Currently on a year's 'sabbatical', one person who will watch this weekend's season opener with mixed emotions will be Ferrari's former Technical Director, Ross Brawn.

Although he will be free of the stress, not required to make those nano-second decisions which can mean the difference between winning and losing, the Englishman is sure to feel a twinge of sadness, that he's not up there on the pitwall guiding his team to victory.

Despite the absence of quite a few familiar names - not least that of Michael Schumacher - Brawn remains confident that the team can resume its winning ways, even if it has a whole new look.

"We had good and bad years when I was there," he told BBC Sport. "You can't always be in front. But the people who design the car are still there, so there's no reason why they can't just carry on," Brawn said.

"It's down to how the individuals work," he said, referring to the 'new order' at Maranello, a mainly Italian regime which some predict will not be as stable and efficient as its English predecessor. "We were, in the period I was there, able to implement and instil certain philosophies and all the people involved are still mindful of that and will instil them into the team. They are all very sensible people.

"Ferrari is very strongly in the focus of the media," he admitted, "and it can be very difficult not to be distracted by some of the things that are said. But you just have to have the strength and conviction in what you're doing and see it through."

One of the biggest changes is that Kimi Raikkonen steps into the seat vacated by seven-time champion Michael Schumacher. The question many are asking however, is whether the Finn can fill the German's shoes.

"I don't know Kimi. I've never worked with him and until you have worked with someone it is difficult to judge what they're like. He's probably not as forthright as Michael was when he joined Ferrari, but Michael was a double world champion.

"They are different people," he continued. "Kimi is a quieter person. But the thing to do with people like that is to listen very carefully to them because they often have an awful lot to say, you just have to give them a chance to say it. He has strong people around him. The key thing about Kimi is that he is quick, and he makes very few mistakes."

In terms of replacing the German, Brawn is forthright: "There were only ever two drivers considered to replace Michael - Kimi and Alonso," he says. "Everything just fell in place very quickly with Kimi.

"We took the view that the team was strong enough, and that speed was the most important thing. It was really between the two... and one was available and one wasn't at the time.

"You have to remember as well that Jean has got a long history with Scandinavian drivers from his time in rallying," adds the Englishman, "he likes their introverted, quiet approach.

"Alonso would also have done a great job, I'm sure," he adds. "I don't think there's that much between the two of them. Alonso has won two world championships and has shown he can do it. But the reasons why Kimi hasn't are not down to him."

As for the in-team fight between Raikkonen and Massa, Brawn is confident that the two drivers will be treated equally... which will come as good news to critics of the Italian outfit's methods in recent years.

"Michael established his superiority through the natural order of things, by being the fastest," says Brawn. "It was never written into his contract that I was aware of. The only thing there was, he had first call on the T-car.

"That's what will happen at Ferrari this season," he continued, "a natural order will evolve. Michael still had Felipe very much under control by the end of the season. But Felipe has progressed an enormous amount and if he keeps up that rate of progress he'll be a massive competitor in F1 in the future. It's just a question of whether he does."

Brawn will meet with Ferrari in the Summer to discuss his future, with many claiming that the Englishman will return to Maranello to take over as team boss. That decision could well rest on what happens in the months ahead, not merely how Massa and Raikkonen shape up against the opposition, but on how the 'new order' deals with the numerous problems that will almost certainly arise.