What is your prediction for the next season?

Maybe I'm writing this thread too early, but I want to know if you see the same as me.
Anyway here is my prediction:

McLaren with worldchampion FA and maybe Gary Paffet. Alonso has got a good chance to win the campionsship for the 3rd time, but it depends on Mercedes. I see McLaren as no 1 or sadly as a big loser like this year.
Renault with Kovalainnen and Fisichella, I don't know how Renault will be motivated but I know that Fisichella isn't as fast as Alonso, thats why I see this team on 2 or 3 place.
The same for Ferrari. Of corse Massa and Raikkonnen are hell fast, but I don't like the actual situation (Todt leaves, Ross Brawn, too...).
BMW thats a team I would say no 1 as well. Fast and safe with good drivers Kubica and Heidfeld. We'll see.
Honda, sorry no idea... .
Toyota... the same as this season. But maybe they'll build finally a good car. Could be a big surprise.
Williams. New engine: Toyota. I know this 100%, but I'm not really sure about the Renault designer.If they really bought him. And I don't know who'll take another cockpit near Rosberg. So it sounds like little revolution that I don't know in which way it goes.
Red Bull, Torro Rosso, Spyker and Super Aguri. From those teams I think only Red Bull will doing a big step towards.
... and the next season we'll maybe see the 12th F1 team.

So all in all it'll be exiting and I hope McLaren can do that.

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In order of fow well the teams do in Constructors championship:

1. Ferrari narrowly miss out on drivers title with Raikkonen and win constructors title. Massa 3rd in championship.
2. McLaren with Alonso and Hamilton, as two Spaniards wouldn't be good for their image, with Alonso taking the title narrlowly from Raikkonen. Hamilton with a bad debut year similar to Rosberg's, but with a few brilliant races. 6th or lower in championship for Hamilton.
3. Renault are like Honda are in 2005 - fighting for podiums and maybe looking good for a win at one or two races. Fisichella marginally better than Kovalienen.
4. Red Bull - make a big leap forward with Newey car, but rest of team let them down with inexperience at the front. Coulthard and Webber are very equally matched.
5. Honda are similar on pace to Red Bull but less reliable. Button again slightly quicker than Barrichello.
6. BMW, although promising, only get 6th in championship. Kubica again does brilliantly in only his second year, more than a match for Heidfeld, might even be quicker than him all year.
7. Williams do well with Wurz, who gets some very good races, maybe even close to podium. Rosberg dissapoints.
8. Toyota make another step backward. Reliable and quick at times.
9. Super Aguri Are consistently quicker than the backmarkers, but unreliability lets them down.
10. Spyker battle with Toro Rosso.
11. Toro Rosso, back into Minardi mode.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2006 10:49PM by flat tyre.

Raikkonen to win the championship with 4 rounds to spare, massa 2nd alonso and kovolainen having a close scrap for 3rd, fisichella and button 5th and 6th and hamilton coming home in 7th.

Raikkonen to win minimum of 9 races, alonso 3, massa 3, and kovolainen and hamilton both winning 1.

bmw and honda fighting it out all season for 4th and 5th, toyota and redbull for 6th and 7th, super aguri to finish just behind williams, with str and spyker at the back.

fisichella to be dropped and replaced by piquet for 08'

alonso to retire 5 times and kimi just 2, massa to have perfect reliabilty.

Raikkonen and Ferrari will dominate next season , Heikki Kovalainen will have strong debut season and will win a race or even races and he will beat Fisichella very clearly.McLaren won't be very competitive but maybe will win a race drivers will be Alonso and Hamilton.Champion will be Raikkonen and he will win many races and Massa will have strong season as well but isn't going to beat Kimi .I think Kimi's closest rival will be Kovalainen.

Not biased to the Fins are you!

My prediction?

Jenson Button 2007 FORMULA 1™ WORLD CHAMPION

Need I say more?

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"I'm an artist, the track is my canvas, and the car is my brush."

Either one of the Ferrari drivers is going to become champion or Jenson Button!...Alonso..will get some podiums and some occasional wins but championship will be very very hard.

i genuinely think jenson will pull off a performance like he did in 2004.

seems the equipment is good this time around!


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

KR wins championship, FM is 2nd and then a big gap to the rest of drivers. FA will be lucky if he wins one race, the car won't be perfect and the engine must be the same as this year, no changes are allowed.

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Button is going to win or fight it with Ferrari boys, both of them!, Massa will impress everybody by keeping Kimi honest, and best of the rest will be Toyota with Ralf, BMW will be up there too

As far as Alonso, probably will win one or two races, the car won't be that good for his style

I predict Renault will start strongly, Fisichella winning a few, but as with this year their rate of development will let them down. From quite early they'll fall back, and without Alonso they won't win any more races.

