120 replies to this topic

[Galko877]

Yes, Vettel's advantage is still huge but Mercedes seems to be on-form now (three poles in a row, two victories in the last three races) and Lewis seems to have found his form too, so I feel that if anyone can challenge Vettel this year then it would be Lewis. I feel Alonso's chances are slowly drifting away as Ferrari doesn't improve. Kimi and Lotus seem to be stronger in race than Ferrari, but their qualifying is a huge disadvantage.

Edited by Galko877, 28 July 2013 - 14:26.

[denthierry]

Yes, Vettel's advantage is still huge but Mercedes seems to be on-form now (three poles in a row, two victories in the last three races) and Lewis seems to have found his form too, so I feel that if anyone can challenge Vettel this year then it would be Lewis. I feel Alonso's chances are slowly drifting away as Ferrari doesn't improve. Kimi and Lotus seem to be stronger in race than Ferrari, but their qualifying is a huge disadvantage.

Agree. HAM is the one now.

[garoidb]

Agree. HAM is the one now.

Yes, and Kimi is next up. The season is a washout for Ferrari.

[kimster89]

Why do we need this kind of polls, when we know the poll results alternate from race to race, based on who beats vettel at that particular race?

[Blackmore]

The guy with the fastest car in qualifying and race: Hamilton.

Alonso is out, Raikkonen only can win with 1 less pitstop tracks.

[UPRC]

After the last two races? If Kimi can sort out his qualifying form, I think it'll be him. If his qualifying doesn't improve, it will definitely be Lewis.

[P123]

Yes, and Kimi is next up. The season is a washout for Ferrari.

I'd say Vettel is his own biggest threat at the moment. He does have a comfortable enough cushion to have a couple of bad races, the rest don't.

As for Ferrari, the season started so promisingly, but again they are not delivering. Alonso is hanging in there, but Ferrari need a decent step over the summer break- something they haven't managed to do all season.

[Disgrace]

Where is the option for N/A?

[Lights]

Mechanical failures.

[Mr.Wayne]

Why do we need this kind of polls, when we know the poll results alternate from race to race, based on who beats vettel at that particular race?

It actually works like this:
A lot of people have wanted to say Hamilton since day one, but since earlier in the year he was uncapable to really take the fight to Vettel and was struggling with his teammate, the same old "Vettel wins because of the car" "Lewis is not in a position to compete" tune was being heard over and over again despite of the fact that most of the poles this season have been obtained precisely by Mercedes.

Then the "we are not cheating" tyres test happened, and (overnight, and not-related to that) Mercedes started to get, slowly but surely, on top of their tyre problems. They won in Monaco by cruising around, and they were dominating Silverstone with Lewis, just to have a conservative Rosberg winning. They struggled at Germany (but got the pole there), and today they simply dominated from the word go.

It was about time we could say that the guy in the fastest car of the grid was the one taking the fight to Vettel. Based on what happened today, we wish that this is the start of a tendency and indeed it will be the case. It will be so bad to see the guy in the fastest (and now also the best?) car on the grid not winning the title yet again :-(

[Asterion]

Vettel has it in the bag, but he won't win every race now.

[Diablobb81]

All of them and hence neither of them.

[Atreiu]

If Mercedes have found a silver bullet to cure their tyres issues, Vettel will race against Hamilton for the title. But it's quite even between the three. I just expected Alonso to have made a much stronger case for himself by now.

It will certainly help Vettel if Kimi, Lewis and Fernando continue taking points from one another every single GP.

[Xeriks]

I would say Hamilton since he is the only driver that can challenge Vettel for poles, but it's difficult to say if Mercedes have sorted out their tyre problems, since everyone said exactly the same after Silverstone.

For now it looks like Hamilton, but at Spa Mercedes might go back to struggling with the tyres, Button played a massive part in his win today.

[slmk]

I would say Hamilton since he is the only driver that can challenge Vettel for poles, but it's difficult to say if Mercedes have sorted out their tyre problems, since everyone said exactly the same after Silverstone.

For now it looks like Hamilton, but at Spa Mercedes might go back to struggling with the tyres, Button played a massive part in his win today.

I agree, but now Mercedes won in 50-deg heat. Or they lucked out on the setup?

Either way, we have to wait and see, but I agree that Vettel is his own enemy at this point. Ferrari seems to be fading away, surprisingly so.

[kimster89]

I voted Kimi, just to express the hope he can really challenge Seb to the WDC.

