74 replies to this topic

[noikeee]

Right, now that the next time the cars will roll will be in Melbourne and then it becomes too serious to make this silly thread, it's time for this. The one we will bump 8 months from now and laugh at how daft our futurology was, how naive we were in believing the testing results whilst being completely blind to the actual dark horses. Predict what'll happen during the 2012 season.

Here's my take:

- Red Bull and Mac to fight every inch of this championship, perhaps with RBR just about clinching it again, but with nowhere near their last season advantage. Webber to get far closer to Vettel but not enough to put a title bid, Hamilton to just about edge Button this year so it'll be Vettel then Hamilton then Button then Webber in the WDC.

- Lotus, Merc and Ferrari to fight for 3rd best, the italians quite off the pace by Melbourne and having to fend off the Force Indias even, but then catching up at an impressive development rate. Merc to be close to the top 2 teams all year long whilst Lotus will be inconsistent, sometimes up there with the very best, sometimes anonymous. Raikkonen to bag 2 wins and Rosberg to finall get his first win. Grosjean nearly gets one too but then DNFs. Massa has another atrocious season while Schumacher fades off after seemingly catching up with Rosberg last year, and announces his retirement. Again.

- Force India best of the midfield, Hulk and Paul getting one podium each and generally looking good both, pretty much nothing separating them. Toro Rosso get near them and JEV grabs a sensational 2nd place in wet conditions after Ricciardo had a great race too but was punted off. Sauber unspectacular but ahead of Williams who are sh*t again. Caterham for all their promises again fail to catch up with the midfield and never beat Williams on merit.

- Marussia and HRT are total rubbish again, and both toy with scares in qualifying all season long as they always just about manage to get within the 107%. De La Rosa makes way for multiple paydrivers through the season. Dani Clos makes his F1 debut for them.

Hardly wild predictions but I don't expect anything wild to happen other than Lotus climbing up the field, so...

[sopa]

You, noikeee, are very generous by predicting wins for Mercedes and Lotus. And podiums for Force India. With the level of consistency and reliability these days it demands proper attrition for this to happen.

I predict wins will be shared in the same way as last year - Red Bull and McLaren getting all but one with perhaps Ferrari getting one too after serious improvement in the second half of the season. Massa somehow gets one podium too after a long drought! Mercedes gets 2-3 podiums like in 2010. Lotus maybe gets one. Others none.

Caterham will finish on 0 points again, although they get a couple of 12th places almost on merit, but higher than that proves to be too much.

[THE "driverider"]

Championship Battle:- Red Bull (Vettel/Webber), McLaren (Hamilton/Button) & Lotus (Raikkonen)
Race Wins:- Ferrari (Alonso) & Mercedes (Rosberg)
Podiums: Force India (di Resta/Hulkenberg)
Points:- Toro Rosso, Sauber, Williams & Caterham
Race Finishes:- Marussia & HRT

Australia: Webber
Malaysia:
China: Rosberg
Bahrain:
Spain:
Monaco:
Canada:
Europe:
Britain:
Germany:
Hungary:
Belgium: Raikkonen (Schumacher 2nd)
Italy:
Singapore: Alonso
Japan:
Korea:
India:
Abu Dhabi:
United States:
Brazil:

The bold are my main predictions.

Edited by THE "driverider", 04 March 2012 - 18:22.

[Requin]

I think the championship will be between Vettel (RBR), Button (McLaren), Hamilton (McLaren) and Raikkonen (Lotus), at least, for the first half. Alonso will put his Ferrari higher than it should be at tracks like Australia and Canada, but on the aero tracks, it will be RBR and McLaren in a straight fight.

I'm predicting a 1-2 in Monaco for McLaren, purely because they're the odd men out in terms of front end design, as they opted for a lower CoG and more mechanical grip.

[grunge]

always a treat to read yer posts paranoiko..

my pecking order would be 1.Mclaren/Mercedes/RB...i dont think people are giving Mercedes proper stead here...Tire degradation issues seemed to be exaggerated by Barcelona,a track that has very high wear rates of its own...i wouldnt be surprised if they are right up there with the top 2.

4.Lotus
5.Ferrari

Edited by grunge, 04 March 2012 - 18:35.

