hasn't been particularly fast either, although there is a new specification for Melbourne.

But BAR, under new management, has to be looking at fourth place in the championship - along with Jaguar, Renault, fellow Honda users Jordan and present incumbents Sauber, let alone Arrows. So it's going to be crowded, but Richards has a bigger excuse than most if he doesn't succeed, that he's only just taken over the team. However, everyone will be waiting for the moment that Richards's Midas touch kicks in.

Bob Constanduros