I dont have enough faith in McLaren to believe, at this stage, that Alonso will win the championship again this coming season.

His replacement at Renault is a No.2, thus promoting a former No. 2 to the No.1 spot - or rather, demoting Renault from a front running team to a BAR Honda.

I've long felt, against some fierce denial on these forums, that Kimi's biggest weekness (over driving under pressure) is Ferrari's greatest strength, and that the Kimi-Ferrari combination is going to be a killer.

For me I think Kimi is the driver most likely to win next year.

The driver I would like to see winning is Lewis Hamilton. Of course he's a rookie so he wont, and I dont particularly support him, but as minnows go starting in a McLaren gives him a very real opportunity to come out running without pulling any punches. I still have happy memories of Jean Alesi's first race slinging his Tyrrell round Detroit (or was it Dallas) alongside Ayrton Senna... Ahh happy days, 19 of those please Lewis .

I believe Kimi is the favourite, however this season might resemble those days when the williams was the best car, but somehow they didn't manage to scoop the title easily, like with Damon Hill and JAcques, because Schumi was there fighting and causing trouble (in a good sense I mean, except for Jerez 1997). Kimi will need some time to fit in, I think Alonso will be better at the start, might adapt easier, he might be able to build up a small lead in the championship, but eventually Kimi will turn things over and if the car won't fail him, he will be the champion.

I hope Albers or Doornbos (who could get a seat maybe) gets first in the championship...

If that doesn't (most probably) I think Raïkkönen (not sure about the ï and ö) is FTW. He did had the most bad luck...

I don't like the idea, but Massa is the one to beat this year. Not in terms of talent (he's not even in the top 10 of drivers currently in F1 imo), but because he knows his way around his team better than any of the other top team drivers.

Fisichella might give him a run for his money, but only if he can get his head out of the sand.

Alonso will retire from more races than he finishes
Kimi will be quick, but won't find his feet at Ferrari early enough to make a HUGE impression
Kovalainen will be quick, but not experienced enough
Hamilton will be mind blowingly fast at the first race, car permitting, then fade into obscurity afterwards.

Massa ftw, despite Räikkönen being fast, Massa will prove to be faster.

Quote :

I hope Albers or Doornbos (who could get a seat maybe) gets first in the championship...

Isn't Albers the one who keeps spamming the drivers meeting for someone to send him a setup?

Weren't they supposed to be getting slick tyres this year from a single manufacturer or was it canned? I only see references to having Bridgestone as the sole supplier of tyres, but nothing about slicks.

It'll be fun watching the understeer brigade going through tyre set after tyre set...

Realistically speaking, I think tristancliffe has a point about Massa having the advantage of familiarity above all other drivers. Fisichella will have to get used to a new Renault wearing Bridgestones - so whatever possible advantage he would of had is rather slim.

Quote from Becky Rose :

Isn't Albers the one who keeps spamming the drivers meeting for someone to send him a setup?

Nah, he's the one that's got lag problems all the time.

my outside bet will be Webber, on paper Red Bull have the best car and best team next year.

However i think Massa or Kimi will win it...

I'd say Button because without Schumi- or Alonso in a decent car- to beat, he could take the championship.

Hamilton's entrance could also push him to race better as Button doesn't want to become another Henman, outshone by a younger rival.

Heart says kimi, head says Massa or Kimi

Another thread on this here.

If Massa is able to be inspired for the next year he has some chances to win. Probably Alonso will have a hard year if the McLaren doesn't get better, if he is able to tame the engine and take care of it he will probably be in the final podium.

And for Hamilton, he doesn't deserve the seat, Pedro would have been a better choice. I know having two spanish drivers in a team would be hard to assume, but I really enjoy the way he fights for positions, he added a great fun factor to some of the races, wich lately have been a bit boring.

IMO

Webber ftw

and im curious into how the hell button could win a championship and why on earth everyone likes him

1. he sucks and got lucky in Hungary
2. He drives a honda

nuff said lol

Quote :

Pedro would have been a better choice.

I actually quite like Pedro, but sometimes his head isn't in it, and other times he's like a gazelle on steroids - he's a bit too much of an Alesi to ever win the championship in my view, but he's great to watch when he's on it.

