Hamburg - Sebastian Vettel certainly isn't getting carried away by all the hype surrounding him ahead of the 2009 Formula One season.

The 21-year-old German had a stand-out 2008 with Toro Rosso, finishing seventh in the drivers' world championship and becoming the youngest grand prix winner in the sport at the Italian GP in Monza.

Vettel's performances saw Toro Rosso's mother team Red Bull quickly move to sign him up for 2009 and led many commentators to say he is a world champion in the making.

Abu Dhabi  - Do you want to see the future of Formula 1? Then go to Abu Dhabi on November 1, and you will most likely see Bernie Ecclestone's dearest dream.

Ecclestone despises the "old order" embodied in Magny Cours, the Nuerburgring or Montreal and enjoys much more the sophisticated projects in new markets like Singapore, Bahrain, Malaysia, Shanghai or the United Arab Emirates.

Hamburg  - Lewis Hamilton is living the dream. At 24, the youngest champion in Formula One history has the sort of celebrity lifestyle which harks from a now distant era in Formula One.

A popstar girlfriend, millions in his bank account, a villa in Switzerland and - most recently - an MBE from the Queen have all been accrued with success on the track in just two seasons.

Not that Hamilton can be confused with the playboy racing drivers that were once a regular feature of the paddock.

Hamburg  - The 2009 Formula One season sees a raft of rule changes with the driver's championship decided by number of race wins, tighter aerodynamic regulations, the return of slick tyres, the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) and the end of in-season testing.

The most comprehensive rule changes in recent years are all part of the sport's attempt to make racing more entertaining while also cutting costs in an effort to ride out the global economic crisis.

Melbourne  - Starting the Formula 1 season in Australia is almost a tradition. However, the fact of being a classic could turn against a Grand Prix at represents the "old order" in troubled times of change.

The top category of motorsport has been travelling "down under" since 1985, but the Australian Grand Prix has only been based in Melbourne since 1996. Since then, with one exception, the Victoria state capital always opened the season for the Formula 1 circus.

Rio de Janeiro  - Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa is out to show in 2009 that he has the stuff of champions and to prove wrong those who say he is not good enough to get beyond the position of perennial second driver at Ferrari.

When he joined the Italian scuderia in 2006, Ferrari boss Jean Todt said a low profile could be his new driver's main problem.

"Felipe is a great guy. He has a good spirit, he's a team player, he's humble, he's shy - probably too humble and too shy in this business, because he's not rated as he should be," Todt said.