First of all, if the general consensus is that the purpose of this thread is adequately met through general discussion the other threads, or if it proves that the thread just becomes the source of unsubstantiated & pointless arguments, then I'm all for it being closed down. Likewise once the season begins, it may because obsolete when the Predicament Predictions game comes in. My hope however is that we can get some decent discussions going on your predictions for the season!
After the first test, here is how I see the relative positions of the teams (focusing more on the teams than the drivers):
Red Bull - It's still difficult to imagine they won't be there or thereabouts, at least by the start of the European season. Newey has always made fast cars, its just a case of whether they work. Unlike some of the other Renault teams, their problems are 2-fold. First, the engine itself needs to be sorted. That's in Renault's hands but I imagine they will do a decent job of sorting it out and working with the teams to find out where the engine limits are so they can keep engine failures to a minimum. The second is that Newey loves a tightly packaged car and cut everything fine in order to gain aero performance. Not only have they got that problem with the engine this season, but also with the high powered ERS, which was previously an area they couldn't give a stuff about. This might prove to be a longer term problem. However, they have more resources than anyone else so they should be able to fix it and when they do you can bet they will have the fastest car out there and are still my favourites for the championship.
Mercedes - They had a very good base to work from with last season and the reliability seems locked down. What they still need to work on is tyre performance and whether they can go as fast as they need to come race day. I can see them being unbeatable one weekend and having problems the next. The team historically (BAR, Honda, Brawn) also have an alarming tendency to have no idea why their car is actually fast or slow (only ever strong for one year at a time), so I'm not entirely convinced they'll pick up the championship this year.
Ferrari - All I'm seeing is more of the same. A car that seemingly lacks the X-Factor but one that Alonso and Raikkonen can work with and will be there or thereabouts. I'm struggling to think of the last time Ferrari brought something truly innovative to the race track. Plenty of podiums I'm sure but not so many race wins.
Lotus - This is looking really bad. They have the worst engine on the grid and they haven't even finished their car yet. Their financier is running the team rather than a true team principal (I know Mallya gets on alright, but you'd rather have someone who did it as a full time job) and they've lost a heck of a lot of staff. Even if their car is not a disaster they won't be able to develop it anywhere near as fast as the other top teams. I think they'll do well to get 6th this year.
McLaren - Considering this is a transitional year, they seem to have a strong package. In that respect having such a bad season last year seems to have helped them for this year. They could forget about their mistakes and go back to the drawing board to prepare for these big rule changes. They seem to have seem unique parts on their cars which will give them an advantage and I can see wins being back on the cards this season. A championship fight might be a little bit of stretch as they will still have half an eye on 2015.
Force India - A few hitches in testing but everything is pointing to them being a middling team once again. They've got the right engine and the right people on board and have some support from McLaren also, which stands them in good stead. So, nothing to suggest they are going to be world beaters (not least that ugly nose) but nothing to suggest they'll slip down the field either.
Sauber - Not so hopeful for them. The car seems to be a bit of a pig to drive and their financial position seems to be getting worse. I'm not sure whether Sirotkin being disassociated with the team is an indication of having the money to dispense of him or whether deeply needed roubles haven't materialised (I would suggest the latter given that van der Garde is now the test driver). They don't have the advantage of a Mercedes engine and Ferrari seem more interested in helping Marussia than them so I see it as a difficult season unless they can pull something out of the hat like last year.
Toro Rosso - Always difficult to comment on them. They never have a commercial incentive to go around doing hot laps as they are fully supported by Red Bull. Their package is as always a bit more conservative than their big brother and so I expect them to perhaps not have the same issues as Red Bull but on the other hand the car has pretty low potential. One thing that will be a big challenge for them this year will be the fixed gear ratios meaning that they will not be able to use their standard tactic of maximising straight line speed in the races. Going to be difficult for them.
Williams - They can only be stronger than last year. Their base seems pretty strong this year and they won't have a weak Renault engine or Pastor Maldonado to deal with this year. The Martini deal seems promising too. Plenty of miles done at Jerez at a half decent pace. They'll be aiming to beat Sauber and Toro Rosso this year.
Marussia - The car looks really conservative and it probably isn't going to be fast. On the other hand, they're building links with the Ferrari team and that can only be a good thing. They have a good reliability record and consistent personnel and that will only help them against Caterham.
Caterham - I'm predicting now that this will be their last year in the sport. The Renault engine is seemingly not the one to have and even when the issues are fixed (which I imagine will be relatively quickly) they are 4th out of 4 teams in terms of RenaultSport's priorities. They have too much to do off of their own back (they need support from a bigger team like Force India have) and the early races could be crucial to their championship position, in which case I expect Marussia to steal a march on them again. Then I expect Fernandes' patience to run out.
Oraclebox
Re: Oraclebox
Often when I see the word Oracle, I think of this scene from the movie 'The NeverEnding Story';
http://youtu.be/-jogNJd5azg
Anyway, looking into the future from now, Formula One is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great FOM. Commercial rights were given to Bernie Ecclestone; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. FIA to Max Mosley, great maniac and craftsman of the Nazi orgy's. And nine, nine grid slots were gifted to the Race of Team Principals, who above all else desire power. For within these positions was bound the strength and will to govern each team. But they were all of them deceived, for another thing was made. In the land of Austria, in the fires of Mount Styria, the Dark Lord Mateschitz forged, in secret, a Master Drink to control all others. And into this drink he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all teams. One drink to rule them all.
One by one, the teams of Formula One fell to the power of the drink. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of McLaren and Ferrari marched against the armies of Red Bull. And on the slopes of Eau Rouge, they fought for the freedom of Formula One.
Victory was near, but the power of the drink could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Jean-Michel Jalinier, President of Renault Sport F1, took up his father's V6. Red Bull, the enemy of the free constructors of Formula One, was defeated. The drink passed to Adrian Newey, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of Chief Technical Officers are easily corrupted. And the drink of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Newey, to his failed packaging.
And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. Nose cones became jokes. And for two and a half thousand years, the drink passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer. The drink came to the creature Grosjean, who took it deep into the tunnel of Monaco. And there it consumed him. The drink brought to Grosjean unnatural long life. For 500 years, it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Grosjean's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the principalities of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the east, whispers of a nameless fear. And the drink of power perceived its time had now come. It abandoned Grosjean. But something happened then the drink did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. An Italian, Luca Badoer XXIV of the Shire. For the time will soon come when Italians will shape the fortunes of all...
http://vimeo.com/27564616
http://youtu.be/-jogNJd5azg
Anyway, looking into the future from now, Formula One is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great FOM. Commercial rights were given to Bernie Ecclestone; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. FIA to Max Mosley, great maniac and craftsman of the Nazi orgy's. And nine, nine grid slots were gifted to the Race of Team Principals, who above all else desire power. For within these positions was bound the strength and will to govern each team. But they were all of them deceived, for another thing was made. In the land of Austria, in the fires of Mount Styria, the Dark Lord Mateschitz forged, in secret, a Master Drink to control all others. And into this drink he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all teams. One drink to rule them all.
One by one, the teams of Formula One fell to the power of the drink. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of McLaren and Ferrari marched against the armies of Red Bull. And on the slopes of Eau Rouge, they fought for the freedom of Formula One.
Victory was near, but the power of the drink could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Jean-Michel Jalinier, President of Renault Sport F1, took up his father's V6. Red Bull, the enemy of the free constructors of Formula One, was defeated. The drink passed to Adrian Newey, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of Chief Technical Officers are easily corrupted. And the drink of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Newey, to his failed packaging.
And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. Nose cones became jokes. And for two and a half thousand years, the drink passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer. The drink came to the creature Grosjean, who took it deep into the tunnel of Monaco. And there it consumed him. The drink brought to Grosjean unnatural long life. For 500 years, it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Grosjean's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the principalities of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the east, whispers of a nameless fear. And the drink of power perceived its time had now come. It abandoned Grosjean. But something happened then the drink did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. An Italian, Luca Badoer XXIV of the Shire. For the time will soon come when Italians will shape the fortunes of all...
http://vimeo.com/27564616
-*:-
Re: Oraclebox
Jocke1 wrote:Anyway, looking into the future from now, Formula One is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP0JpmquU0A
Just For One Day...
Re: Oraclebox
Caterham will be faster than Sauber and Marussia.
"Here's your car. Go nuts."
Dallara, 2010
Dallara, 2010
Re: Oraclebox
Jocke1 wrote:Often when I see the word Oracle, I think of this scene from the movie 'The NeverEnding Story';
http://youtu.be/-jogNJd5azg
Anyway, looking into the future from now, Formula One is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great FOM. Commercial rights were given to Bernie Ecclestone; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. FIA to Max Mosley, great maniac and craftsman of the Nazi orgy's. And nine, nine grid slots were gifted to the Race of Team Principals, who above all else desire power. For within these positions was bound the strength and will to govern each team. But they were all of them deceived, for another thing was made. In the land of Austria, in the fires of Mount Styria, the Dark Lord Mateschitz forged, in secret, a Master Drink to control all others. And into this drink he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all teams. One drink to rule them all.
One by one, the teams of Formula One fell to the power of the drink. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of McLaren and Ferrari marched against the armies of Red Bull. And on the slopes of Eau Rouge, they fought for the freedom of Formula One.
Victory was near, but the power of the drink could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Jean-Michel Jalinier, President of Renault Sport F1, took up his father's V6. Red Bull, the enemy of the free constructors of Formula One, was defeated. The drink passed to Adrian Newey, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of Chief Technical Officers are easily corrupted. And the drink of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Newey, to his failed packaging.
And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. Nose cones became jokes. And for two and a half thousand years, the drink passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer. The drink came to the creature Grosjean, who took it deep into the tunnel of Monaco. And there it consumed him. The drink brought to Grosjean unnatural long life. For 500 years, it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Grosjean's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the principalities of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the east, whispers of a nameless fear. And the drink of power perceived its time had now come. It abandoned Grosjean. But something happened then the drink did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. An Italian, Luca Badoer XXIV of the Shire. For the time will soon come when Italians will shape the fortunes of all...
http://vimeo.com/27564616
Post of the year if I ever saw it!