FWIW these are the current odds (bwin):

Quote :

Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren) 2.40
Kimi Räikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 2.75
Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 6.00
Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Renault) 18.00
Jenson Button (GBR/Honda) 20.00
Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA/Renault) 25.00
Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Honda) 30.00

(all others have 60+, Hamilton not included at all)
So.. who is the #1 @ Renault?
Alonso's chances seem overrated, but I guess that's just the "reigning champion bonus".

Quote from Becky Rose :

I actually quite like Pedro, but sometimes his head isn't in it, and other times he's like a gazelle on steroids - he's a bit too much of an Alesi to ever win the championship in my view, but he's great to watch when he's on it.

Yeah, he is not the kind of driver that wins a champioship, but he really adds a lot to the sport when has a good day

I think Kimi will be able to beat Massa, he's easily the better qualifier, and will prove to be the better racer. I think Kovaleinen will beat Fisi cleanly, and the Renault will again be a great car. The Mclaren will keep breaking down, so not a real shot at the championship for Alonso. Honda might win a race within the next 7 years.

Webber?! That's a bit optimistic.. I think he will win at monaco this year though

I think it could well be Massa. He's underrated by a lot of people.

Quote from Eldanor :

Yeah, he is not the kind of driver that wins a champioship, but he really adds a lot to the sport when has a good day

I remember being in Spain watching a Grand Prix and an Arrows entered the kitty litter, whome Pedro was driving for at the time, and the commentator was like, "NNOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo,,,,,,,,,.......... Oh that's ok it's his team mate". I laughed by head off, you just didn't get that kind of bias with the BBC... These days of course we have ITV.

Is F1 still being taken seriously? Seems so. Despite my saying 'I'm not going to watch this boring crap anymore' I expect I will, just like every year since Noah launched his boat!

Quote from Mr.Ferret :

and im curious into how the hell button could win a championship and why on earth everyone likes him

1. he sucks and got lucky in Hungary
2. He drives a honda

nuff said lol

Right time to defend my home team.

Jesnon Button is a capible driver to take the crown, why you ask? Well first of all, his win at Hungary was by far not a fluke but a fantastic team effort, Button kept his cool as other driver's lost their concentration, Kimi colliding with Liuzzi for example. Then the Honda team kept their cool under intense pressure during the pit stops whilst others, Renault for example didn't. (This shows when Alonso DNF"s thanks to a loose wheel nut) Honda are practially built around Jenson like Ferrari was to Schumacher, Barrichello complained of inconsistant handling during the first few races, Button on the other hand came 4th and 3rd in the first two races..

Secondly, who was the highest points scorer in the final 6 races? (Hungary, Turkey, Italy, China, Suzuka and Brazil.) Yep Jenson, 35 points in total with his lowest finish a 5th at Monza. He beat the likes of Alonso (34), M Schumacher (32) and Raikkonen (16). Consistancy pays off well.

Thirdly, the car. Honda have improved dramatically from their lowest point of the season (France IMO), from the 7 grand prix's after the French, Honda scored a total of 54 points, 10 points less than Renault from the same races, 8 less than Ferrari but 33 points more than McLaren, Honda more than doubled their points tally in 7 races. I'n the recent tests at Barcelona, Honda have shown their long stint performance to be both fast and reliable, yesterday infact, Rubens Barrichello completed 115 laps whilst Christian Klien completed 105 laps, totalling 220 laps without a failure of any kind. Barrichello ended the day 5th with Klien 10th.

Finally, Jenson has changed since his win in Hungary, I dunno if I'm the only one who has noticed but in the last 6 races he was incredibly consistant (Turkey he was 4th for the whole race, catching 3rd) but also fast when needed to be, (Final stint at Brazil put him within striking distance of Alonso come the chequard flag.) If he could just tidy up his qualifying a bit, he could become a very sound, all-round driver. And he is still only 26..

My two cents.

Quote from Serpentine :

I think it could well be Massa. He's underrated by a lot of people.

