67 replies to this topic

[Lights]

Bring on your wildest speculations!

 

Alonso winning the WDC?

Toro Rosso-Honda to score a point?

Massa to actually really retire for good this time?

 

You've heard it here first!

[RandomG]

Raikkonen to win a race

[Lights]

Raikkonen to win a race

 

I also have a feeling Ferrari will be much stronger.

[jwill189]

Toro Rosso struggling to meet 107% rule.

[DutchQuicksilver]

Red Bull will probably disappoint again in the winter. I expect a similar season to this one at the front. Hopefully McLaren can improve a lot and sometimes challenge Red Bull.

[markelov74]

Verstappen will challenge for the title

Edited by markelov74, 26 November 2017 - 15:48.

[FLB]

Kubica will either convincingly beat Stroll on a regular basis or not finish the year. No in-between. All or nothing.

[Lights]

Red Bull will probably disappoint again in the winter. 

 

That would, unfortunately, mean maintaining the status quo.

 

I don't remember the last time Red Bull came out of the box flying with good reliability. 

[CSF]

I would quite confidently predict that Alonso will not win the title or a race... Renault will not be able to make up that much of a gap over the winter.

 

Now, will Ferrari build on this or go all 1991, 2011? 

[ArrowsLivery]

McLaren continue to embarrass themselves. The excuses are never ending as usual.
Renault are real top 3 contenders with the Hulk and Sainz.
Kubica is back to his best.

[SCUDmissile]

My 'out there prediction'

Renault will be the best Renault engined team.

[Neno]

Renault will win a race.  At worst they will have podium or two. 

Edited by Neno, 26 November 2017 - 15:57.

[RECKLESS]

Multiple title challengers from three different teams.

Will go down to the wire.

[Ben1445]

McLaren will get many 4th places but never a podium. 

[Lights]

My 'out there prediction'

Renault will be the best Renault engined team.

 

 

Renault will win a race.  At worst they will have podium or two. 

 

These are interesting. Because I really don't see it yet. 
Would be nice to see them up there but they have quite a hill to climb for it on both the engine and chassis side.

[pokwa]

Renault will be strong with addition of Budkowski, I think they can score many podiums.

[Neno]

These are interesting. Because I really don't see it yet. 
Would be nice to see them up there but they have quite a hill to climb for it on both the engine and chassis side.

They are already 4th fastest team pace wise. Just too much of combination of having either poor second driver, engine reliability during 2nd half of season. People forget we had Palmer for 3/4 of season. On good weekend they are either faster or even with FI. And given resources they put into factory facility, car development over season and hiring key people they will be there by end of next season. 

 

They are team who took biggest step from last year. Even with all problems. I expect another one and for sure better reliabilty

[Spillage]

Mercedes to win both titles again.

Alonso to get a podium but not get close to winning a race.

Red Bull to be second-best in the title.

Limited improvement from Renault, but they should beat Williams and FI.

The biggest shock for me would be Ferrari maintaining their momentum and launching another title tilt next year.

[Octagonecologyst]

Kubica will be on the podium in Melbourne.

 

Mercedes wins both Championships.

[BCM]

McLaren to be as quick as Redbull. Renault not far behind. Merc and Ferrari still in front - primarily because they're not running Renaults 

 

Oh and a rash of flip flop manufacturers sponsoring cars. When else are they going to get such a perfect marketing opportunity?

Edited by BCM, 26 November 2017 - 16:52.

[TomNokoe]

Force India to finish 4th WCC again

[TheManAlive]

Alonso beats Vettel to the championship. Merc with their new high rake philosophy have a bad start to the season, allowing ferrrari and mclaren to turn it into a two horse race. Red bull third best at the beginning but are overtaken in the points by merc after the summer break as they come on form. Lewis wins only once in a wet race in the first half of the season, but takes plenty in the second half. Vettel and alonso battle it out to the final race of the season where Lewis wins, bottas second and alonso takes the championship with a third place ahead of Vettel.