[908T]

Lotus is going to be on podium several times, with RB and McLaren.
Sauber and FI will be there too, sometimes.
Lotus because of Kimi and once in a while Romain too. And a good team!
Romain is going to really grow to be a star.
RB because of Vettel and Webber and Newey!
Sauber and FI, both look good, more money and they might start winning next year. The drivers look good enough. Especially Sauber.
Ferrari is going to get a few fine results, although later, after July. No wins.
Williams and Caterham are going to get many points. Maybe one podium for Williams.
Caterhams Petrov is going to show that the 2010 final race success of holding Ferrari behind was no coincidence.
Vettel is going to be the best once more.

Somehow, I do not know why, I think Mercedes is not going to get much anything.

Edited by 908T, 04 March 2012 - 19:05.

[Wlleiotl]

only mclaren and red bull will win races, caterham still wont score a point, hrt/marussia will never be in danger of dnq's on pure pace

the midfield will be the place to watch

[Stormsky68]

Mclaren for both championships

RB have been too clever for their own good, will start the season on the back foot, and never catch up

Very hard to call third place between Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus, it will be fascinating to see who eventually triumphs

At the other end of the grid, I predict HRT to fold

[D.M.N.]

1. Red Bull
2. McLaren
3. Ferrari
4. Lotus
5. Mercedes
6. Force India
7. Sauber
8. Toro Rosso
9. Williams
10. Caterham
11. HRT
12. Marussia

- Red Bull and McLaren will be the main championship contenders, scrapping back and forth, with Red Bull getting it at the wire and Vettel winning the championship.
- Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes scrap over 3rd, Ferrari clawing back after a poor start to the season to grab a win or two towards the end of the season. Raikkonen and Schumacher also win races, but it doesn't stop Ferrari getting third because of Alonso. Massa gets the boot.
- Force India are alone, sometimes mixing it in with Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes, but not often enough to do much while also trying to fight off Sauber and Toro Rosso in some races.
- Caterham score their first points and are fighting Williams, who unceremoniously dump one of their drivers' mid season after embarrassing performances.
- HRT beat Marussia at the back.

Not much difference compared to this season, except it's a bit closer, I don't expect any huge leap forward or back to be honest. I'd like to be proven wrong on the above, though. Let's have some surprises!

[MortenF1]

My take - http://forums.autosp...howtopic=162542

[Cyanide]

Let's not forget that there are two drivers in each team. So even if only Red Bull and McLaren are the strongest teams, they would definitely cover the podium spots for most of the races. Well, that also depends on Webber's performance, and whether or not he's part of that equation.

Occasionally, Lotus, Mercedes and Ferrari might interfere with their plans, but I don't see them targeting anything higher than 3rd spot on the podium. As the season progresses, Ferrari are expected to improve alongside Mercedes, Lotus is a big question mark, though, considering their development of last year, but things change quickly around here.

My other idea would be that Lotus will be stronger than McLaren or Red Bull in Melbourne. Though highly unlikely.

[wdh]

1 McLaren to initially show better reliability (if not outright speed) than Red Bull.
2 Either HRT or Marussia (or both) to have many 107% problems, and financial problems, potentially closing down.
3 Ferrari and Mercedes to do much better in Qualy than Races.
4 Toro Rosso to race with FI, Sauber and faster but comparatively tyre-eating Merc and Ferrari.
5 Renault to finish most races ahead of that group, within reach of inheriting or one-stopping to a podium (or better)
6 Williams to be clearly behind the midfield group, and potentially embarrassed by Kovalainen, if not Petrov.
7 Could be Button for the Championship, with a better finishing record (and occasionally gentler on those tyres) than the quicker Hamilton. Vettel to be quicker than both but to suffer too many DNFs as Newey refuses to compromise his performance concepts.

Overall, a year in which grid position is not a good indication of finishing order!

[freya]

Mclaren wins all races and gets all the points too. All other teams go home empty.

[Mc_Silver]

1-Red bull/McLaren
3-Mercedes
4-Ferrari
5-Lotus
6-Force India
7-Sauber
8-Toro Rosso
9-Williams
10-Caterham
11-HRT
12-Marussia

[icecream_man]

I expect RB & McLaren to be much closer this year, with RB taking the WDC but McLaren taking the WCC if Hamilton can leave personal problems at home and show Button's level of consistency, whether he manages to beat Button or not this year will depend on where his head is at.