DanielPT wrote:Life usually expires after 400 meters and always before reaching 2 laps or so. In essence, Life is short.
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watka
- Site Donor
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Re: Oraclebox
To be honest, I'd be happy for the thread to be closed now, I think Jocke1's got it spot on!
The car is radical is some respects but as others have pointed out, there are other key things that Caterham have missed, particularly on the rear of the car. That front wing seems to be something that will either work or it won't, i.e. there is limited tweaking they can do with such an unconventional design so is it doesn't work they are back to square one. I think that Caterham could develop their car faster than Marussia and will be faster by the season end, but I think a carbon copy of 2013 might occur where the march that Marussia steal on them in the early races will prove significant. As for Sauber, they have a long way to fall to be slower than Caterham.
solarcold wrote:Caterham will be faster than Sauber and Marussia.
The car is radical is some respects but as others have pointed out, there are other key things that Caterham have missed, particularly on the rear of the car. That front wing seems to be something that will either work or it won't, i.e. there is limited tweaking they can do with such an unconventional design so is it doesn't work they are back to square one. I think that Caterham could develop their car faster than Marussia and will be faster by the season end, but I think a carbon copy of 2013 might occur where the march that Marussia steal on them in the early races will prove significant. As for Sauber, they have a long way to fall to be slower than Caterham.
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
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go_Rubens
- Posts: 3415
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Re: Oraclebox
Red Bull - Obviously they are starting completely on the wrong foot. Newey has completely screwed up how the components of the car should fit together to provide optimal cooling. The Renault problems are more seemingly extensive on the Red Bull than anyone else thanks to the cooling issues. However, I feel that they could resolve their problems in terms of Renault, but they still have cooling issues. Depending on the extent of the cooling issues, it may be a quick fix or they may just have to redesign the whole rear end of the car. I don't honestly think they'll have a good first few races yet, but I feel they can bounce back before the midway point.
Mercedes - Great reliability, great pace, and a great driver lineup. So far, nothing more to comment. It's still too early to make a definite favorite for the title in my eyes, but this team I feel will do it this year.
Ferrari - They have a dream lineup in Alonso and Raikkonen. Okay, fair enough. They have good reliability. They have a seemingly good design. However, that good design is also looking to be quite conservative, and may not be the whole winning package. Alonso and Raikkonen are the ones to fight through the field though, so I won't count them out yet.
Lotus - Ummm... They skipped the first test with money issues. They had to bring in Maldonado to solve some of those money issues. They are still 114 million pounds in debt. I feel this year is what makes or breaks the team and Grosjean's career. Not looking good, really.
McLaren - They have great pace and good reliability, great driver lineup, and in my eyes what could be the winning package. This year was meant as a transition year, but I feel that there are race wins coming their way.
Force India - We saw reliability issues at Jerez for the team from Silverstone, but they could have a good car on hand. They got in a good amount of kilometers of testing done however, and could use that to an advantage on Sauber and Toro Rosso.
Sauber - The Hinwil team isn't looking too hot right now, and the car does look like a handful. Many driver errors at Jerez limited testing time somewhat, and they are kinda slow compared to the other Mercedes midfielders. I don't see why they won't be able to turn it around, but it does look a little grim at the moment.
Toro Rosso - I see the Faenza team suffering the reliability issues and beyond of the most unreliable Minardis in the first few races this year, but I have a feeling that along with Red Bull, they can solve their issues well before halfway. Then they might be fast (or slow).
Williams - They've impressed me. They're close to McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari in terms of pace from indications so far, plus great reliabiltiy could see them fight for podiums. I have a feeling Williams are starting to rebound.
Marussia - The design is quite bland to say the least, but it looks as if it may have potential anyway. To outrun Caterham.
Caterham - This season already looks to be a carbon copy of last year; Marussia has the upper hand in the beginning with reliability a factor in the opening races, and when reliability improves, Caterham can outrun Marussia, but can't get as high. That nose looks like it may work well at some tracks, but not others. Like, I don't see that as an effective design for Monza or Spa.
Mercedes - Great reliability, great pace, and a great driver lineup. So far, nothing more to comment. It's still too early to make a definite favorite for the title in my eyes, but this team I feel will do it this year.
Ferrari - They have a dream lineup in Alonso and Raikkonen. Okay, fair enough. They have good reliability. They have a seemingly good design. However, that good design is also looking to be quite conservative, and may not be the whole winning package. Alonso and Raikkonen are the ones to fight through the field though, so I won't count them out yet.
Lotus - Ummm... They skipped the first test with money issues. They had to bring in Maldonado to solve some of those money issues. They are still 114 million pounds in debt. I feel this year is what makes or breaks the team and Grosjean's career. Not looking good, really.
McLaren - They have great pace and good reliability, great driver lineup, and in my eyes what could be the winning package. This year was meant as a transition year, but I feel that there are race wins coming their way.
Force India - We saw reliability issues at Jerez for the team from Silverstone, but they could have a good car on hand. They got in a good amount of kilometers of testing done however, and could use that to an advantage on Sauber and Toro Rosso.
Sauber - The Hinwil team isn't looking too hot right now, and the car does look like a handful. Many driver errors at Jerez limited testing time somewhat, and they are kinda slow compared to the other Mercedes midfielders. I don't see why they won't be able to turn it around, but it does look a little grim at the moment.
Toro Rosso - I see the Faenza team suffering the reliability issues and beyond of the most unreliable Minardis in the first few races this year, but I have a feeling that along with Red Bull, they can solve their issues well before halfway. Then they might be fast (or slow).
Williams - They've impressed me. They're close to McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari in terms of pace from indications so far, plus great reliabiltiy could see them fight for podiums. I have a feeling Williams are starting to rebound.
Marussia - The design is quite bland to say the least, but it looks as if it may have potential anyway. To outrun Caterham.
Caterham - This season already looks to be a carbon copy of last year; Marussia has the upper hand in the beginning with reliability a factor in the opening races, and when reliability improves, Caterham can outrun Marussia, but can't get as high. That nose looks like it may work well at some tracks, but not others. Like, I don't see that as an effective design for Monza or Spa.
Felipe Baby, Stay Cool
Albert Einstein wrote:Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
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rachel1990
- Posts: 1012
- Joined: 29 Oct 2012, 20:21
Re: Oraclebox
Well Here is my predictions
Red Bull Well it hasn't been a great start has it to be honest. So I think that we won't see the same domination from them this year. HOWEVER. Red Bull does have a tenacity to finish seasons off strongly so even if they bomb out the first few races by Austria they should be with Mercedes.
Mercedes Rosberg vs Hamilton is what most people are predicting for the first few races and I agree. Personally I think Rosberg will get the upper hand and by the time Red Bull come charging back I think they will prioritise Rosberg over Hamilton for the title.
Ferrari The Team battle will be interesting but I think Alonso will edge it. I expect the team to have a strong start to the season but tail off towards the end.
Lotus Oh God. 0 wins but a few podiums for Grosjean hopefully. I can't really judge Maldonado at the moment so I won't bother saying anything.
Mclaren Like Mercedes they should be up there for wins at the start of the season. Button to win in Australia ??? (he has won there a few times) could be a dark horse for later wins as well
Force India I think they will get podiums this year but maybe not a win. they have a good line up so if Lotus bomb out and Red Bull never get get going maybe maybe maybe 5th??
Sauber They won't move this year. They won't beat Anyone above them but they won't be beaten by the lower teams. Uninteresting is the best word to describe them.
Williams saying that though Hopefully Williams will be above them. A good line up in the team the best since Webber and Rosberg and with a strong engine could make them the dark horses of the season.
Toro Rosso Taking Williams spot of no hope this year is... No chance is all I can say. Vergne will be fired sooner or later and the team will not have the pace. Next
Marussia Well they have continuity in the team plus some extra money. If Australia has a high casualty rate they could sneak a point (or Confirm 10th in the standings!)
Caterham Well they have the lineup I would have wanted. Pity about the engine. Kobayashi vs Bianchi will be interesting for the best of the back runners. A pity he wasn't in f1 last year he could have kept viewers interested at the fight at the back.
Red Bull Well it hasn't been a great start has it to be honest. So I think that we won't see the same domination from them this year. HOWEVER. Red Bull does have a tenacity to finish seasons off strongly so even if they bomb out the first few races by Austria they should be with Mercedes.
Mercedes Rosberg vs Hamilton is what most people are predicting for the first few races and I agree. Personally I think Rosberg will get the upper hand and by the time Red Bull come charging back I think they will prioritise Rosberg over Hamilton for the title.
Ferrari The Team battle will be interesting but I think Alonso will edge it. I expect the team to have a strong start to the season but tail off towards the end.
Lotus Oh God. 0 wins but a few podiums for Grosjean hopefully. I can't really judge Maldonado at the moment so I won't bother saying anything.
Mclaren Like Mercedes they should be up there for wins at the start of the season. Button to win in Australia ??? (he has won there a few times) could be a dark horse for later wins as well
Force India I think they will get podiums this year but maybe not a win. they have a good line up so if Lotus bomb out and Red Bull never get get going maybe maybe maybe 5th??
Sauber They won't move this year. They won't beat Anyone above them but they won't be beaten by the lower teams. Uninteresting is the best word to describe them.
Williams saying that though Hopefully Williams will be above them. A good line up in the team the best since Webber and Rosberg and with a strong engine could make them the dark horses of the season.
Toro Rosso Taking Williams spot of no hope this year is... No chance is all I can say. Vergne will be fired sooner or later and the team will not have the pace. Next
Marussia Well they have continuity in the team plus some extra money. If Australia has a high casualty rate they could sneak a point (or Confirm 10th in the standings!)
Caterham Well they have the lineup I would have wanted. Pity about the engine. Kobayashi vs Bianchi will be interesting for the best of the back runners. A pity he wasn't in f1 last year he could have kept viewers interested at the fight at the back.
Benetton of 1992. Never a reject
Re: Oraclebox
rachel1990 wrote:I can't really judge Maldonado at the moment so I won't bother saying anything.