2019, mclaren drop the stoff and alonso teams up with Norris. Merc hit the ground running and it turns into a battle royal between alonso and Lewis trading wins in the first half of the season. Norris gets up to speed and start taking wins from Lewis and also from alonso who flips his lid at being beaten again by a British rookie. Final race sees Lewis take the championship for his fifth, with Fred finishing behind Norris in the race.

[THEWALL]

Mercedes will still dominate.

 

Alonso will complain about something...

[cravenciak]

- McLaren to fight for podium in Melbourne.

- Ferrari stronger than this year

- Mercedes will get more technical issues than ever

- Kubica to qualify to Q3 in Melbourne, finish in points. Stroll absolutely not a contender to win the season against the Pole.

- Toro Rosso struggling to meet 107% rule

- Renault defeated both by Williams and Force India

- Haas will join Sauber at the bottom

- Red Bull will remain the 3rd best team on the grid.

Edited by cravenciak, 26 November 2017 - 17:16.

[DanardiF1]

Kubica will either convincingly beat Stroll on a regular basis or not finish the year. No in-between. All or nothing.

 

I'll go with that too. Kubica has shown with the WEC and DTM flirtations and tests that with his issues he has to be completely happy and comfortable or he will stop. I don't think it will take much to beat Stroll though, a retiring Massa showed that already, often a second or more faster than his 'hotshot' teammate...

[DanardiF1]

I think it's too early to suggest McLaren might win races, it feels like next year will be a major jump up the grid but only to that position just behind the Merc/Ferrari/RBR trio that Force India have loosely occupied the last couple of years.

 

I do think Alonso will score a few podium finishes though.

[CSF]

Stroll to improve next season with a full season behind him. 

[statman]

* Mercedes will take it

* Ferrari in second

* Red Bull in third

* Force India continues strong season

* Mclaren due to switch on par with Renault team

* Kubica dissapointing, people had higher expectations

* Stroll only marginally improves

* Honda making a significant step in performance

[DanardiF1]

Stroll to improve next season with a full season behind him. 

 

He couldn't improve on pace or racecraft with 95% of a full season behind him, so what will the extra 5% help achieve? Or will he keep needing private testing...

[CSF]

He couldn't improve on pace or racecraft with 95% of a full season behind him, so what will the extra 5%help achieve? Or will he keep needing private testing...

 

Race craft seemed fine today vs Grosjean. He's 19. I know that Max and Lewis warped perceptions of all Rookies for all time, but I repeat he's 19.

 

Stoffel is more of a worry right now at 25/26.... 

[DanardiF1]

Race craft seemed fine today vs Grosjean. He's 19. I know that Max and Lewis warped perceptions of all Rookies for all time, but I repeat he's 19.

 

Stoffel is more of a worry right now at 25/26.... 

 

Racecraft is not just having one moment of good racing with another driver. I don't care if he's 19 I care if he's good enough and right now he's not, he rushed getting into F1 and is not showing the improvements one would expect of a driver of the calibre people keep saying he is of...

[Brian60]

Hamilton to make it 5

 

Vettel not to make it 5

 

Epic battle between Dan and Max to beat each other, both to pick up a win

 

Raikkonen, who?

 

Bottas, who?

 

Alonso to finish closer to 4 than 14,

 

Vandoorne to again dissapoint in his last season, to be replaced by another rookie (Lando?)

 

20-1 bar the field

[RainyAfterlifeDaylight]

Renault, Honda and Ferrari finally will be able to steal one of the Mercedes PUs and collectively will copy it and after the summer break all the teams will be in contention for race wins and Mercedes will quit in 2019.

[RacingGreen]

My 'out there prediction'

Renault will be the best Renault engined team.

 

Possibly but they don't have the best driver in a Renault powered car, or the second best driver in a Renault powered car or even the third best driver in a Renault powered car, so it suggests to me that is only going to happen if Renault severely limit the engine modes customers are allowed to use.

[MikeV1987]

Honda ends up building a good PU and Renault builds an unreliable and underpowered **** box. 

 

Kubica on the podium  

[Ellios]

HALO to be removed after the first race!

[Mrlarsen]

* Mercedes will win again, their engine is far better, and no one at the moment is fast enough to compete on Lewis current level.

* Renault will step up with their engines development, and  i believe Red Bull will put more pressure on Ferrari give them a bigger fight for No 2 spot.

