The Official 2018 Formula One Season

Best thread of each season

I have two main predictions for 2018... slightly irrational and optimistic perhaps but 1) Everyone will soon get used to the halo and it'll no longer be a discussion by mid season. And 2) We will have at least a 3 way drivers / teams fight for the championship (don't let us down Red Bull & Ferrari).

Mercedes will still be the team to beat, partly due the fact that it is technically the strongest team overall. But also because Hamilton seems to have reached his ideal combination of potential, experience and maturity. He can't be ruled out even if the Merc turns out to the slower car.

Both Ferrari and Red Bull will take Merc down to the wire. They should make progress with the reliability and hopefully this time Red Bull won't start on any kind of back foot. Ricciardo should not be over looked, but given half a chance I suspect Verstappen could be unstoppable if the equipment doesn't let him down.

Force India are a great little team, maybe even the most cost effective team in F1. But next year they are going to have their hands full to hold onto 4th. Team Enstone are back on the upward trend and they should make big inroads next season. With Renault power, McLaren too ought to be back to instant podium contention perhaps maybe even the odd cheeky win for Alonso. Unless it's been an elaborate bluff and Honda played a blinder.

I'd love to see Williams make a recovery and leapfrog back to 2014 style. But I can't see it happening. The driver line up will be too weak.. and smart as he is I don't see Lowe magically fixing the engineering weaknesses which has seen them steady slide back down the mid-field.

Hass is a decent enough little team, but being effectively as much as a customer team as it's possible to be without actually having a complete customer car it will be difficult to really progress any further up the field. But they ought to be in a good fight with Williams and Sauber who have a chance to lift themselves back up off the floor.

Toro Rosso could become the new tailend charlie. The car will be respectable enough.. but that Honda though...

Ultimately I see three distinct classes next year.

Class one:
Merc, Red Bull & Ferrari

Class two:
McLaren, Force India & Renault

Class three:
Williams, Hass, Sauber & Toro Rosso.

Yeah the halo is a non-issue. I don't like it and haven't met anyone who does, but it's stupid not to have it. I'm rather surprised that some of the drivers are as against it as they appear (the cynic in me assumes that it's their employers that are against it, as it means significant modifications to the cooling, and the drivers are just toeing the line - in terms of performance it barely affects the drivers in any way). I've said for many years now, but we get complacent in F1 and only take action when something serious happens. It's ugly as @#$%&, but if it potentially saves 1 life then it's proved its worth many times over.

F1 used to have the driver sat in a cocoon of fuel. They didn't even wear seatbelts or have full-face helmets. Times change. We'll get used to it.

I agree too that Mercedes will be stronger next year. We've had Ferrari giving us a much needed boost for most of this year, but when it came down to it it was too much. Mercedes took a bit of a risk last winter, introducing the bus that they did, so I fully imagine that they will bring along a much-refined version for 2018. They've got so much in potential in hand it's silly. And their engine is still way ahead of everyone else's. It won't be as close as this season and Hamilton will win the title with as many races to spare.

Force India have been brilliant. Utterly brilliant. Their budget must be half to 2/3 of Williams, but they've wiped the floor with them this year. I will guess a decent investment in them before the end of 2018...

Renault haven't shocked. I said before the season that they'd make decent strides through the year, and while they are still shy of Red Bull and even McLaren on occasion, they're starting to look like the works team they are. The Lotus years and lack of investment, from what was a fantastic team when Raikkonen was there, has hurt a lot, but they're starting to reap the rewards of investment again. They're not going to leap to the front next year, and I expect them to still be behind Red Bull and McLaren, but they're moving forward and I expect the seat that Sainz is in will be highly coveted for 2019.

gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Force India have been brilliant. Utterly
> brilliant. Their budget must be half to 2/3 of
> Williams, but they've wiped the floor with them
> this year. I will guess a decent investment in
> them before the end of 2018...

I'm not convinced they'll manage to get more investment, but they will be watching what Liberty propose about cost capping and revenue distribution keenly. The sad thing is that Ferrari will throw a major hissy fit in desperation to hold onto their privileged position within the sport. They would be terrified if they had to contend with similar conditions and resources as Force India.. and for good reason too. Force India would beat them. Force India would be title contenders if the playing field was more level.

I think Renault will depose Force India next season, as, pace wise, they had a very strong end to the year (Hulkenberg was my driver of the race on Sunday, corner cutting aside). If they can improve reliability then Renault should be 4th or 5th best depending on where McLaren slot in.

Alfa Romeo to return to F1 with Sauber

The Sauber F1 Team have signed a multi-year technical and commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo, returning the Italian car manufacturer to F1 after an absence of more than 30 years.

he deal will see the Swiss squad renamed Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team from 2018

Welcome Back Alfa Romeo

The Real Story of the Race was that the Renault's fell apart and the Ferrari's didn't.
Rosberg headed for the sliproad and retired, probably because of Nicotin starvation they have still not given him a helmet with a little hole in it.

Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson confirmed at Sauber

Formula 2 champion Leclerc makes step up to replace Pascal Wehrlein as Ericsson holds on to seat; 2018 Sauber to run in colours of new title sponsor Alfa Romeo with concept livery revealed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2017 04:13PM by madotter.

Leclerc number 16 not 37

willams to keep stroll and to name other driver in jan.

Indeed Lance Stroll has been confirmed!

Williams set to reveal second driver in January, who do we think will be along side him? Robert Kubica? Sergey Sirotkin? Felipe Massa AGAIN? Paul Di Resta? Daniil Kvyat? Pascal Wehrlein?

Slightly off topic, and excuse me if I'm wrong, but is it a Brabham of the 70's pictured in the Alfa-Sauber-Ferrari presentation behind the new car livery ? And if I'm correct isn't it Carlos Pace helmet we can see on board ?

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Quote
EricMoinet
Slightly off topic, and excuse me if I'm wrong, but is it a Brabham of the 70's pictured in the Alfa-Sauber-Ferrari presentation behind the new car livery ? And if I'm correct isn't it Carlos Pace helmet we can see on board ?

Well the only drivers to drive a Brabham-Alfa with the number 8 were Carlos Pace and Hans Stuck, so it must be one of them (in 1976 or 1977).

New Red Bull Racing logo added.

WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING CONFIRMS SERGEY SIROTKIN TO JOIN LANCE STROLL IN 2018

See full story here

That's some heavy HP gaming machine. How does GP4 run on it and/or what settings or mods did you have to make to set GP4 up on it? My old XP box is getting tired and I'll need a replacement before too long. Thanks

Ferrari seem to have dropped the Marlboro-esque Scuderia logo



in favour of the tradition shield version.



No sign of the old one on their Twitter or official website.

sirotkin number 35 not 41

pics of kimi's new helmet


[www.motorsportweek.com]

2018 tracks added with dates, race start times and where you can watch it live!