That's ok. Pastor has already been judged.
He has been weighed. He has been measured. And he has been found wanting.
-*:-
Re: Oraclebox
Here's my take on what will happen:
Red Bull: A less than auspicious first test does raise concerns. If Newey completely misunderstood the regulations, then I can see it being a trying year for Red Bull. Either way, Vettel's patience, and Ricciardo's patience as a number two driver. I do see them at the top of the grid, though with the new regulations, it is too early to say if they are favorites.
Mercedes: This team will be the one to watch this year, and so far, is the team that has come off the best from the test. Rosberg v Hamilton will be interesting to watch, and both of them can harass and even surpass the Red Bulls. That is, if they know what to do when the car is too slow.
Ferrari: I see the team battle swinging towards Alonso; Ferrari seems like a better fit for him than Raikkonen. However, come race time the team needs to concentrate on the other racers more than themselves. Results-wise, I see them doing what they did last year; plenty of podiums, but not enough wins.
Lotus: Too much of an unknown at this point. The car is radical, but we haven't seen it yet thus far. With money tight, I see this maybe being the last season under Lotus ownership. Grosjean is good, and and he has matured greatly last year, but if the car is a piece of crap, his talent might go to waste. Maldonado needs to prove he can stay in Formula One; this seems to be a second chance for him, and if he can bring in money, he might be with this team for a long while, for better or for worse.
McLaren: This is a transitional year for them; they have no title sponsor (as far as I know), and while Kevin Magnussen might be fast he is still an unknown quantity. However, several key things come into mind. One is Eric Boullier's entrance, which could pave the way for Grosjean taking a slot at McLaren. If that is the case, then both drivers will be on the hot seat: Magnussen to prove his worth as a new driver, and Button to prove his worth as a veteran driver. I see them at the level of Ferrari, but no greater. The other is next year - if Honda produces a dud of an engine, then we might see a repeat of 2013 for 2015, but that is too early to call.
Force India: This could be an interesting year for the former Jordan team. If Red Bull and Lotus have constant issues with the Renault powerplants, I could easily see them net a few podiums, though a win is unlikely. That said, they have a good car, a good engine, two dynamic drivers with plenty of years left in them, and a good technical staff. Probably the best of the midfielders, with some definite opportunities to harass the higher teams.
Sauber: Basically the same as last year. Sutil is a good driver, but is nothing remarkable. Gutierrez is given a second chance, and he cannot afford any screwups like last year. Plus, with money being tight, I don't see much development on the car over the season. Unless the car is somehow magically good in race trim, I don't see them going higher than they are.
Toro Rosso: The B-team of Red Bull will probably also stay where they are. Kvyat seems interesting, but unless he pulls some amazing feats I don't see him going to Red Bull any time soon. As for Vergne, his best hope is to become picked up by a higher team. Otherwise, this will probably be his last year.
Williams: Well, technically it could go down for them but from the looks of it, they are improving markedly. Their lineup is strong, the engine is good, and from the looks of it, the car won't be a complete travesty like last year's. That being said, I don't know where to place them. Does this mean they can be placed towards the front, or does it mean they're fighting alongside Force India? But so far, so good.
Marussia: If they can sneak a point in, it will benefit the team greatly. I do see them having the upper hand over Caterham though; their car is more conservative, but it looks like it can be expanded on. Keeping Bianchi and Chilton is a wise decision also; not only does it mean the drivers can hone their skills more, but it also means that Chilton still brings in funds, which is needed for the small team. Plus, having the Ferrari engine can only help them, which means they can go after Toro Rosso.
Caterham: Probably the last year for them. Bringing in Kobayashi was a good decision, though I fear his skills will stagnate much like Kovalainen's (though I do rate Kobayashi higher than the Finn). Their car though looks awkward; I can't tell if they took a 90s era Minardi and slapped a dildo on the front of the car. It looks ungainly, and on top of that they have the most temperamental engine in the field. If Caterham does get a point, it will probably be on attrition, though that means they would have to finish themselves, and with the engine the way it is, it doesn't look likely.
Red Bull: A less than auspicious first test does raise concerns. If Newey completely misunderstood the regulations, then I can see it being a trying year for Red Bull. Either way, Vettel's patience, and Ricciardo's patience as a number two driver. I do see them at the top of the grid, though with the new regulations, it is too early to say if they are favorites.
Mercedes: This team will be the one to watch this year, and so far, is the team that has come off the best from the test. Rosberg v Hamilton will be interesting to watch, and both of them can harass and even surpass the Red Bulls. That is, if they know what to do when the car is too slow.
Ferrari: I see the team battle swinging towards Alonso; Ferrari seems like a better fit for him than Raikkonen. However, come race time the team needs to concentrate on the other racers more than themselves. Results-wise, I see them doing what they did last year; plenty of podiums, but not enough wins.
Lotus: Too much of an unknown at this point. The car is radical, but we haven't seen it yet thus far. With money tight, I see this maybe being the last season under Lotus ownership. Grosjean is good, and and he has matured greatly last year, but if the car is a piece of crap, his talent might go to waste. Maldonado needs to prove he can stay in Formula One; this seems to be a second chance for him, and if he can bring in money, he might be with this team for a long while, for better or for worse.
McLaren: This is a transitional year for them; they have no title sponsor (as far as I know), and while Kevin Magnussen might be fast he is still an unknown quantity. However, several key things come into mind. One is Eric Boullier's entrance, which could pave the way for Grosjean taking a slot at McLaren. If that is the case, then both drivers will be on the hot seat: Magnussen to prove his worth as a new driver, and Button to prove his worth as a veteran driver. I see them at the level of Ferrari, but no greater. The other is next year - if Honda produces a dud of an engine, then we might see a repeat of 2013 for 2015, but that is too early to call.
Force India: This could be an interesting year for the former Jordan team. If Red Bull and Lotus have constant issues with the Renault powerplants, I could easily see them net a few podiums, though a win is unlikely. That said, they have a good car, a good engine, two dynamic drivers with plenty of years left in them, and a good technical staff. Probably the best of the midfielders, with some definite opportunities to harass the higher teams.
Sauber: Basically the same as last year. Sutil is a good driver, but is nothing remarkable. Gutierrez is given a second chance, and he cannot afford any screwups like last year. Plus, with money being tight, I don't see much development on the car over the season. Unless the car is somehow magically good in race trim, I don't see them going higher than they are.
Toro Rosso: The B-team of Red Bull will probably also stay where they are. Kvyat seems interesting, but unless he pulls some amazing feats I don't see him going to Red Bull any time soon. As for Vergne, his best hope is to become picked up by a higher team. Otherwise, this will probably be his last year.
Williams: Well, technically it could go down for them but from the looks of it, they are improving markedly. Their lineup is strong, the engine is good, and from the looks of it, the car won't be a complete travesty like last year's. That being said, I don't know where to place them. Does this mean they can be placed towards the front, or does it mean they're fighting alongside Force India? But so far, so good.
Marussia: If they can sneak a point in, it will benefit the team greatly. I do see them having the upper hand over Caterham though; their car is more conservative, but it looks like it can be expanded on. Keeping Bianchi and Chilton is a wise decision also; not only does it mean the drivers can hone their skills more, but it also means that Chilton still brings in funds, which is needed for the small team. Plus, having the Ferrari engine can only help them, which means they can go after Toro Rosso.
Caterham: Probably the last year for them. Bringing in Kobayashi was a good decision, though I fear his skills will stagnate much like Kovalainen's (though I do rate Kobayashi higher than the Finn). Their car though looks awkward; I can't tell if they took a 90s era Minardi and slapped a dildo on the front of the car. It looks ungainly, and on top of that they have the most temperamental engine in the field. If Caterham does get a point, it will probably be on attrition, though that means they would have to finish themselves, and with the engine the way it is, it doesn't look likely.
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watka
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Re: Oraclebox
Seems like me views are pretty much shared then! I would say that predicting a podium for Force India is a bit much though. If they are to do it they'll need to make the running in the earlier GPs as I would imagine they'd fall away in a development race.
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
Re: Oraclebox
watka wrote:Seems like me views are pretty much shared then! I would say that predicting a podium for Force India is a bit much though. If they are to do it they'll need to make the running in the earlier GPs as I would imagine they'd fall away in a development race.
I'm betting on them scoring a podium out of attrition from the Renault teams. Sure, that means they would have to battle Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes, but I wouldn't be surprised if that does happen.
Re: Oraclebox
watka wrote:First of all, if the general consensus is that the purpose of this thread is adequately met through general discussion the other threads, or if it proves that the thread just becomes the source of unsubstantiated & pointless arguments, then I'm all for it being closed down. Likewise once the season begins, it may because obsolete when the Predicament Predictions game comes in. My hope however is that we can get some decent discussions going on your predictions for the season!
My oracle says, all factors taken into account:
Mercedes
McLaren
Ferrari
Red Bull
Williams
Lotus
Force India
Sauber
Toro Rosso
Marussia
Caterham
Now watch as, come Abu Dhabi, my prediction turns out nowhere close to the real thing.
Did I say Abu Dhabi? Make that Australia. Not, make it Bahrain - the test!
Go home, Bernie Ecclestone!
"There will be no other victory this year, I can tell you, more welcomed than this one" Bob Varsha, 1995 Canadian GP
F1 Rejects Forums – going off-topic since 2009!
"There will be no other victory this year, I can tell you, more welcomed than this one" Bob Varsha, 1995 Canadian GP
F1 Rejects Forums – going off-topic since 2009!
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LeytonHouse
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- Location: United Kingdom
Re: Oraclebox
Hi everyone. This is my first post here but I’ve been following F1Rejects and reading the forum since 2009. I guess with the promise of an interesting 2014 season, I thought I’d take the plunge and finally sign-up. Below are my misinformed and heavily biased 2014 predictions 
Red Bull – I’m sure I’m not alone in drawing just a tiny bit of satisfaction from Red Bull’s Jerez testing trouble. However I don’t think it’s a question of IF Red Bull are going to bounce but rather WHEN they are going bounce back. I expect Red Bull to struggle a bit in the first few fly away races, maybe Vettel will manage to nick the odd podium and Ricciardo might salvage a 5th or 6th. From Europe onwards I reckon they’ll become more competitive and their season will start in earnest.