* McLaren & Renault will fight for 4 and 5 spot just after Ferrari and Red Bull

* Toro Rosso will struggle in the bottom their gamble with the Engine swap will not pay off, i except Honda to leave the sport in a year or 2, after failing to build a competitive engine. 

Edited by Mrlarsen, 26 November 2017 - 20:38.

[sopa]

I'm not going to make exact predictions, because based on history they will be wrong anyway, lol. Just looking at some general guidelines in the case of each team. Based on stability of regulations, the current (engine) formula and also team budgets I don't expect a major overhaul in the pecking order, so any changes will be more cosmetic ones.

 

* Mercedes. In this PU-dominated formula they will be at the front. Just the question is, how will their chassis perform, now designed by J.Allison, rather than P.Lowe. Will they win with ease or face some tough challenge?

 

* Ferrari. Throughout years they have blown hot-and-cold, so hard to tell, what to expect. Is Hamilton vs Vettel like Schumacher v Hakkinen of yesteryears, which lasted through multiple seasons? Or will 2016 repeat itself and they drop behind Red Bull?

 

* Red Bull. Chassis is good, but I don't really expect Renault to be an elite PU. Also long-term future of the team is unclear, going for Honda in 2019 could have implications in terms of in-season development. However, with PU deficit it will be hard for them to go for the championship, even if with Max' brilliance they can compete for race wins and of course plenty of podiums.

 

* McLaren. The most interesting "?" for next year. They will surely improve on their P9 in WCC, that's one firm prediction I make! But how much, is open for debate. Can they challenge/match Red Bull? However, highly unlikely it would be a championship challenge, even though we could see Alonso returning to podium after many years of absence.

 

* Force India. Strong each year, but I do think they have pretty much reached their peak now. And they face some tough competition from teams behind them. But with Merc PU and two very good drivers they will keep scoring decent points.

 

* Williams. Hard to tell exact positioning, but rough guesstimate says they will probably be somewhere in midfield levels again. Driver line-up is a huge questionmark though, and could cost them a position in WCC.

 

* Renault. They have work cut out to improve reliability. Can't tell if they succeed on that, but they should build on the 2017 season and with two good drivers be a consistent feature in the points at least. But they face a tough task of matching up not only to 1, but 2 of their customer teams.

 

* Toro Rosso. Going to Honda PU's with two unspectacular drivers seems like a recipe for not a very good season. Now, Honda could improve a bit, STR could have a good chassis again, but I can't help but feel that late 2017 showings were a sign of what to expect from next year. Mostly among backmarkers, with some possible points in attrition races or where things go their way (street circuits?).

 

* Haas. Two solid seasons in F1 so far with very up-and-down performances. I expect them to continue in this vein with a few impressive weekends coupled with some backmarker showings on other weekends. Overall they will have a tough time toppling some more experienced teams in WCC, even if they can give them some hard time.

 

* Sauber. Based on rumours the worst is behind now. New Ferrari PU, they will arguably also hire new staff of 100 people, etc. However, they are still minnows and will still be near the back, but with the talent of Leclerc have the ability to occasionally pull above their weight, like they did in (early) 2015. Over a full season, most of the other teams score better though.

[Lights]

Possibly but they don't have the best driver in a Renault powered car, or the second best driver in a Renault powered car or even the third best driver in a Renault powered car, so it suggests to me that is only going to happen if Renault severely limit the engine modes customers are allowed to use.

 

I think their line-up is pretty sweet. Not top 3 material indeed but both their drivers are top 10, and I don't think the gaps are that big at that level anymore.

 

I don't think their chassis will be better than Red Bull and McLaren however. I also hope it won't.

[Lights]

Alonso beats Vettel to the championship.

 

I think this goes against some sort of law the universe made up 7 years ago.

[SpaceHorseParty]

• Once again, the championship fight will be between Hamilton and Vettel.
• Kubica will disappoint.
• McLaren will score a few podiums, but no wins.
• Renault will come close to scoring podiums a few times and Sainz will be the one to score it.
• Sauber will beat Haas.
• Leclerc will have an impressive season, but despite that, Ferrari will extend Raikkonen's contract for one more year.
• Toro Rosso will really struggle, particularly in the first part of the season. No points.