Lotus & Mercedes will battle it out for 3rd and 4th over the year, mainly because both teams have 2 solid drivers, with Ferrari occasionally spoiling their party but ultimately proving erratic as they fail to properly get to grips with their car and end up 5th

Force India will finish a solid 6th, with a close battle behind them between Torro Rosso and Sauber.

Williams will finish 9th well ahead of Caterham but failing to make any real dent in the midfield.
Caterham 10th but still failing to score any points.
Marussia will beat HRT at the back of the field as a result of McLaren's technical help, but both could struggle to hit the 107% for the first 2 or 3 races

[King Six]

From my perspective of what I've seen of the timesheets/stint times of the last test.

Red Bull
McLaren

Mercedes/Lotus/Ferrari (The three car manufacturers fighting for 3rd/4th place)

Sauber (Very impressive recently, they've jumped well ahead of Force India with handy upgrades, I tip Sauber for 6th in the WCC, will be racing Mercedes/Lotus/Ferrari more than Force India/Toro Rosso)

Force India/Toro Rosso (Perhaps Toro Rosso are faster, drivers may let them down however vs Force India, both will still struggle for Q3/Points with the cars ahead of them)

Williams (Car is slightly slower than Force India, drivers further compound the problem perhaps)

Caterham (Midfield from Mercedes to Williams is far too competitive for them to gain points barring very unusual circumstances)

HRT/Marussia

[joshb]

Vettel to win but with a much reduced margain both to the 2nd place driver and Webber.
Hamilton to get back ahead of Button but the pair will be closely matched
Alonso to be the only ferrari driver to worry the front runners at any stage
Merc to get a few podiums- Rosberg to beat Schumi, but closer in qualy than 2010/11
Lotus to get a few podiums, especially early on- Kimi to beat Grosjean but not by too much
Force India to get regular points and maybe the odd top 6- Hulk to beat di Resta over the course of the year
Sauber/STR/Williams to be scrapping over a point or 2 at some races. Perez to edge Kobayashi, Senna to beat Maldonado and Ricciardo to edge out Vergne
Caterham to get more regular Q2 appearances and to maybe sneak a point here and there. Kovalainen to beat Petrov but not like he did Trulli.
Virgin to be faster than HRT but HRT to luck into the better finish and HRT to get through 4 drivers this year
Canada to be the most exciting race for neutrals
Valencia to be worst (sticking my neck out there!!!!)

[Aieljose]

Well yesterday my order would have been:
1.Redbull
2.Mclaren
3.Ferrari
4.Mercedes

Now that redbull has a serious decision to make with their exhaust im not so sure they will be the team to beat.
Revised order:
1.Mclaren
2.Redbull
3.Ferrari
4.Mercedes

If lewis can have a bounce back year then he is my pick for WDC. Mclaren for WCC!

[Jamiednm]

McLaren and Red Bull trade victories, McLaren gain the edge early on in the season, resulting in a 3 way title battle between Hamilton, Button and Vettel. Hamilton prevails. McLaren WCC.

Ferrari are clearly 3rd best and from the start of the season and get in the mix for race wins by mid Summer.

Mercedes and Lotus get a few podiums between them, Mercedes finishing fourth, Lotus a close fifth.

Force India podium at Spa or Monza, Torro Rosso have a strong season, only the inexperience of their drivers means they don't get consistent results. Williams edge Sauber, last 3 teams trundle round like last year, not much different.

[Amphicar]

My prediction is based on the most scientific method known to man - the number of pages for each teams' 2012 thread on this forum at the end of winter testing. So the final order at the end of the 2012 season will be as follows:

McLaren 242
Ferrari 228
Mercedes 54
Red Bull 43
Lotus 42
Williams 41
HRT 29
Caterham 27
Sauber 11
Force India 6
Marussia 6

[byronbolscher]

One interesting thing to note, that Caterham this week was over 3 seconds faster then they where in qualifying at Barcelona last year, now we don't exactly now if the cars got a little faster or slower (no blown diffusor?), but I think it's clear that Caterham made a proper step forward.