Mercedes – It’s their best chance to challenge for the championship since returning to the sport and they know it! Nice looking car, great engine, excellent driver line-up, they look like they have all bases covered. The only question mark for me would be how they use their tyres (i.e. overheating the rears). If it’s not a problem for them, I would very surprised if they didn’t win at least one of the first few races.
Ferrari – I think they’ll have a good solid year, they’ll keep Mercedes honest and Alonso vs Raikkonen will be fascinating. A few wins and plenty of podiums but probably not enough to win the Drivers title. Saying that, I think they’ll be Mercedes main challenge in the Constructors championship.
Lotus – It’s all gone a bit pair shaped hasn’t it. If Renault get their act together they might be in ok shape but I wouldn’t expect Lotus to be in top 6 before Europe. It will be a testing year for Grosjean, he’ll need to keep his head and not revert to trying to win it in the first corner. IMO Pastor will be a midfield menace all season and will cost the team points.
McLaren – I’m expecting a better year from Ron’s boys. Quite a bold prediction here but I believe Magnussen will out-qualify Jenson pretty much from the get-go and by the end of the year I expect the Dane to have the upper hand in race trim too. They’ll definitely return to the podium this year and I wouldn’t rule out the odd win.
Force India – It will be another decent year for the team I think. They have a solid driver pairing and a good engine. Their best chance of a podium will be early in the season when everyone else is either falling to pieces or falling off the road. Force India tend to start each year quite strongly (at least recently) so I think the Hulk might grab his first podium given the right circumstances. When Red Bull and Lotus improve they’ll probably be fighting for the last remaining points.
Sauber – For some reason I see them slipping backwards this season. I don’t massively rate Sutil especially as a team leader and Gutierrez Gutierrez is basically too slow for F1. I think they’ll be overtaken by Williams and end up fighting with Toro Rosso for most of the season.
Toro Rosso – Again I cant see them progressing much. I think they’ll be fighting with Sauber this year, occasionally able to score a couple of points here and there. The drivers are ok but nothing exceptional and with Renault’s problems Toro could really struggle in the first few fly away races.
Williams – As a big fan of the team I believe and hope this season is going to be a good step in the right direction. I like the blend of experience and speed when it comes to Massa / Bottas and the Mercedes engine will surely be a big asset. I think it will be good scrap between Williams, Force India and Lotus for 5th in the championship.
Marussia – I think they’ll come closer to scoring a point but unless we have a race like Monaco 1996 I doubt they’ll get there. The car seems sensible and I would tip them to finish ahead of Caterham again this season.
Caterham – I don’t like the nose but I like the fact they’ve hired Kobayashi. Really not sure how they’ll do this year but they’re running out of excuses. If Marussia blow them away, I fear this season could be their last.
Red Bull – I’m sure I’m not alone in drawing just a tiny bit of satisfaction from Red Bull’s Jerez testing trouble. However I don’t think it’s a question of IF Red Bull are going to bounce but rather WHEN they are going bounce back. I expect Red Bull to struggle a bit in the first few fly away races, maybe Vettel will manage to nick the odd podium and Ricciardo might salvage a 5th or 6th. From Europe onwards I reckon they’ll become more competitive and their season will start in earnest.
Mercedes – It’s their best chance to challenge for the championship since returning to the sport and they know it! Nice looking car, great engine, excellent driver line-up, they look like they have all bases covered. The only question mark for me would be how they use their tyres (i.e. overheating the rears). If it’s not a problem for them, I would very surprised if they didn’t win at least one of the first few races.
Ferrari – I think they’ll have a good solid year, they’ll keep Mercedes honest and Alonso vs Raikkonen will be fascinating. A few wins and plenty of podiums but probably not enough to win the Drivers title. Saying that, I think they’ll be Mercedes main challenge in the Constructors championship.
Lotus – It’s all gone a bit pair shaped hasn’t it. If Renault get their act together they might be in ok shape but I wouldn’t expect Lotus to be in top 6 before Europe. It will be a testing year for Grosjean, he’ll need to keep his head and not revert to trying to win it in the first corner. IMO Pastor will be a midfield menace all season and will cost the team points.
McLaren – I’m expecting a better year from Ron’s boys. Quite a bold prediction here but I believe Magnussen will out-qualify Jenson pretty much from the get-go and by the end of the year I expect the Dane to have the upper hand in race trim too. They’ll definitely return to the podium this year and I wouldn’t rule out the odd win.
Force India – It will be another decent year for the team I think. They have a solid driver pairing and a good engine. Their best chance of a podium will be early in the season when everyone else is either falling to pieces or falling off the road. Force India tend to start each year quite strongly (at least recently) so I think the Hulk might grab his first podium given the right circumstances. When Red Bull and Lotus improve they’ll probably be fighting for the last remaining points.
Sauber – For some reason I see them slipping backwards this season. I don’t massively rate Sutil especially as a team leader and Gutierrez Gutierrez is basically too slow for F1. I think they’ll be overtaken by Williams and end up fighting with Toro Rosso for most of the season.
Toro Rosso – Again I cant see them progressing much. I think they’ll be fighting with Sauber this year, occasionally able to score a couple of points here and there. The drivers are ok but nothing exceptional and with Renault’s problems Toro could really struggle in the first few fly away races.
Williams – As a big fan of the team I believe and hope this season is going to be a good step in the right direction. I like the blend of experience and speed when it comes to Massa / Bottas and the Mercedes engine will surely be a big asset. I think it will be good scrap between Williams, Force India and Lotus for 5th in the championship.
Marussia – I think they’ll come closer to scoring a point but unless we have a race like Monaco 1996 I doubt they’ll get there. The car seems sensible and I would tip them to finish ahead of Caterham again this season.
Caterham – I don’t like the nose but I like the fact they’ve hired Kobayashi. Really not sure how they’ll do this year but they’re running out of excuses. If Marussia blow them away, I fear this season could be their last.
Last edited by LeytonHouse on 04 Feb 2014, 19:30, edited 1 time in total.
"A GP2 car is faster than my Caterham" - Kamui Kobayashi (Pre-season testing 2014)
Re: Oraclebox
I'm going to go slightly bold with my predictions:
McLaren
Mercedes
Ferrari
Force India
Red Bull
Williams
Sauber
Marussia
Lotus
Caterham
Toro Rosso
McLaren
Mercedes
Ferrari
Force India
Red Bull
Williams
Sauber
Marussia
Lotus
Caterham
Toro Rosso
Last edited by girry on 05 Feb 2014, 10:25, edited 1 time in total.
when you're dead people start listening
Re: Oraclebox
Dan B wrote:watka wrote:Seems like me views are pretty much shared then! I would say that predicting a podium for Force India is a bit much though. If they are to do it they'll need to make the running in the earlier GPs as I would imagine they'd fall away in a development race.
I'm betting on them scoring a podium out of attrition from the Renault teams. Sure, that means they would have to battle Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes, but I wouldn't be surprised if that does happen.
I agree that Force India might be able to score a podium thanks to attrition in one of the earlier races this season - the other situation where I could see that happening would be if there was a race where fuel consumption was very marginal, because Hulkenberg strikes me as one of the wiser drivers in the field and might well be able to take advantage of the mistakes of others.
As others are saying, at the moment it would appear that the usual suspects of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari are in the fray, whilst it is reasonable to assume that, in the longer term, Red Bull will be back in the fight given their resources. That said, it would appear that most of the top teams have still not shown their full hand - the reports from the Jerez test indicate that the two Ferrari drivers were probably driving more aggressively than the McLaren and Mercedes drivers, with Mercedes perhaps pushing the least of the three teams (Magnussen, at least, has indicated that he was pushing fairly hard during his stints).
Overall, Ferrari might not have the strongest car in the field (though they seem to be getting better aero correlation figures and the rumour is that they have the most effective cooling systems) but the strength of their driver line up does in part compensate for that.
Mercedes seem to have a solid car that would appear to be one of, if not the most, reliable out there (which in itself may be a saving grace in the early races), and a solid driver line up, and would seem to be one of the favoured teams out there.
McLaren, at the moment, seem to have stolen a brief march with their trick rear suspension, although a few aerodynamicists have suggested McLaren might in fact only use that particular configuration at very slow tracks because the additional downforce would appear to come with a fairly high drag penalty. However, we will have to see whether or not the reforms McLaren have been making will work in the long term - added to that, we saw McLaren come out with a strong car in 2012 only to throw the title away with poor reliability and poor development strategies.
In the midfield, I would be inclined to suggest that Williams and Force India might well be the front runners there - Williams must be very thankful right now that they went with Mercedes, and Massa does seem to be fitting into the team a lot better than Maldonado did. Force India may have an OK car, but have a decent driver line up and perhaps may benefit now that they are drawing closer to Mercedes, so potentially another solid season for them is on the cards.
Sauber, so far, are perhaps struggling a little - they've admitted that the fly by wire rear braking system is not working properly and is being overhauled for Bahrain (along with a number of other components), but I do feel that their driver line up is relatively weak (Gutierrez may struggle this year thanks to his inexperience, whilst Sutil threw the car into the barriers twice during the test and is already moaning about the car being too slow). The financial problems they've had recently, plus the loss of figures like Matt Morris, will hurt too, especially in terms of long term development (except in 2013, they usually start off OK but tend to slide back as they are out developed by rivals and I wouldn't be surprised if that happens again in 2014).
Toro Rosso, as is their remit, is basically not going to go anywhere really given they only serve their parent team - to a certain extent, I can see Sauber and Toro Rosso being towards the rear of the midfield pack this season.
As for the tail end, Marussia would appear to have the advantage from reliability - and, to be honest, I am perhaps bucking the trend in actually preferring their car over Caterham's in terms of refinement (Caterham have the more radical aero package at the front, but I think that Marussia have done a better job with the packaging of the rear end of the car). Those suggesting a repeat of 2013 might be on the cards could well be right - if Renault are still struggling in Australia, Marussia might well shoot ahead of Caterham from reliability alone.