Massa will start well too, he's been the most consistent scoring driver in the whole field in the second half of the season and looks like he'll be a major threat for the Championship. Following Renault's demise, he'll pick up the mantle, always a little bit ahead of Kimi, pushing them both forward.

Unlike a lot of people here, I'm not a rose-tinted-glasses-Kimi-bumming-fanboy, and looking at things realistically I predict he'll be very close with Massa, winning the occasional race but not challenging for the Championship.

McLaren will be stronger, and Alonso is the best driver on the grid now that MS is gone. Paffett won't win anything (neither with Kovaleinen OT) but Alonso should pick up a few race wins, will be the "new Kimi" with regard to 2005. Fast enough to challenge, but not reliable enough to win the title.

Ferrari should take both titles.

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Ferrari - Massa and Raikkonen will fight for the championship with Massa winning it! Raikkonen finishes second.
Honda - Honda gains the momentum back. Button wil win another race or 2. Barrichello wil disapoint (again). Button will fight with Alonso for third.
McLaren - With two new drivers in their team, 2 time champ Alonso and a rising talent Hamilton, the team will get a boost of motivation. Alonso will win two or three races, not ready to fight for the championship yet in the McLaren. Hamilton will have a reasonable season compared to WC Alonso. No wins but a few podiums.
BMW - Nice driver line-up. Kubica rookie of the year and the experience of Heidfeld. They will continue to rise up to the top three. A couple of podiums. They'll score around...70 points?

The rest is hard to tell hehe... Red Bull will have a quiker car than '06 but not reliable enough. Super Aguri will gain a place or 2 (on the Torro Rosso's en Spyker) Toyota won't impress again. Williams will strugle. Spyker and Torro Rosso are getting closer to the midfield but not enough...

I think Kimi will destroy Massa just like he did with Montoya.Massa is a great driver but not yet Kimi's class.Well will be interesting to follow winter testing and how Kimi and Alonso will perform with their cars.

webber singlehandidly wins drivers and constructors title forvred bull

Red Bull will not win. lol.

People are automatically thinking they will be quick with a Newey car, but his influence wont give them a winning car. I mean did it with Mclaren with more money, better people around him etc?

Redbull will improve, but they will not trouble the top teams, who imo will be close between Ferrari, Mclaren and Honda.

IF Honda dont get the 2007 season right, they should pack up and go. There is absolutley no reason whatsoever why they shouldnt be strong.

Mclaren well...i hope they can pull something out of the bag.

Ferrari are Ferrari, even without MS and Brawn.

Renault i can see struggling, but with a good car. I cant see their drivers being up to it, not yet at least.

But this thread made me look back at last years predictions, and I must say i had a rather cheeky grin on my face when I read the comments

However way to early to predict. So dont quote me. This year im waiting till at the end of lap 58 of Australia.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

ferrari to win every race with kimi and massa dont see anyone getting close as the rest have to many changes

Honda?

And Ferrari have more changes than Mclaren :P

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

chet Wrote:
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> Honda?
>
> And Ferrari have more changes than Mclaren :P


I don't think Ferrari have more changes than McLaren,McLaren will have 2 new drivers and completely new desing team because also Mike Coughlan will leave the team.

Oh, ok thankyou.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

vesuvius Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> chet Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Honda?
> >
> > And Ferrari have more changes than Mclaren :P
>
>
> I don't think Ferrari have more changes than
> McLaren,McLaren will have 2 new drivers and
> completely new desing team because also Mike
> Coughlan will leave the team.

Can you post a link with that news please? i never seen it before..


Paddy Lowe
Engineering Director, McLaren Racing

Paddy Lowe graduated with an engineering degree from Cambridge University in 1984. In 1987 Paddy, who was born on 8th April 1962, joined the Williams Formula One team as the joint Head of Electronics. He moved to McLaren in 1993 as Head of Research and Development. For eight years he ran the Research and Development department, later renamed ‘Vehicle Technology’. In 2001, he was appointed Chief Engineer – Systems Development. This was a role focused on the specification and development of the race programme for the MP4-20. In May 2005 Paddy was appointed Engineering Director, taking responsibility for all of the engineering departments within McLaren Racing.


Neil Oatley
Design and Development Director, McLaren Racing

Neil Oatley graduated with an Automotive Engineering degree from Loughborough University in 1976. Late in 1977 Neil, who was born 12th June 1954, took a position in the drawing office of the Williams Formula One team as a design draughtsman, and during the seven years spent with the team he also assumed the role of a race engineer. At the end of 1984 Neil was recruited to be the Joint Chief Designer of the Force F1 team and two years later he joined McLaren. In 1988 Neil was promoted to Chief Designer, in charge of the design group for the following years’ challenger, the MP4/5. Neil's current role as Design and Development Director has him overseeing the car specification and design programme, defining the specification for each race and supervising the build and approval processes for each new component.