[TheManAlive]

I would like to see Lewis chase Vettel for the WDC, but I dont think it will actually happen. I reckon we will get to see Lewis taking more wins but I think Vettel is already too far ahead - its 49 points.

[Mr.Wayne]

I would like to see Lewis chase Vettel for the WDC, but I dont think it will actually happen. I reckon we will get to see Lewis taking more wins but I think Vettel is already too far ahead - its 49 points.

Alonso lost a comparable advantage in fewer races last year... (not to mention, 25 points in 2 races in 2010).
But Vettel is not Alonso, and Vettel will not drive to cover a particular drive but to maximize his points, so that might make the task a tad more difficult for Lewis.
On the other hand, Hamilton has (apparently?) a more dominant package than Vettel did last year.
So, although I would say it is possible, it will certainly be difficult.

[bonjon1979a]

One dnf from either of them changes everything, there's a long way to go...

[sopa]

Okay. Regarding the Asian season I do not think Ferrari or Lotus can match Red Bull there. The only one open is Mercedes. Can they really extend their pole-streak to standard Red Bull-domination venues?

Other than that I suspect that regardless of recent form Mercedes is going to continue its inconsistent form. Remember 2012. After Hungary everyone asked if Hamilton can win WDC. What happened - lots of up-and-downs. I don't trust Mercedes so much yet that they can dominate the end of the season. So Alonso may easily end up second in the championship. Again.

[emburmak]

49 points with 9 races to go!!?

LH & Mercedes are now the main obstacle to SV & RedBull. I hope LH does it. An interesting season is unfolding!

[RubalSher]

Voted Lewis and hope I am right

[slmk]

Okay. Regarding the Asian season I do not think Ferrari or Lotus can match Red Bull there. The only one open is Mercedes. Can they really extend their pole-streak to standard Red Bull-domination venues?

Other than that I suspect that regardless of recent form Mercedes is going to continue its inconsistent form. Remember 2012. After Hungary everyone asked if Hamilton can win WDC. What happened - lots of up-and-downs. I don't trust Mercedes so much yet that they can dominate the end of the season. So Alonso may easily end up second in the championship. Again.

Red Bull will be extremely strong in Korea/Japan/India indeed.

[kimster89]

I still think we need at least one DNF for Seb to make this WDC more interesting and open.

[SamH123]

2 power tracks coming next so Alonso (and maybe Hamilton) will come back into favour

I don't think Raikonnen has a hope anyway though

Edited by SamH123, 28 July 2013 - 14:53.

[ebc]

Probably Hamilton, Merc seems to be fastest car right now so lets see what Lewis can do with it. Still think Vettel is the better driver so with his lead he should be difficult to catch.

[olliek88]

If all the other circuits have track temps 40-50ºc then Kimi if not maybe Lewis but depends if Mercedes have really got on top of the tyres during the races but even then, the Red Bull is a brilliantly consistent car and i still can't see past Seb.

[skc]

The funny thing about this poll is that if Vettel wins the next race comfortably, the usual suspects will go back to complaining about how fast the Red Bull is again.

Pointless.

[Cool Beans]

Can I vote both Kimi & Hamilton in an awesome 3 way battle in the last race?

[undersquare]

Only 10 points behind, if Merc have cracked the race tyre issue I don't see Nando and Kimi being able to hold on.

[apoka]

Interesting question. I voted Kimi as he is really consistent and I had the feeling that Grosjean and Kimi both showed that the car has pace. However, it's rally close and will swing from race to race. Looking at betfair, it is 10% WDC chance for Alonso, 7.5% for Hamilton and only 5% for Kimi.

[Tauhid]

With these 2012 spec tyres, Mercedes and Lewis will be the clear rival for Vettel from here on out. However, I will never discount Fernando and I expect Ferrari to be back in business by Spa and Monza. They must win the race in Italia even if they can't win this year's championship. However, I still see Vettel winning the championship yet again, he clearly has the best car in overall performance. Mercedes' tyre hoodoo can come back, we never know. I am astonished they won the hottest race in the calendar....so we never know. I don't see Lotus as a rival, maybe Kimi will come 2nd in the championship, since he's Mr. Consistent...but Lotus cannot out-develop these big teams. If its car development that has aided Merc's win in Hungary, then I see Mercedes as the closest rival to Vettel.

[Sakae]

Team's mistakes, and potential DNF.

[speednerd]

Interesting question. I voted Kimi as he is really consistent and I had the feeling that Grosjean and Kimi both showed that the car has pace. However, it's rally close and will swing from race to race. Looking at betfair, it is 10% WDC chance for Alonso, 7.5% for Hamilton and only 5% for Kimi.