He certainly is. One interesting aspect to Massa's development is that he has formerly been a test driver for Ferrari. He has had a lot of experience at testing Michael's setups (test drivers often have to emulate a driver's style so that feedback is more relevant) and has had some "coaching" from the legend while he was a team mate. In the last 12-18 months Massa has adopted many aspects of Michael's style and has also shown maturity on the track. We already know he can drive very fast and very consistently. Massa has stated that he won't be taking the backseat to Kimi and that he will try to win the championship. I think Kimi has his work cut out for him in 2007 and will need to give his all to compete with or best Massa.

Quote from Bee :

Right time to defend my home team.

Jesnon Button is a capible driver to take the crown, why you ask? Well first of all, his win at Hungary was by far not a fluke but a fantastic team effort, Button kept his cool as other driver's lost their concentration, Kimi colliding with Liuzzi for example. Then the Honda team kept their cool under intense pressure during the pit stops whilst others, Renault for example didn't. (This shows when Alonso DNF"s thanks to a loose wheel nut) Honda are practially built around Jenson like Ferrari was to Schumacher, Barrichello complained of inconsistant handling during the first few races, Button on the other hand came 4th and 3rd in the first two races..

Secondly, who was the highest points scorer in the final 6 races? (Hungary, Turkey, Italy, China, Suzuka and Brazil.) Yep Jenson, 35 points in total with his lowest finish a 5th at Monza. He beat the likes of Alonso (34), M Schumacher (32) and Raikkonen (16). Consistancy pays off well.

Thirdly, the car. Honda have improved dramatically from their lowest point of the season (France IMO), from the 7 grand prix's after the French, Honda scored a total of 54 points, 10 points less than Renault from the same races, 8 less than Ferrari but 33 points more than McLaren, Honda more than doubled their points tally in 7 races. I'n the recent tests at Barcelona, Honda have shown their long stint performance to be both fast and reliable, yesterday infact, Rubens Barrichello completed 115 laps whilst Christian Klien completed 105 laps, totalling 220 laps without a failure of any kind. Barrichello ended the day 5th with Klien 10th.

Finally, Jenson has changed since his win in Hungary, I dunno if I'm the only one who has noticed but in the last 6 races he was incredibly consistant (Turkey he was 4th for the whole race, catching 3rd) but also fast when needed to be, (Final stint at Brazil put him within striking distance of Alonso come the chequard flag.) If he could just tidy up his qualifying a bit, he could become a very sound, all-round driver. And he is still only 26..

My two cents.

Hell think i just dont like Button man caus of 2 things

1st. Commentary bias! like somone said earlier bout pedro its just awfull. "uh yes im down here in the pits with Jenson button OH MY GOD!! JENSON HAS STARTED THE CAR UP HES ON HIS PRACTICE LAP MY GOD!!... 5 minutes later This just in we have an update from the pits. THIS JUST IN JENSON IS BACK IN THE PITS AND HAS CHANGED TYRES REPEATE CHANGED TYRES HES GONNA WIN THE RACE NOW!!... i really dont like that guy on the itv commentary in the pits...

2. He rear ended me when i was winning the Aus GP in F1 06 ggrrr

Quote from Mr.Ferret :

1st. Commentary bias! like somone said earlier bout pedro its just awfull. "uh yes im down here in the pits with Jenson button OH MY GOD!! JENSON HAS STARTED THE CAR UP HES ON HIS PRACTICE LAP MY GOD!!... 5 minutes later This just in we have an update from the pits. THIS JUST IN JENSON IS BACK IN THE PITS AND HAS CHANGED TYRES REPEATE CHANGED TYRES HES GONNA WIN THE RACE NOW!!... i really dont like that guy on the itv commentary in the pits...

Of course but you'd expect that from any commentator, I bet down under, Mark Webber is spoken about in the same way, as is Sato in Japan or the Schumachers in Germany or Alonso in Spain or Raikkonen in Finland.

Quote from Bee :

Of course but you'd expect that from any commentator, I bet down under, Mark Webber is spoken about in the same way, as is Sato in Japan or the Schumachers in Germany or Alonso in Spain or Raikkonen in Finland.

Yeah but we dont yell and scream and get an update on webbo every 5 seconds... prolly caus we dont have anyone from the pits lol!...bah the only thing out commentators get to do is the Aus GP really.