[Jordan44]

I still can't shake off the bad feeling that Mercedes will go down the high rake route and completely mess it up. Hope I'm wrong.

[H0R]

Besides who will win the championships (Merc as usual?) I feel the most interesting will be the driver carousel. I fear that Raikkönen will finally call it a day and the free Ferrari cockpit might by one of the hottest topics on this board in the second half of the season. Not at least because it might bring up lots of other changes. For instance if a red Bull driver or Bottas takes the second Ferrari.

[Lights]

 

• Once again, the championship fight will be between Hamilton and Vettel.

 

This I always find interesting. It sure feels like it will, but how often does it happen that two consecutive championship fights are between the same two drivers of different teams?

Edited by Lights, 26 November 2017 - 21:05.

[sopa]

This I always find interesting. It sure feels like it will, but how often does it happen that two consecutive championship fights are between the same two drivers of different teams?

 

Let's see...

 

You could say Schumacher v Hill in 1994-95. Though Hill lost out clearly in 1995, but then again 2017 didn't go down to the wire either. Still it was about these two drivers.

 

Should have been 1998-2000 straight three years between Schumacher and Hakkinen, but in '99 MS got injured.

 

2007-2008 Hamilton and a Ferrari driver. The driver dynamics changed, but team dynamics remained the same. Does anyone see driver dynamics changing next year?

[Loosenut]

Possibly but they don't have the best driver in a Renault powered car, or the second best driver in a Renault powered car or even the third best driver in a Renault powered car, so it suggests to me that is only going to happen if Renault severely limit the engine modes customers are allowed to use.

God I hope they don't do that! Prost promised they give everyone equality.
I'm hoping that Fernando's good relationship with Renault keeps them honest.

Although I do expect Renault to make good progress with their car mid season, once they hire a new gardener.

[Lights]

Let's see...

 

You could say Schumacher v Hill in 1994-95. Though Hill lost out clearly in 1995, but then again 2017 didn't go down to the wire either. Still it was about these two drivers.

 

Should have been 1998-2000 straight three years between Schumacher and Hakkinen, but in '99 MS got injured.

 

2007-2008 Hamilton and a Ferrari driver. The driver dynamics changed, but team dynamics remained the same. Does anyone see driver dynamics changing next year?

 

Yes, it's perhaps even more rare than I thought when I wrote that. I did think of Schumacher/Hakkinen but you're right, even that didn't happen due to Schumacher's injury.

 

2017 might not have gone down to the wire but the potential for that was definitely there.

 

Otherwise 2012/2013 would also count with Vettel/Alonso, despite the fact that the 2013 fight was practically already over at the summer break, and that was before the Red Bull became even more dominant.

 

I'd say 94/95 was the last time this scenario was the case. If not you'd have to go further back.

 

Either way, historically it's very unlikely that Vettel and Hamilton will have a similar fight for the champoinship next year, despite of how likely it looks right now.

Edited by Lights, 26 November 2017 - 21:24.

[Joseki]

Raikkonen to win a race

 

I can see it happening only if Ferrari has a Mercedes 2014 type of dominance. I see McLaren winning a race as much more possible.

[TomNokoe]

If the rumours are true that Mercedes are seeking the high-rake philosophy, they are surely at a disadvantage against pretty much everybody else (McLaren, Ferrari, RB) who have adapted this philosophy for new regs a year early. However, Merc are the force of F1 at the moment, and may end up perfecting it better than anybody.

For me, Red Bull are going to be right on the money next year and it will be Max vs Lewis for the title.

Ferrari surprised everyone this season but continuity has never been their strength, and with internal turmoil leading into 2018, and the sheer fact that I don't believe Merc+RB will afford Vettel many opportunities for success next year, it's looking like they're going to re-ignite their battle with McLaren, however it will be at the sharp end of the chasing pack, rather than the top step.

I really hope Kubica does well.

Edited by TomNokoe, 26 November 2017 - 21:39.

[superden]

Penalties will continue to make a mockery of the sport.