I'd take that bet any day

[OldSoldier2]

Kimi - he has a habit lately of exceeding expectations. Vettel has learned to grab whatever points are on offer and likely needs only two or three more wins with some more results like today to take the championship.

Surprised with Rosberg; two wins so far but results have wilted otherwise. Not in a position to take points off his teammate so that should move Lewis closer to the front.

[Nonesuch]

I'd say Raikkonen, even if his chances are slim to none. Hamilton and Mercedes' form has been quite inconsistent, it's hard for me to say how they will hold up in the later races. Ferrari is just... I have no idea.

[mlsnoopy]

Let's wait. But Vettel is extremely lucky as each weekend a different driver has the edge and he is capable of slowly pulling out a gap.

[SilentKiller]

Hamilton. New tyres are tailor-made for Mercedes.

[bourbon]

I don't see that anything has changed except that Rosberg and Webber were unable to challenge on the weekend to their fullest (Nico not at all). That generally throws a kink into the mix.

We are only half way through - it will be like always; different cars challenging at varying degrees on each weekend. Dunno why anyone would count Ferrari out - that's just insane at this stage. Although I have witnessed it with my own eyes for years and years, it still amazes me to see people jump to conclusions based on one race with a "you are only as good as your last race" mentality. Proven wrong over and over again, doesn't change a thing...

Ah well, all in a days fun I guess.

[sopa]

Is this true that Hamilton has never won more than two consecutive races? Always something has gone wrong if he was close to doing it. But now he would clearly need that if he had any kind of title shot.

[apoka]

Let's wait. But Vettel is extremely lucky as each weekend a different driver has the edge and he is capable of slowly pulling out a gap.

Well, I think a close fought championship between four teams is more interesting (and probably actually harder for the driver) than a battle between only two teams. So far, he always finished top 4 (apart from a mechanical DNF), but he could have easily finished some of those races in the lower points as they were very close.

[DutchQuicksilver]

None of the above. Next race there will be another challenger (Rosberg, Alonso or Grosjean) and Vettel will finish 2nd or 3rd again, taking more points than his 'rivals' Hamilton and Raikkonen. He's just the most consistent of the bunch this season,

[mlsnoopy]

None of the above. Next race there will be another challenger (Rosberg, Alonso or Grosjean) and Vettel will finish 2nd or 3rd again, taking more points than his 'rivals' Hamilton and Raikkonen. He's just the most consistent of the bunch this season,

He has the best car. Where as others struggle in qualifying or the race. RedBull works both on saturday and sunday.

[DutchQuicksilver]

He has the best car. Where as others struggle in qualifying or the race. RedBull works both on saturday and sunday.

True, but other drivers are not consistent enough or run into bad luck. Next race we'll probably see Hamilton having a DNF or running into tyre issues and we see Rosberg finish 1st or 2nd.

[slmk]

Is this true that Hamilton has never won more than two consecutive races? Always something has gone wrong if he was close to doing it. But now he would clearly need that if he had any kind of title shot.

Indeed. Same for pole, until yesterday.

[MMandi]

The new tyres I think should benefit both Merc and Redbull since they seemed to be running more rake relative to the rest since pre-season so they should be able to exploit the efforts put into designing their cars. However I really hope Ferrari can come on strong somehow because after starting so strong and coming off of last season it would be massively disappointing to see them fall out of being contenders for the championship. I wasn't convinced that Lotus would be able to remain competitive but they seem really determined and now that Romain is getting his act together the last half of the season should be really entertaining. Team-mates will also have a big say in the battle and with Nico, Romain and Webber being perfectly capable of handing it to Vettel when the car is good the guys at the front should in theory be able to catch Vettel up. I hope this kind of set up continues though because it looks to be leading to an exciting finale.

[InfectedPumpkin]

Hard to tell. All of them.
You can never underestimated Alonso. He will fight to the end I am sure about that.

[Vesuvius]

At the moment Kimi and Lotus but new tyres suit mercedes the best, it was horrible decision to change them again after germany as they now influence to the outcome of the title fight.

[OO7]

It was around this time last year that we thought Lewis would be Sebs closest challenger, but unfortunately that never materialised.

[Mr.Wayne]

It was around this time last year that we thought Lewis would be Sebs closest challenger, but unfortunately that never materialised.

Actually, the talk was about Lewis being Alonso's closest challenger, and Sebastian not even be on the title hunt anymore because he didn't have the car to fight for victories.