Separating the men from the boys

For those of you not in the know, the biggest change in Formula 1 as of this year is the banning of traction control (that thing that makes you not skid) and engine braking (slowing your car by changing gears). What this effectively does is makes the car more of a beast, bringing it back to the days when the sound of the engine is guttural and there's nothing holding it back from jumping off the track. This, in effect, separates the men from the boys. As we are starting to see already.

From BBC Sport: Coulthard fears for driver safety:

David Coulthard fears new Formula One rule changes could affect driver safety and lead to a serious incident.

Under regulations for 2008, traction control, which prevents wheelspin, and engine braking are banned.

"The big issue is when we have standing water on the track without traction control," said Coulthard, speaking at the launch of the new RB4 in Spain.

Coulthard's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber agreed with the Scot's sentiments and said he had safety concerns from what he had seen during testing.

"No question about it, there will be more crashes," said the Australian.

"We've already seen it in testing. There are more guys going off, there are more red flags, and that is going to happen in races - that is a 100% certainty."

The removal of traction control has split opinion amongst the drivers with BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld unconcerned about the change.

"Formula One does not need traction control," said the German. "I enjoy it more as a driver, especially in the rain.

"For me, it doesn't cross the line of being too dangerous. If you want you can just sit on the outside, and then it's safe."

From BBC Sport: Hamilton upbeat despite setbacks:

Lewis Hamilton insists he is still happy with the pace of his McLaren despite coming off twice during the third day of testing in Jerez.

The 23-year-old blamed the lack of engine braking and traction control, now banned under new regulations, as he twice beached the car in gravel.

"Without these controls helping you on the entry to corners there is more locking of the rear wheels," he said.

But Hamilton added: "I think we've got off to a really good start."

Ooh... I can feel the tension already. Will we see Hamilton losing his cool in 2008 without traction control and engine braking? Probably not, since he started off in a go-kart, but it's still a whole new ballgame. And then we've got Heidfeld saying things like that. I smell a throwdown coming on. I can't wait.