Hispania will catch Virgin and Lotus this season

One of the plus points from the 2010 season was the introduction of three new teams to the sport.

In a sport which costs so much money to just run a team, cost cutting and the introduction of new teams is vital for the evolution of the sport.

They may not have proved to be successful against the established teams in Formula One, but the achievement by simply reaching the grid for the opening race of last season and then going on to complete the full championship should not be under played.

Neither should all three teams being back for the 2011 season.

'The car doesn't look too bad; it looks like a modern F1 car. We'll see where we are - I cannot tell you at the moment. I think we'll be better in performance than last year, and this is what the indications are at this stage.” Hispania team boss Colin Kolles told Autosport Magazine.

Last year’s Hispania car was designed by Dallara before a break down between the two parties meant that the team drifted throughout the season without development and was usually the slowest on the grid behind new teams Lotus and Virgin.

While Hispania were at the back of the pack, all three teams failed to score a single point last season, but all three did show improvement throughout the course of the year.

This season Lotus, Virgin and Hispania all come into the season with valuable experience from last season’s championship and Kolles is confident that his team has made advances: 'For me one of the surprises last year was that we were running the same car, but the gap was getting smaller and not bigger. I cannot explain it. Maybe our drivers got better! This is a fact, you can see that the percentage that we were slower got smaller.

'I think that if we have the time and if we have our programmes in place, Lotus is not going to be an issue for us. And also Virgin. Because I trust in the people we have, and also the quality of the people I have. I'm not scared at all...'

Who will come out on top in the battle of the newbies in 2011? Visit the VitalF1.com Forum to vote.