Martin Brundle, on watching a replay of Grosjean spinning:
"The problem with Grosjean is that he want to take a look back at the corner he's just exited"
"The problem with Grosjean is that he want to take a look back at the corner he's just exited"
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watka
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Re: Oraclebox
LeytonHouse wrote:Hi everyone. This is my first post here but I’ve been following F1Rejects and reading the forum since 2009.
Welcome!
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
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go_Rubens
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Re: Oraclebox
watka wrote:LeytonHouse wrote:Hi everyone. This is my first post here but I’ve been following F1Rejects and reading the forum since 2009.
Welcome!
I see someone else has joined the madhouse!
Don't worry, LeytonHouse, it's not too mad here, so as long as it's all sane, you're good. Welcome mate!
Felipe Baby, Stay Cool
Albert Einstein wrote:Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
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LeytonHouse
- Posts: 43
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Re: Oraclebox
go_Rubens wrote:watka wrote:Welcome!
I see someone else has joined the madhouse!
Don't worry, LeytonHouse, it's not too mad here, so as long as it's all sane, you're good. Welcome mate!
Cheers guys, nice to be here. Here's to a great 2014 season.
"A GP2 car is faster than my Caterham" - Kamui Kobayashi (Pre-season testing 2014)
Re: Oraclebox
giraurd wrote:I'm going to go slightly bold with my predictions:
McLaren
Mercedes
Ferrari
Force India
Red Bull
Williams
Sauber
Marussia
Lotus
Caterham
Toro Rosso
That is brave, why TR so low?
Red Bull
Mercedes
Ferrari
McLaren
Force India
Lotus
Williams
Toro Rosso
Sauber
Marussia
Caterham
Other random predictions:
-Alonso will finally win another long-overdue championship,
-Button will be bested by his rookie teammate and not take kindly to this,
-The gap at Red Bull between Ricciardo and Vettel won't be as large some might think,
-Maldonado will be completely outclassed (although you hardly need an oracle to know this),
-Hulk will finally get a drive in a front-running team after a stellar performance in 2014, preferably Mclaren if I keep repeating this, maybe it will come true?
F1 claim to fame - Offending Karun Chandhok 38 minutes into the Korean Grand Prix's FP1.
PSN: SgtPepperThe1st
PSN: SgtPepperThe1st
Re: Oraclebox
SgtPepper wrote:That is brave, why TR so low?
The whole prediction is based on the assumption that Renault engine is total rubbish and the 'new bottom three' is formed by Lotus, STR and Caterham, of which none really have any money to overcome a power deficit like Red Bull can. Caterham is placed above STR thanks to scoring some points in attrition filled races, whilst the more unreliable STR scores a big fat zero.
Laugh all you want, but all this talk about the weak engines reminds me of 2009 and all that talk about things really being as wonky as they looked in testing...
when you're dead people start listening
Re: Oraclebox
giraurd wrote:SgtPepper wrote:That is brave, why TR so low?
The whole prediction is based on the assumption that Renault engine is total rubbish and the 'new bottom three' is formed by Lotus, STR and Caterham, of which none really have any money to overcome a power deficit like Red Bull can. Caterham is placed above STR thanks to scoring some points in attrition filled races, whilst the more unreliable STR scores a big fat zero.
Laugh all you want, but all this talk about the weak engines reminds me of 2009 and all that talk about things really being as wonky as they looked in testing...
I wasn't laughing, just intruiged to see your logic behind it - stranger things have happened in the past. Although I don't think it'll happen, major respect if you have in fact called it. I personally reckon Renault will sort the majority of their issues out, though may still be lagging somewhere behind the other two engines though.
F1 claim to fame - Offending Karun Chandhok 38 minutes into the Korean Grand Prix's FP1.
PSN: SgtPepperThe1st
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watka
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Re: Oraclebox
SgtPepper wrote:Other random predictions:
-Alonso will finally win another long-overdue championship,
-Button will be bested by his rookie teammate and not take kindly to this,
-The gap at Red Bull between Ricciardo and Vettel won't be as large some might think,
-Maldonado will be completely outclassed (although you hardly need an oracle to know this),
-Hulk will finally get a drive in a front-running team after a stellar performance in 2014, preferably Mclaren if I keep repeating this, maybe it will come true?
Let me try to tackle these.
1. Sorry, can't quite see that happening. Ferrari don't quite seem to be there yet and Raikkonen will take more points off of him than Massa ever did. He'll be in the mix though.
2. I think this will happen if Magnussen can demonstrate the raw pace he is expected to have. I will suggest that Magnussen will have the upper hand in qualifying although may not get as many points.
3. Sorry, its going to be a chasm. Vettel is faster even before you consider team politics.
4. Both Grosjean and Maldonado might struggle in my opinion, although I expect Grosjean to come out on top.
5. As much as I'd like to see it, its probably not happening. Red Bull have their own driver roster, Ferrari turned down their option for him this year so I doubt they'd go for him even if Alonso or Raikkonen left, Mercedes won't be changing drivers any time soon, McLaren will have the same line up next year unless they force Button out and even then they're keen on Vandoorne, and Lotus won't be a top team for much longer.
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
Re: Oraclebox
watka wrote:SgtPepper wrote:Other random predictions:
-Alonso will finally win another long-overdue championship,
-Button will be bested by his rookie teammate and not take kindly to this,
-The gap at Red Bull between Ricciardo and Vettel won't be as large some might think,
-Maldonado will be completely outclassed (although you hardly need an oracle to know this),
-Hulk will finally get a drive in a front-running team after a stellar performance in 2014, preferably Mclaren if I keep repeating this, maybe it will come true?
Let me try to tackle these.
1. Sorry, can't quite see that happening. Ferrari don't quite seem to be there yet and Raikkonen will take more points off of him than Massa ever did. He'll be in the mix though.
2. I think this will happen if Magnussen can demonstrate the raw pace he is expected to have. I will suggest that Magnussen will have the upper hand in qualifying although may not get as many points.
3. Sorry, its going to be a chasm. Vettel is faster even before you consider team politics.
4. Both Grosjean and Maldonado might struggle in my opinion, although I expect Grosjean to come out on top.
5. As much as I'd like to see it, its probably not happening. Red Bull have their own driver roster, Ferrari turned down their option for him this year so I doubt they'd go for him even if Alonso or Raikkonen left, Mercedes won't be changing drivers any time soon, McLaren will have the same line up next year unless they force Button out and even then they're keen on Vandoorne, and Lotus won't be a top team for much longer.
I'll confess I was in a good mood that day, leading to 1 and 5 more being vain hopes than actual predictions - still not an Alonso fan for the record, but I suppose sometimes we all hope for some redress in imbalances in the universe sometimes. I agree with your 2 and 4, but maintain my third point. Vettel will obviously best Ricciardo because a) the entire team and car are built around him b) I don't rate Ricciardo hugely highly (he's fine, but nowhere near Hulk or RoGro if we're comparing up and comers), but I just mean I reckon that the gap won't be as large as some presume.
F1 claim to fame - Offending Karun Chandhok 38 minutes into the Korean Grand Prix's FP1.
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PSN: SgtPepperThe1st
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More_Blue_Flags
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Re: Oraclebox
I was going to make a long post discussing each team but after reading the above realized I didn't have much to offer that was original - my expectations are pretty close to what the boards emerging consensus appears to be. In short, Mercedes as the team to beat with McLaren and Ferrari snapping at their heels and Mercedes-powered teams more competitive than their peers across the field in general. Couple of things, though:
I think Red Bull are going to have a year a bit like McLarens 2013, even if they end up competing for podiums and a couple of wins by Vettel late in the season - my understanding is that Adrian Newey's design philosophy involves taking risks with tightly packaging components which don't appear to have worked with the new "power units". I have no doubt that he can get to grips with it, but I suspect it will take learning lessons from this season and incorporating them into next years car rather that turning the RB10 into a frontrunner. Either way, there will be a significant gap between Vettel and Ricciardo and I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the season Red Bull treat Riccciardo the same way McLaren handled Perez last year.
I am tipping both Force India and Williams to get onto the podium in the first half of the season, although I might be getting a bit too excited about the Williams test times at Jerez (just as I got prematurely excited about Bottas qualifying in P3 for Canada), and maybe one of them (probably Hulkenburg) pulling off a win if everybody has reliability issues.
McLaren look like being stronger than I expected for their last year with Mercedes engines - I don't know much about Magnussen (I know next to nothing about the junior categories) but he does seem to have the potential to be faster than Button. My question is, how much faster does he need to be for Button's position to be under threat for 2015? Do Honda have an expectation that Button will be part of the McLaren 2015 package that offers him a safety net? Is Vandoorne the natural successor or would McLaren be likely to go for, say, Hulkenberg or Grosjean and find a midfield seat for Vandoorne first?
The state of affairs at Lotus worries me - I'm hardly a Maldonado enthusiast but I would be very disappointed to see last year being the high water mark of Grosjean's career.
I think Red Bull are going to have a year a bit like McLarens 2013, even if they end up competing for podiums and a couple of wins by Vettel late in the season - my understanding is that Adrian Newey's design philosophy involves taking risks with tightly packaging components which don't appear to have worked with the new "power units". I have no doubt that he can get to grips with it, but I suspect it will take learning lessons from this season and incorporating them into next years car rather that turning the RB10 into a frontrunner. Either way, there will be a significant gap between Vettel and Ricciardo and I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the season Red Bull treat Riccciardo the same way McLaren handled Perez last year.
I am tipping both Force India and Williams to get onto the podium in the first half of the season, although I might be getting a bit too excited about the Williams test times at Jerez (just as I got prematurely excited about Bottas qualifying in P3 for Canada), and maybe one of them (probably Hulkenburg) pulling off a win if everybody has reliability issues.
McLaren look like being stronger than I expected for their last year with Mercedes engines - I don't know much about Magnussen (I know next to nothing about the junior categories) but he does seem to have the potential to be faster than Button. My question is, how much faster does he need to be for Button's position to be under threat for 2015? Do Honda have an expectation that Button will be part of the McLaren 2015 package that offers him a safety net? Is Vandoorne the natural successor or would McLaren be likely to go for, say, Hulkenberg or Grosjean and find a midfield seat for Vandoorne first?