[maverick69]

Hammer time

[freya]

My prediction is based on the most scientific method known to man - the number of pages for each teams' 2012 thread on this forum at the end of winter testing. So the final order at the end of the 2012 season will be as follows:

McLaren 242
Ferrari 228
Mercedes 54
Red Bull 43
Lotus 42
Williams 41
HRT 29
Caterham 27
Sauber 11
Force India 6
Marussia 6

Best post of the day.

[sumpthy]

Webber and Hamilton both far stronger this year than they were last year and able to put up a fight against Vettel to make it a four horse race with Button in the mix.
Red Bull and McLaren both starting off strong and staying strong all year with McLaren just ahead of Red Bull (in terms of car quality) by the end of the year.
Lotus initially the best of the rest with Mercedes in fourth. Ferrari start the season fighting it out with Force India for fifth best team with Massa struggling to even make it into the top 10. Ferrari develop well though and end the season fighting for third place.
Williams much improved, though the inexperience of their line up may obscure their true strength and cost them in the fight with Sauber, Torro Rosso and Caterham.
Caterham score their first points.

I'm going to go with McLaren for both titles I think, though I keep changing my mind on whether Vettel or Hamilton will end WDC. At the moment I'm leaning towards Lewis hitting back at his critics and getting a second world title.

[turssi]

1. Vettel / RB
2. Hamilton / McL
3. Button / McL
4. Rosberg / Merc
5. Alonso / Ferrari
6. Raikkonen / Lotus
7. Webber / RB
8. Grosjean / Lotus
9. Schumacher / Merc
10. Massa / Ferrari
Sauber
Force India
Toro Rosso
Caterham
Williams
HRT
Marussia

[Myrvold]

De La Rosa makes way for multiple paydrivers through the season. Dani Clos makes his F1 debut for them.

Just to be very very boring. A team cannot use more than four drivers in races in a season. If Dani is making his debut, De La Rosa can only make way for one paydriver ;)

[weareracing]

DEEP BREATH, and jump in.............
Red Bull, good but not unbeatable, I'm sure Helmut will try to apply team orders to get Sebastian a Triple Crown but I sense technical problems with this year's regulations.
In the mix with BOTH drivers challenging.
McLaren, to me the BEST of Winter testing but with no clear team orders they could be their own worst enemies.
Despite this I predict one of the McLaren drivers will claim a 2nd World Drivers Championship and the team will be Constuctors Champions.
Ferrari.......... moving backward and will not finish 3rd.
Goodbye Felipe and Stefano, not wanted in 2013 as Luca clears the decks.
Mercedes, the closest battle to date between Nico & Michael, but Nico just edging it.
Wins or podiums?
Only if a crash-fest ensues, this car EATS TYRES, sorry.
Lotus E-20 makes my eyes sparkle.
Kimi and Sideshow Bob/Jaja Binks are going to be unwelcome visitors to Q3, big movers and capable of podiums and yes a race win.
ForceIndia, Sauber, ToroRosso, Williams all have the equal driver line-up that makes you think that a turn 1 incident will occur.
They have to realise that their improvement will only bear fruit with racecraft and the long- as opposed to 1st turn 1st lap glory run, all capable of points but unless something drastic happens.......that's all.
Caterham we have seen, Vitaly will test Heikki, HRT and Marussia see you in Oz ?
Whatever happens, ENJOY 2012, it's been a long winter

[DanardiF1]

My predicted end of year top 10 in WDC:

1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Button
4. Webber
5. Raikkonen
6. Rosberg
7. Alonso
8. Schumacher
9. Grosjean
10. Hulkenberg

[bennyo]

I think it is going to be very close between McLaren and Red Bull, I would love for a McLaren driver to come out top but I have a feeling Vettel will be claiming his 3rd WDC trophy. The WCC could go to McLaren though.

Then, Mercedes might just edge out Ferrari at the start of the season, but it depends if Ferrari can develop well in season and close up to the front 2.

