A brand new season of Formula One is just around the corner, and whilst the powers that be seem to want to remove fans from the equation as much as possible, there is a way you can still get involved. Ever fancied taking charge of your own F1 team, picking your drivers and revelling in their success? Fantasy F1 competitions allow you to do just that. The great news is that for 2016, Fantasy Racers is back in all its glory and you can join the Sidepodcast league to fight against Mr C and myself in the bid to prove who makes the best predictions. Hint: it won't be me.

Once you've set up a Fantasy Racers account, you've got two options to choose from. You can opt for more money upfront but with no ability to change your drivers throughout the season - you need to make sure you pick carefully! Or you can have a reduced budget with the option to swap out underperforming drivers and draft in better names as the season goes on. This year, my team is called RoGroHeroes and the starting lineup features Romain Grosjean, obviously, but also Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen.

What do you mean you're not supposed to just pick drivers that you like?

Sign up to Fantasy Racers

I highly recommend getting involved with the Fantasy Racers game, and joining the Sidepodcast league, and we can look forward to doing battle over the coming months. There are a couple of other options for fantasy F1 competitions that deserve a mention here too. Badger GP has a refreshed game that features not only your standard driver-selecting options but also some cute cartoons and a mobile app so you can keep an eye on your team on the move. Also make sure to check out Noelinho's solid Fantasy F1 game - the man won his own competition last year, someone must be able to stop him this time around!

Whichever competition you choose, or maybe you're going to go for all three, make sure above anything else that you have fun with it. It can add a lot to a race weekend knowing you have something riding on the outcome, so pick your drivers carefully and start crossing your fingers that it all goes your way in Australia!