The state of affairs at Lotus worries me - I'm hardly a Maldonado enthusiast but I would be very disappointed to see last year being the high water mark of Grosjean's career.
CoopsII wrote:Wouldnt it be lovely if just for once someone said "I really want to emulate Boutsen and get a decent, if not spectacular, result with some solid points".
Re: Oraclebox
Drivers
1. WDC Kimi Räikkönen 279
2. Sebastian Vettel 263
3. Lewis Hamilton 261
4. Fernando Alonso 201
5. Daniel Ricciardo 142
6. Kevin Magnussen 137
7. Nico Rosberg 120
8. Pastor Maldonado 102
9. Valtteri Bottas 89
10. Felipe Massa 82
11. Romain Grosjean 65
12. Nico Hulkenberg 61
13. Daniil Kvyat 48
14. Sergio Perez 41
15. Jenson Button 30
16. Adrian Sutil 21
17. Pedro de la Rosa 20
18. Kamui Kobayashi 20
19. Jean-Eric Vergne 12
20. Max Chilton 10
21. Marcus Ericsson 9
22. Esteban Gutierrez 6
23. Jules Bianchi 1
Constructors
1. WCC Ferrari 500
2. Red Bull 405
3. Mercedes 381
4. Williams 171
5. McLaren 167
6. Lotus 167
7. Force India 102
8. Toro Rosso 60
9. Caterham 29
10. Sauber 27
11. Marussia 11
Engines
1. Mercedes 821
2. Renault 661
3. Ferrari 538
*The WDC is an exciting fight for most of the year between the top three drivers, finally culminating in Kimi taking his second championship at the final race. The first few races of the season sees many DNFs and thus enables every single driver to have a point to his name at years end. Some teams struggle all year with various reliability issues.
*Alonso gets injured and replaced for two races while he recuperates. Ferrari decides to go with Pedro de la Rosa, and Pedro delivers a fine 4th and 6th place finish, collecting twenty points for the Scuderia in the WCC.
*Daniel Ricciardo smiles throughout the entire campaign, in every single interview and during every press conference. He also finishes second in Monaco!
*It turns out to be a good year for rookie drivers, Magnussen humiliating Button and Kvyat likewise of Vergne. While Ericsson does well against his more experienced teammate in Kobayashi, scoring nine points to Koba's twenty and qualifies 8-11.
*Rosberg gets outperformed by Hamilton and to move attention away from his place in the championship standings he takes to Twitter/Facebook/Youtube/Instagram and starts up a one-photo-every-day where he saves his hair to look like Goldilocks.
*Williams finds a form they have not seen in many, many years and Bottas and Massa are neck and neck for most of the year.
*Maldonado crashes considerably less than Grosjean and takes command of the Lotus team.
*Perez shows his old team McLaren that they made a mistake in letting him go, by out-scoring Button by eleven points.
*Button himself retires / gets released by McLaren at years end.
*Chilton and Ericsson prove to be one of the highlights of the year, battling on the track and on the catwalk.
*Ferrari takes their first WCC since 2008 and first WDC since 2007.
*Caterham does so well, scoring half the points of Toro Rosso and finishes 9th in the standings, that Tony Fernandes decides not to hang himself from a tree after all.
*Whitmarsh and Brawn goes backpacking through India.
1. WDC Kimi Räikkönen 279
2. Sebastian Vettel 263
3. Lewis Hamilton 261
4. Fernando Alonso 201
5. Daniel Ricciardo 142
6. Kevin Magnussen 137
7. Nico Rosberg 120
8. Pastor Maldonado 102
9. Valtteri Bottas 89
10. Felipe Massa 82
11. Romain Grosjean 65
12. Nico Hulkenberg 61
13. Daniil Kvyat 48
14. Sergio Perez 41
15. Jenson Button 30
16. Adrian Sutil 21
17. Pedro de la Rosa 20
18. Kamui Kobayashi 20
19. Jean-Eric Vergne 12
20. Max Chilton 10
21. Marcus Ericsson 9
22. Esteban Gutierrez 6
23. Jules Bianchi 1
Constructors
1. WCC Ferrari 500
2. Red Bull 405
3. Mercedes 381
4. Williams 171
5. McLaren 167
6. Lotus 167
7. Force India 102
8. Toro Rosso 60
9. Caterham 29
10. Sauber 27
11. Marussia 11
Engines
1. Mercedes 821
2. Renault 661
3. Ferrari 538
*The WDC is an exciting fight for most of the year between the top three drivers, finally culminating in Kimi taking his second championship at the final race. The first few races of the season sees many DNFs and thus enables every single driver to have a point to his name at years end. Some teams struggle all year with various reliability issues.
*Alonso gets injured and replaced for two races while he recuperates. Ferrari decides to go with Pedro de la Rosa, and Pedro delivers a fine 4th and 6th place finish, collecting twenty points for the Scuderia in the WCC.
*Daniel Ricciardo smiles throughout the entire campaign, in every single interview and during every press conference. He also finishes second in Monaco!
*It turns out to be a good year for rookie drivers, Magnussen humiliating Button and Kvyat likewise of Vergne. While Ericsson does well against his more experienced teammate in Kobayashi, scoring nine points to Koba's twenty and qualifies 8-11.
*Rosberg gets outperformed by Hamilton and to move attention away from his place in the championship standings he takes to Twitter/Facebook/Youtube/Instagram and starts up a one-photo-every-day where he saves his hair to look like Goldilocks.
*Williams finds a form they have not seen in many, many years and Bottas and Massa are neck and neck for most of the year.
*Maldonado crashes considerably less than Grosjean and takes command of the Lotus team.
*Perez shows his old team McLaren that they made a mistake in letting him go, by out-scoring Button by eleven points.
*Button himself retires / gets released by McLaren at years end.
*Chilton and Ericsson prove to be one of the highlights of the year, battling on the track and on the catwalk.
*Ferrari takes their first WCC since 2008 and first WDC since 2007.
*Caterham does so well, scoring half the points of Toro Rosso and finishes 9th in the standings, that Tony Fernandes decides not to hang himself from a tree after all.
*Whitmarsh and Brawn goes backpacking through India.
-*:-
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watka
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Re: Oraclebox
Some updated predictions following Bahrain (better/worse/neutral), plus team-mate battle predictions:
Red Bull
There is clearly no overnight fix for their problems and there is a clear case not only of the Renault engine being dodgy but the chassis being incompatible with the engine. Red Bull's cruising around 5 seconds off the pace is not what we're used to. It's doubtful they'll have it fixed totally for Melbourne and then you start to think that because the early races are fly-away, they might not have it fixed until Spain. So in short, worse than I thought after Jerez and they are not my favourites for the title any more (they barely were before)
Mercedes
Most reliable engine, still topping the timesheets, plenty of laps. All is looking rosy. As said before, just remains to be seen how they can treat their tyres in a race situation.
Ferrari
Still some work to do by the look of things, but at the same time we know they keep their cards closer to their chest than anyone else. You can only assume that they are going to do a half decent job at Melbourne and be in the hunt for the win.
Lotus
Up the creek without a paddle. Duff engine and barely ready with their chassis. They've already said that Melbourne will basically act as another test for them. They are well behind everyone else and don't have the resources to carry things foreward either. I'll be surprised if they make Q3 in qualifying at Australia.
McLaren
Still looking good and there is a lot of talk about how Button's driving style suits the current regulations. Not that Magnussen cares as he seems to have raw speed in abundance. At the very least they have a good base to work from and they are already receiving the benefits of Honda's support. Somehow though I just don't see Mercedes allowing McLaren to get the better of the works team...
Force India
There or thereabouts. Hulkenberg set the fastest time on day 1, but out of all of the Mercedes-engined they completed by far the fewest laps. Whilst they should at least benefit at the start of the season, I would think they would be the first target in the sights of the Renault-engined cars when they buck their ideas up and will struggle to keep pace in the development race.
Sauber
I don't think anyone is being blown away by Sauber. Not that anyone ever is, but their driver pairing is bland, they've got the middling engine with the Ferrari and the car in general seems to lack innovation. Sutil can't seem to drive it and the lap times haven't been coming yet (not that it is the be all and end all). They could spring a surprise at Melbourne yet but they just seem a bit anonymous.
Toro Rosso
Despite having a less advantaged car than bigger brother Red Bull, they seem to be having even more problems than them. This is particularly bad news for Kvyat, who surely wants as much time in the car as possible. Being the 3rd in line in terms of Renault's priorities and being based far away from most other teams (Faenza), as said before, won't help them either.
Williams
My dark horses for a top 5 finish in Oz. They seem to be on top of things, doing quick laps and long runs as comfortably as the big boys Mercedes. In previous years, they seemed to have been a bit behind the game at testing so this is all very encouraging to see.
Marussia
Fewest laps in the test and they don't even have a Renault engine. Their best chance of a result will be in the early grand prix when reliability will be at its worst so they really need to focus on fixing things and making a car that will get to the finish. Speed won't matter as the Renault cars may be trundling round anyway.
Caterham
Had the most laps of the Renault teams but did so by running nowhere near optimum performance. What they learnt from the test is difficult to say but there seems to be some promise that they could actually get to the end of a grand prix.
Now for the drivers:
Vettel vs Ricciardo - unfortunately, the team has Vettel's back and his car will be developed way quicker than Dan's so Seb will win but it won't be a fair fight
Hamilton vs Rosberg - we know Rosberg is quick but he's never been in a title fight and whether he can handle it and show some killer instinct remains to be seen. Hamilton (just) for me.
Alonso vs Raikkonen - both can extract more from a car than it is seemingly capable of. However Alonso should just nick it as he can actually be bothered to work with the team which should be to his benefit.
Grosjean vs Maldonado - both have speed, but Grosjean has maturity. Maldonado could occasionally beat Romain but only when everything is going his way.
Button vs Magnussen - Magnussen should start to beat Button in qualifying relatively early on. In the races, they could be relatively equal as I imagine each will be better in different sorts of conditions.