I think the WCC will look something like this:

1) McLaren
2) Red Bull
3) Mercedes
4) Ferrari
5) Lotus
6) Force India
7) Sauber
8) Toro Rosso
9) Caterham
10) Williams
11) Marussia
12) HRT

[cardin]

1- Hamilton (and at 7/1 at bwin.com, not a bad bet at all)

[Sevach]

Redbull clinches both titles easily, Vettel champ.
Macca and Mercedes get multiple wins, Button beats Hamilton and Nico beats MS.
Alonso wins 1 or 2, Massa loses his job.
Force India beats Lotus for best of the rest, Hulkenberg wipes the floor with Di Resta and Kimi's return is underwhelming.
Williams and STR finish ahead of Sauber who is the worst of the old teams, Maldonado and Ricciardo perform well, Kobayashi gets a couple of good results and beats Perez.
Caterham doesn't come close to mixing up with the old teams.

And who the f... cares about Marussia and HRT.

[GSF1]

SENNA World Champion driving Williams Renault, \

But serious, All I want is good hard, close racing, no stupid FIA penalties, DRS to be better judged by FIA so overtaking is possible but not like Turkey,

More mechanical breakdowns, but looking at testing no chance of that.

For Melbourne to be sunny, cause at the moment it's wet, damp and flooding in most parts of Victoria.

Webber to beat Vettel in a close championship battle, and give Mark the reward he deserves, he is the best driver out there without a Championship, He would beat Button head to head.

Dan Ric to kill the Frenchman,

[Raelene]

my taxi driver in Singapore on the weekend told me to put money on MSC to win the championship - he said his mates in Pakistan who are betting men told him MSC will win the championship this year ROFLMAO...

button for WDC is my only prediction

[paulogman]

vettel wins the title again, red bull are just too far ahead from last season and the other teams will not be able to catch up. newey is too smart as a leader.
will be interested to see if button has gotten the team around him to the point that it is more his team than hamilton's.
won't be surprised if mercedes wins a race or two. expecting schumacher to beat rosberg.
not sure what to make of ferrari and lotus because both had their testing problems. ferrari should make a comeback if they really are off the pace but lotus will be the tail end of the lead group.
force india should be next up followed by torro rosso if the drivers can handle the management style.
after that there is just crumbs for the likes of williams and sauber and caterham.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Webber to be narrowly leading the points from Hamilton & Vettel when he announces his defection to Ferrari on a two-year deal at Spa. Unsurprisingly, that's the end of his title tilt as all strategy and qualifying decisions immediately favour Vettel - who proceeds to edge Hamilton for the title while Webber finishes 3rd for the third year in a row.

Red Bull announce Rosberg will replace Webber.

Drivers:

1. Vettel
2. Hamilton
3. Webber
4. Button
5. Rosberg
6. Alonso
7. Kimi
8. Schumacher
9. Hulkenberg
10. Massa

Teams:

1. Red Bull
2. McLaren
3. Mercedes
4. Ferrari
5. Lotus
6. Force India
7. Sauber
8. Toro Rosso
9. Caterham
10. Williams
11. HRT
12. Marussia

Williams to continue the slide off the back of the pack, locked in a ding dong battle with Caterham all year long but behind Toro Rosso on pace.

Edited by NotSoSilentBob, 05 March 2012 - 03:30.

[2ms]

I think RBR and McL cars will be even across season but Vettel is on different level right now and will walk away with WDC. I think the teams with best overall driving and thus advantage for WCC are McL and Lotus. But Lotus is a small outfit these days and will not have the ability to keep together consistent enough package to be championship contender, even if Raikkonen still has the magic we saw in second half of 2009 and Grosjean is the new Hamilton.

So Vettel WDC, McL WCC, big year for ROSBERG. Potentially some interesting heroics out of Lotus sometimes. Domenicali will finally be booted though and, finally rid of the root of all their troubles since 2007, we see Ferrari back in top 3 next year (though out of it this year).

[DanardiF1]

my taxi driver in Singapore on the weekend told me to put money on MSC to win the championship - he said his mates in Pakistan who are betting men told him MSC will win the championship this year ROFLMAO...

button for WDC is my only prediction

Pakistani betting might hold sway in Cricket, but F1 hasn't really made an impact into the Subcontinent just yet. I haven't seen Vettel do fake qualifying laps or illegally scrub his tyres...