Mike Coughlan
Chief Designer, McLaren Racing

Mike Coughlan, born 17th February 1959, gained a degree in mechanical engineering from Brunel University in 1981. Mike’s first position within motorsport was with racing car manufacturers, Tiga. After five years he moved to Lotus, with the Type 95 being the first car Mike was involved in. In 1990 Mike joined the Benetton Formula One team where he was appointed Head of the Design Office. A year later, Mike began working for Tyrrell and assumed the role of race engineer; his next position saw him join Ferrari Design and Development (FDD) in Surrey, England. In 1998 Mike moved to the Arrows Formula One team, his initial role was Chief Designer and by 2000 Mike had progressed to Technical Director. In August 2002, Mike joined McLaren Racing as Chief Designer, and is responsible for the management of the design team.


Tim Goss
Chief Engineer MP4-21, McLaren Racing

Tim Goss has been working in Motorsport since 1986 after completing his post graduate studies in the Transient Response of Turbocharged Spark Ignition Engines at Imperial College, London. His first role within the sport was in the Motorsport section of Cosworth Engineering. In 1990 Tim, who was born 28th February 1963, joined McLaren Racing as a design engineer responsible for engine installation. During his time at McLaren Tim has taken on many roles including Project Leader for Systems, responsible for engine installation, Assistant Race Engineer to Mika Hakkinen, Chief Test Team Engineer; he was head of Vehicle Dynamics from 1998-2001 and became Chief Engineer – Powertrain in 2001, taking on responsibility for the specification and development of the vehicle’s engine and transmission. In 2005 he was appointed as Chief Engineer MP4-21 and is now responsible for the specification, research, risk management and development of the 2006 race car.


Pat Fry
Chief Engineer MP4-22, McLaren Racing

Pat Fry, born 17th March 1964, began his career in engineering in 1981 as an apprentice with Thorn EMI which saw him progressing to work with their missile programmes. Having spent time designing suspension systems for motorbikes in his free time he decided to look to motorsport for a career and joined the Benetton Formula One team in 1987, initially setting up their electronics departments and then working with their active suspension system. He moved to the Research and Development team before becoming a Test Team engineer in 1991 and a Race engineer in 1992. In 1993 he joined McLaren to develop the active suspension car and run the test team, moving to race engineering in 1995. In 2002 he was promoted to the role of Chief Engineer Race Development. Pat's current role is Chief Engineer MP4-22 responsible for the research and development of the 2007 car; this follows on from his position as Chief Engineer MP4-20.


Mark Williams
Chief Engineer Vehicle Dynamics, McLaren Racing

Mark Williams, born 7th April 1959, started his career in motor racing whilst still studying for his Mechanical Engineering degree at Imperial College, London, when during his college breaks he worked as a fabricator for his then local Formula One team, Team Ensign. Once graduated he worked as an engine designer for leading engineering technology supplier Ricardo Plc before moving into his first design role in motor racing for LOLA cars. During a 10 year period here he designed cars for a wide variety of racing series worldwide. Then following a spell of IndyCar Race engineering he joined McLaren Cars in 1996 to run the McLaren F1’s Super Touring Car engineering programme moving onto the Formula One program at the end of 1997 as a senior test team engineer. After four years on the test team he became Chief Engineer for Vehicle Development. Mark's current role as Chief Engineer Vehicle Dynamics covers all aspects of potential car performance improvement, both in the short and long term.


Dave Ryan
Race Team Manager, McLaren Racing

Dave Ryan’s interest in motor sport began with him competing in Speedway events in his home country of New Zealand. He moved to England in 1974 and joined McLaren as a mechanic in the same year, working on Jochen Mass’ car. In 1982 Dave, born 12th May 1954, was appointed chief mechanic for the team, a role he remained in for six years. In 1987 he took the position of McLaren Factory Manager until in 1990 he became the Team Manager, a role he retains today. He is responsible for the race and test team activities on track and at the McLaren Technology Centre.


Simon Roberts
General Manager, McLaren Racing

Having studied Mechanical Engineering at Manchester University, Simon Roberts, born 27th September 1962, started his career as a graduate at Perkins Engines, where he trained as a Performance Development Engineer and eventually took on the role of Head of Manufacturing Engineering. He then moved to Rover / BMW as Chief Engineer Diesel Engines with design and programme. He then joined the Powertrain Board as Director of Manufacturing Engineering and Strategy and helped merge the BMW and Rover Powertrain organisations. Following a year running gearbox & suspension plants in the UK for BMW he left to build the Pendolino tilting trains at Alstom as Operations Director and Industrial Managing Director. Simon joined McLaren Racing in September 2003 as General Manager and is responsible for coordinating the manufacture and assembly process for the race and test team, I.T and network communications, transport and logistics, quality, vehicle technology and human resources.

So Pat Fry will be the /22 maker then?