Hulkenberg vs Perez - Hulkenberg has the natural speed to leave Perez in the dust, but Sergio is quite wily and gritty and may occasionally post a result which makes you wonder how he managed to finish so high. Nico will be more impressive but the points gap will be close.
Sutil vs Gutierrez - Sutil should get the bigger results but shock horror, I predict Guti will be the more consistent driver.
Vergne vs Kyvat - Despite Vergne being a dead man walking, I think he can put Daniil in his place simply through experience.
Massa vs Bottas - Perhaps the most interesting battle. I reckon most people will be saying Bottas but Massa does still have good speed (remember qualifying last year?) and clearly has a new lease of life. I'll actually go with Massa on this one.
Bianchi vs Chilton - Chilton clearly. He won't be messing around this season.
Kobayashi vs Ericsson - Will be closer than you think. The cars for the "young teams" seem to do a good job and bringing down the abilities of experienced drivers (see Trulli and Glock) and given that Kamui's been away for a year, Ericsson could catch him out on a few occasions.
Red Bull
There is clearly no overnight fix for their problems and there is a clear case not only of the Renault engine being dodgy but the chassis being incompatible with the engine. Red Bull's cruising around 5 seconds off the pace is not what we're used to. It's doubtful they'll have it fixed totally for Melbourne and then you start to think that because the early races are fly-away, they might not have it fixed until Spain. So in short, worse than I thought after Jerez and they are not my favourites for the title any more (they barely were before)
Mercedes
Most reliable engine, still topping the timesheets, plenty of laps. All is looking rosy. As said before, just remains to be seen how they can treat their tyres in a race situation.
Ferrari
Still some work to do by the look of things, but at the same time we know they keep their cards closer to their chest than anyone else. You can only assume that they are going to do a half decent job at Melbourne and be in the hunt for the win.
Lotus
Up the creek without a paddle. Duff engine and barely ready with their chassis. They've already said that Melbourne will basically act as another test for them. They are well behind everyone else and don't have the resources to carry things foreward either. I'll be surprised if they make Q3 in qualifying at Australia.
McLaren
Still looking good and there is a lot of talk about how Button's driving style suits the current regulations. Not that Magnussen cares as he seems to have raw speed in abundance. At the very least they have a good base to work from and they are already receiving the benefits of Honda's support. Somehow though I just don't see Mercedes allowing McLaren to get the better of the works team...
Force India
There or thereabouts. Hulkenberg set the fastest time on day 1, but out of all of the Mercedes-engined they completed by far the fewest laps. Whilst they should at least benefit at the start of the season, I would think they would be the first target in the sights of the Renault-engined cars when they buck their ideas up and will struggle to keep pace in the development race.
Sauber
I don't think anyone is being blown away by Sauber. Not that anyone ever is, but their driver pairing is bland, they've got the middling engine with the Ferrari and the car in general seems to lack innovation. Sutil can't seem to drive it and the lap times haven't been coming yet (not that it is the be all and end all). They could spring a surprise at Melbourne yet but they just seem a bit anonymous.
Toro Rosso
Despite having a less advantaged car than bigger brother Red Bull, they seem to be having even more problems than them. This is particularly bad news for Kvyat, who surely wants as much time in the car as possible. Being the 3rd in line in terms of Renault's priorities and being based far away from most other teams (Faenza), as said before, won't help them either.
Williams
My dark horses for a top 5 finish in Oz. They seem to be on top of things, doing quick laps and long runs as comfortably as the big boys Mercedes. In previous years, they seemed to have been a bit behind the game at testing so this is all very encouraging to see.
Marussia
Fewest laps in the test and they don't even have a Renault engine. Their best chance of a result will be in the early grand prix when reliability will be at its worst so they really need to focus on fixing things and making a car that will get to the finish. Speed won't matter as the Renault cars may be trundling round anyway.
Caterham
Had the most laps of the Renault teams but did so by running nowhere near optimum performance. What they learnt from the test is difficult to say but there seems to be some promise that they could actually get to the end of a grand prix.
Now for the drivers:
Vettel vs Ricciardo - unfortunately, the team has Vettel's back and his car will be developed way quicker than Dan's so Seb will win but it won't be a fair fight
Hamilton vs Rosberg - we know Rosberg is quick but he's never been in a title fight and whether he can handle it and show some killer instinct remains to be seen. Hamilton (just) for me.
Alonso vs Raikkonen - both can extract more from a car than it is seemingly capable of. However Alonso should just nick it as he can actually be bothered to work with the team which should be to his benefit.
Grosjean vs Maldonado - both have speed, but Grosjean has maturity. Maldonado could occasionally beat Romain but only when everything is going his way.
Button vs Magnussen - Magnussen should start to beat Button in qualifying relatively early on. In the races, they could be relatively equal as I imagine each will be better in different sorts of conditions.
Hulkenberg vs Perez - Hulkenberg has the natural speed to leave Perez in the dust, but Sergio is quite wily and gritty and may occasionally post a result which makes you wonder how he managed to finish so high. Nico will be more impressive but the points gap will be close.
Sutil vs Gutierrez - Sutil should get the bigger results but shock horror, I predict Guti will be the more consistent driver.
Vergne vs Kyvat - Despite Vergne being a dead man walking, I think he can put Daniil in his place simply through experience.
Massa vs Bottas - Perhaps the most interesting battle. I reckon most people will be saying Bottas but Massa does still have good speed (remember qualifying last year?) and clearly has a new lease of life. I'll actually go with Massa on this one.
Bianchi vs Chilton - Chilton clearly. He won't be messing around this season.
Kobayashi vs Ericsson - Will be closer than you think. The cars for the "young teams" seem to do a good job and bringing down the abilities of experienced drivers (see Trulli and Glock) and given that Kamui's been away for a year, Ericsson could catch him out on a few occasions.
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
Re: Oraclebox
watka wrote:Marussia
Fewest laps in the test and they don't even have a Renault engine.
I think Perez will do really well in Monaco again, and also finish this time.watka wrote:Hulkenberg vs Perez - Sergio is quite wily and gritty and may occasionally post a result which makes you wonder how he managed to finish so high.
Amen, brother.watka wrote:Bianchi vs Chilton - Chilton clearly.
Tell it, watka!watka wrote:He won't be messing around this season.
Testify!watka wrote:Kobayashi vs Ericsson - Ericsson could catch him out on a few occasions.
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Sublime_FA11C
- Posts: 403
- Joined: 02 Apr 2012, 08:16
Re: Oraclebox
I'm really impressed with Rosberg's ability to not give a monkey's about his more highly rated teammate. He may not have Hamilton's speed, but won't give him any quarter either. IF Mercs run away with it, it will be a serious fight between the two. I think they will remain friends but IF Mercs run away with it, it will be the best chance either has got in years or ever in Rosberg's case.
Despite Hamilton being faster, Rosberg somehow knows where and how he can find performance to match or exceed Hamilton. He was the more impressive Mercedes driver in 2013, though in fairness Lewis was constrained by a car that didn't suit him, race strategies that didn't suit him and was never confident on the brakes all year. You'd be a fool to think Hamilton slow, but equally a fool to dismiss Rosberg. At least IF Merc leave everyone eating their dust (they wont), there will be a good fight for the drivers title between the two and ofc Alonso and Kimi who would probably be in it even if they drove for Marussia.
Despite Hamilton being faster, Rosberg somehow knows where and how he can find performance to match or exceed Hamilton. He was the more impressive Mercedes driver in 2013, though in fairness Lewis was constrained by a car that didn't suit him, race strategies that didn't suit him and was never confident on the brakes all year. You'd be a fool to think Hamilton slow, but equally a fool to dismiss Rosberg. At least IF Merc leave everyone eating their dust (they wont), there will be a good fight for the drivers title between the two and ofc Alonso and Kimi who would probably be in it even if they drove for Marussia.
Leyton House wrote:Sauber - found out painting your car like an HRT will make it go like one.
Re: Oraclebox
Best to worst in the first grand prix:
Mercedes
Mclaren
Ferrari
Williams
Force India
Lotus
Red Bull
Sauber
Toro Rosso
Caterham
Marussia
Drivers Championship:
1.Magnussen
2.Hamilton
3.Rosberg
4.Raikkonen
5.Massa
6.Alonso
7.Button
8.Bottas
9.Maldonado
10.Vettel
11.Hulkenberg
12.Grosjean
13.Perez
14.Sutil
15.Ricciardo
16.Kobayashi
17.Gutierrez
18.Vergne
19.Kyvat
20.Bianchi
21.Chilton
22.Ericsson
Team Championship:
1. Mercedes
2. Mclaren
3. Ferrari
4. Williams
5. Lotus
6. Red Bull
7. Force India
8. Sauber
9. Caterham
10. Toro Rosso
11. Marussia
Reject of the Year Podium:
3rd: Renault Engine
2nd: Red Bull
1st: Jenson Button
Mercedes
Mclaren
Ferrari
Williams
Force India
Lotus
Red Bull
Sauber
Toro Rosso
Caterham
Marussia
Drivers Championship:
1.Magnussen
2.Hamilton
3.Rosberg
4.Raikkonen
5.Massa
6.Alonso
7.Button
8.Bottas
9.Maldonado
10.Vettel
11.Hulkenberg
12.Grosjean
13.Perez
14.Sutil
15.Ricciardo
16.Kobayashi
17.Gutierrez
18.Vergne
19.Kyvat
20.Bianchi
21.Chilton
22.Ericsson
Team Championship:
1. Mercedes
2. Mclaren
3. Ferrari
4. Williams
5. Lotus
6. Red Bull
7. Force India
8. Sauber
9. Caterham
10. Toro Rosso
11. Marussia
Reject of the Year Podium:
3rd: Renault Engine
2nd: Red Bull
1st: Jenson Button
Waiting for Lotus hiring Johnny Cecotto jr.
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watka
- Site Donor
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- Joined: 26 Apr 2009, 19:04
- Location: Chessington, the former home of Brabham
- Contact:
Re: Oraclebox
Magnussen for the title? No wonder his odds have been tumbling!