[aray]

either of the macca WDC
macca WCC certainty...
vettel third
alonso 4th after late charge in the season..
webber
lotus 4th in WCC..
grosjean ahead of kimi
hulkenberg comfortably ahead of di rista
both STR disappointing
kimi replacing webber at RB after the season..

[Raelene]

Pakistani betting might hold sway in Cricket, but F1 hasn't really made an impact into the Subcontinent just yet. I haven't seen Vettel do fake qualifying laps or illegally scrub his tyres...

ohhh buat I'm sure MSC could do such handerhanded tricks ;);)

[Kelateboy]

1- Hamilton (and at 7/1 at bwin.com, not a bad bet at all)

An excellent bet! I will take this anytime....

[DanardiF1]

ohhh buat I'm sure MSC could do such handerhanded tricks ;);)

Maybe... maybe...

[BCM]

I think it's McLaren's year. And I expect the hitherto friendly relations within the team to explode as the competitive pressure mounts between Hamilton and Button.

I also expect Webber to best Vettel this year with the change in regulations.

Could be some interesting results from Mercedes this year as well.

Other than that who knows. I'd like Ricciardo to best Vergne, but that's just because I'm an Aussie. I think that's going to be a close run thing all season as well. Many more fireworks than between Alg and Buemi.

[grunge]

My predicted end of year top 10 in WDC:

1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Button
4. Webber
5. Raikkonen
6. Rosberg
7. Alonso
8. Schumacher
9. Grosjean
10. Hulkenberg

Alonso at 7?...you arent expecting a midseason fightback from ferrari then

[H0R]

I have a feeling that experience and coolness will rule over sheer speed this year.

Therefore:

1. Button
2. Vettel
3. Hamilton
4. Alonso
5. Schu
6. Webbo
7. Kimi
8. Grosjean
9. Rosbgerg
10. Massa

WCC: Obviously McLaren

[plastik2k9]

I can't see anyone but Vettel and Red Bull for the titles.

WCC
1. Red Bull
2. McLaren
3. Ferrari
4. Mercedes
5. Lotus

WDC
1. Vettel
2. Hamilton
3. Webber
4. Alonso
5. Button
6. Raikkonen
7. Schumacher
8. Rosberg
9. Massa
10. Grosjean

[rayburn]

Alonso at 7?...you arent expecting a midseason fightback from ferrari then

I would put him at 6th, because I believe Ferrari have a fundamental problem with their car (front suspension) that will handicap their season. They may well solve it, but too late for Alonso to score many points.

[Jimisgod]

Australia: Hamilton
Malaysia: Vettel
China: Rosberg
Bahrain: Vettel
Spain: Hamilton
Monaco: Button
Canada: Rosberg
Europe: Hamilton
Britain: Webber
Germany: Vettel
Hungary: Hamilton
Belgium: Raikkonen
Italy: Alonso
Singapore: Alonso
Japan: Button
Korea: Hamilton
India: Vettel
Abu Dhabi: Button
United States: "Growjohn"
Brazil: Webber


1st - Hamilton
2nd - Vettel
3rd - Button
4th - Webber
5th - Alonso
6th - Rosberg
7th - Raikkonen
8th - Massa
9th - Di Resta
10th - "Growjohn"

Edited by Jimisgod, 05 March 2012 - 14:30.

[fieraku]

Schumacher WDC! 2nd et al is for losers.

[RealRacing]

1. Vettel
2. Hamilton
3. Button
4. Webber
5. Alonso

1. RBR
2.McLaren
3.Ferrari
4.Lotus
5.Mercedes

McLaren wins least ugly-looking car of the year.
FIA decides to eliminate DRS for next season.
Lotus and Mercedes get at least one podium each.
Ferrari use TOs from beginning of season, RBR as Vettel starts to edge out Webber around 3/4 into season and McLaren don´t because it's too close to call till the end of the season between their 2 drivers.
Massa and Hamilton come together at least once.
Massa will get at least one of his pit stops screwed.
Domenicalli is fired before the end of the season.
Princess chick will look good at Monaco podium.
Bernie will do something stupid. FIA will do something stupid.

[zyphro]

Schumacher WDC! 2nd et al is for losers.