It will be very interesting to see how he does because he has demostrated both blistering speed and also race-craft and management in winning his FR3.5 championship title. Being an unknown quantity will help as well.
I think that the general optimism surrounding Kevin is part due to his skills as above, but also part due to what happened last time McLaren put a rookie in the car - i.e. Lewis Hamilton. The general impression is that McLaren wouldn't have shafted Perez unless they really believe in Magnussen.
It will be very interesting to see how he does because he has demostrated both blistering speed and also race-craft and management in winning his FR3.5 championship title. Being an unknown quantity will help as well.
I think that the general optimism surrounding Kevin is part due to his skills as above, but also part due to what happened last time McLaren put a rookie in the car - i.e. Lewis Hamilton. The general impression is that McLaren wouldn't have shafted Perez unless they really believe in Magnussen.
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
Re: Oraclebox
Dj_bereta wrote: Drivers Championship:
1.Magnussen
"No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess."
-Isaac Newton
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Re: Oraclebox
Magnussen is still so unknown to me. I get it that he is fast, but I also remember when we had his father in the same team and while he was good he was outshone by the other drivers and was eventually sacked.
I guess I'll wait and see what happens. Maybe this kid will wind up differently than Jan.
I guess I'll wait and see what happens. Maybe this kid will wind up differently than Jan.
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WeirdKerr
- Posts: 1864
- Joined: 05 Apr 2009, 15:57
- Location: on the edge of nowhere with a ludicrous grid penalty.....
Re: Oraclebox
after last years debacle of my signature predictions I will not make any this year.... other than the Scottish referendum result will be a big fat NO ( I know its nothing to do with F1 )
other than the Scottish referendum result will be a big fat NO ( I know its nothing to do with F1 )-
go_Rubens
- Posts: 3415
- Joined: 25 Mar 2013, 21:12
- Location: A raging river somewhere in the Eastern (cough) United States (cough)
Re: Oraclebox
Now, my preseason predictions with 1 test session to run.
Red Bull - No, they won't win this year. Even if Renault fix the issues they have, RBR still have severe cooling issues and packaging issues. Nope. Vettel will not reign.
Mercedes - Looking like an awesome place to be. I think they'll have the best overall package throughout the season. Don't count them out, that's for sure.
Ferrari - The car may be a bit too conservative. Although it is in fact quite an aerodynamic car, as the nose design does a good job of getting airflow underneath the car. I wouldn't count them out either, but the car doesn't seem to handle as well as it could.
Lotus - They may well be the best Renault team. And that says a lot comsidering their budget and need for more funds than driving talent. Maybe 6th or 7th is on the cards?
McLaren - Basically the same situation as Mercedes, but I don't think Mercedes will like to let them win the championship in their last year of Mercedes power.
Force India - Looking good for king of the midfield, but they have their own wrinkles to iron out. They may score a podium here and there.
Sauber - Well, it looks like another typical cycle for Sauber, a step forward in 2012, 2 steps back in 2013, and likely the same situation as 2013. I don't expect much from the Hinwil squad this year.
Toro Rosso - They have a car that is better funded by RBR, but they seem to have a car just as unreliable. Or crap, we should say. It looks like a Minardi year from them.
Williams - I think they're an outside bet for 3rd and look good to finish 4th. I think the Williams we used to see is starting to come back.
Marussia - The car is ridiculously unreliable while standing still. Like a Life GP car.
Caterham - At this rate, they may well beat Marussia when results matter in the opening races when attrition is likely to come back. I say they may have a shot. They just need to work for it.
Driver 's Champioship
1. Hamilton
2. Magnussen
3. Rosberg
4. Alonso
5. Button
6. Massa
7. Räikkönen
8. Bottas
9. Hülkenberg
10. Grosjean
11. Vettel
12. Pérez
13. Sutil
14. Maldonado
15. Gutiérrez
16. Ricciardo
17. Vergne
18. Kobayashi
19. Kvyat
20. Bianchi
21. Chilton
22. Ericsson
Constructor's Championship
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Ferrari
4. Williams
5. Force India
6. Lotus
7. Red Bull
8. Sauber
9. Toro Rosso
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
So, there is one test to go. I may revise this later.
Red Bull - No, they won't win this year. Even if Renault fix the issues they have, RBR still have severe cooling issues and packaging issues. Nope. Vettel will not reign.
Mercedes - Looking like an awesome place to be. I think they'll have the best overall package throughout the season. Don't count them out, that's for sure.
Ferrari - The car may be a bit too conservative. Although it is in fact quite an aerodynamic car, as the nose design does a good job of getting airflow underneath the car. I wouldn't count them out either, but the car doesn't seem to handle as well as it could.
Lotus - They may well be the best Renault team. And that says a lot comsidering their budget and need for more funds than driving talent. Maybe 6th or 7th is on the cards?
McLaren - Basically the same situation as Mercedes, but I don't think Mercedes will like to let them win the championship in their last year of Mercedes power.
Force India - Looking good for king of the midfield, but they have their own wrinkles to iron out. They may score a podium here and there.
Sauber - Well, it looks like another typical cycle for Sauber, a step forward in 2012, 2 steps back in 2013, and likely the same situation as 2013. I don't expect much from the Hinwil squad this year.
Toro Rosso - They have a car that is better funded by RBR, but they seem to have a car just as unreliable. Or crap, we should say. It looks like a Minardi year from them.
Williams - I think they're an outside bet for 3rd and look good to finish 4th. I think the Williams we used to see is starting to come back.
Marussia - The car is ridiculously unreliable while standing still. Like a Life GP car.
Caterham - At this rate, they may well beat Marussia when results matter in the opening races when attrition is likely to come back. I say they may have a shot. They just need to work for it.
Driver 's Champioship
1. Hamilton
2. Magnussen
3. Rosberg
4. Alonso
5. Button
6. Massa
7. Räikkönen
8. Bottas
9. Hülkenberg
10. Grosjean
11. Vettel
12. Pérez
13. Sutil
14. Maldonado
15. Gutiérrez
16. Ricciardo
17. Vergne
18. Kobayashi
19. Kvyat
20. Bianchi
21. Chilton
22. Ericsson
Constructor's Championship
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Ferrari
4. Williams
5. Force India
6. Lotus
7. Red Bull
8. Sauber
9. Toro Rosso
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
So, there is one test to go. I may revise this later.
Felipe Baby, Stay Cool
Albert Einstein wrote:Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
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rachel1990
- Posts: 1012
- Joined: 29 Oct 2012, 20:21
Re: Oraclebox
Wow you are rating Red Bull very low this year.
I will put my predictions later but 7th is very low seeing how Red Bull usually have a very strong second half of the season.
I will put my predictions later but 7th is very low seeing how Red Bull usually have a very strong second half of the season.
Benetton of 1992. Never a reject
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watka
- Site Donor
- Posts: 4097
- Joined: 26 Apr 2009, 19:04
- Location: Chessington, the former home of Brabham
- Contact:
Re: Oraclebox
For those who can access it, Gary Anderson's views: http://plus.autosport.com/premium/featu ... ing-order/
For those who can't access it, his order is:
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Force India
4. Ferrari
5. Williams
6. Sauber
7. Lotus
8. Toro Rosso
9. Red Bull (!)
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
For those who can't access it, his order is:
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Force India
4. Ferrari
5. Williams
6. Sauber
7. Lotus
8. Toro Rosso
9. Red Bull (!)
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy
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LeytonHouse
- Posts: 43
- Joined: 04 Feb 2014, 12:31
- Location: United Kingdom
Re: Oraclebox
watka wrote:For those who can access it, Gary Anderson's views: http://plus.autosport.com/premium/featu ... ing-order/
For those who can't access it, his order is:
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Force India
4. Ferrari
5. Williams
6. Sauber
7. Lotus
8. Toro Rosso
9. Red Bull (!)
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
Wow, are those his predictions for the season or just how things stand at the moment?
"A GP2 car is faster than my Caterham" - Kamui Kobayashi (Pre-season testing 2014)
Re: Oraclebox
LeytonHouse wrote:watka wrote:For those who can access it, Gary Anderson's views: http://plus.autosport.com/premium/featu ... ing-order/
For those who can't access it, his order is:
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Force India
4. Ferrari
5. Williams
6. Sauber
7. Lotus
8. Toro Rosso
9. Red Bull (!)
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
Wow, are those his predictions for the season or just how things stand at the moment?
I would assume that they are based on the latest test results, and at a stretch for the opening race in Australia, because to be honest I think that some of those placings would be rather suspect if extrapolated over a full season.
For example, I do not think that, realistically, Force India would be the third best team for very long - Force India themselves have described themselves as 'best of the rest', but their comments indicate that they perceive themselves to be around 5th to 6th in the WCC rather than 3rd (Fernley has commented that Force India have 'got five teams ahead of us and we've got to get in amongst those five teams'). Resource wise, Ferrari are definitely a long way ahead of Force India - it's worth noting that Force India's times in Bahrain have been set on softer compound tyres too, not to mention that Ferrari have been holding back both in terms of outright engine performance and in terms of upgrade packages (which is only coming in for the final test).
Martin Brundle, on watching a replay of Grosjean spinning:
"The problem with Grosjean is that he want to take a look back at the corner he's just exited"
"The problem with Grosjean is that he want to take a look back at the corner he's just exited"
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watka
- Site Donor
- Posts: 4097
- Joined: 26 Apr 2009, 19:04
- Location: Chessington, the former home of Brabham
- Contact:
Re: Oraclebox
LeytonHouse wrote:watka wrote:For those who can access it, Gary Anderson's views: http://plus.autosport.com/premium/featu ... ing-order/
For those who can't access it, his order is:
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Force India
4. Ferrari
5. Williams
6. Sauber
7. Lotus
8. Toro Rosso
9. Red Bull (!)
10. Caterham
11. Marussia
Wow, are those his predictions for the season or just how things stand at the moment?
The title of the article is a little misleading, within the article it says Anderson is giving his verdict, i.e. current looking rather than forward looking.
Watka - you know, the swimming horses guy