Enjoy Declaring The Team-Mate Wars Of 2008 Monday 3rd March 2008 P-F1 looks ahead to the in-house battles that will take place during the upcoming season... Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa Given that Ferrari have possessed the fastest car during winter testing, it is an oddity that Massa has received such scant attention ahead of the new season. Raikkonen may be the World Champion but the Brazilian had his measure for the majority of 2007 before his own title bid was scuppered more by misfortune than misjudgement. Massa deserves his seat at F1's top table and greater recognition. Raikkonen, bolstered by his newly-conferred status as World Champion should have the edge, but the under-rated Massa remains a decent outside bet if he can adapt quickly to the absence of traction control. Predicted Winner: Raikkonen (but Felipe's worth a flutter). McLaren: Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen Discussing who will have the upper hand at McLaren may be the red herring of the close season. The discussion should instead focus on the salient issue of which driver will drive McLaren forward in the wake of Fernando Alonso's departure. Heikki may be the perfect 'team player' to partner Lewis but is he the right driver for a team requiring leadership and the type of improvement that the more technically-savvy Fernando claimed he brought McLaren last season? Possibly not. With the two front-line drivers boasting two years of F1 experience between them, the onus is firmly on long-standing test driver Pedro de la Rosa to provide meaningful development work. On the front line, Heikki will no doubt perform competently. But neither will he destabilize the team nor cause Hamilton undue bother. Wins for Lewis and podiums for Heikki is a reasonable expectation. Predicted Winner: Hamilton. Renault: Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet junior Possibly mindful of the negative publicity his petulant behaviour provoked last year, Fernando has struck a more mellow figure since returning to Renault. The Spaniard has even claimed that he "wouldn't be disappointed" if, as expected, the team fail to mount a serious title challenge. Alonso is too competitive a character for such a sanguine reaction to become reality but, without the pressure of a title fight, neither will he cause the sort of rumpus that tore McLaren apart last summer. On a personal level, therefore, Piquet junior should not be wary of his team-mate although he may soon become weary of his pace. There's been no evidence in winter of Hamiltonesque competitiveness and the probability is that, back where he belongs, Alonso will mete out the sort of unyielding form that crushed Giancarlo Fisichella when he was last at Renault. On and off the track, 2008 should be the year that Fernando restores his battered reputation. Predicted Winner: Alonso. BMW: Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica Expect another closely-fought battle between two well-matched team-mates. The problem is that unless one of them scores a decisive advantage then the question of whether either driver is capable of propel the team into the mainstream alongside Ferrari and McLaren is bound to be raised at the end of the season. What they lack in speed compared to Kimi Raikkonen, for instance, they certainly don't make up in strength of personality. Kubica, in particular, has much to prove after being billed before 2007 as a superstar-in-waiting only to fail to make a single visit to the podium. Predicted Winner: Kubica. Williams: Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima Nakajima has been as unexpectedly competitive in winter testing compared to Rosberg as the FW30 has been against Ferrari and McLaren. The upshot is that both are being tipped to be the dark horses of 2008. Could the Japanese youngster spring a surprise over the highly-rated Rosberg? It's worth recalling that in his debut at the season-ending Brazilian GP last October, Nakajima actually set a faster race lap than his team-mate. And also that, while Rosberg finished fourth, he finished out of the points having made a few headlines by crashing into his pit crew. P-F1's prediction: Nakajima to be fast but wild, but Rosberg to prevail over the new Takuma Sato... Predicted Winner: Rosberg. Red Bull: David Coulthard and Mark Webber Webber should have the edge but so much depends on reliability. The Australian is arguably the most unlucky driver in F1 - an unfortunate tag for any driver to possess and especially one still craving a breakthrough almost five years as he was touted as Michael Schumacher's natural successor. Coulthard, the old man of the grid, is almost certainly approaching the final year of his racing career. He's more likely to go with a whimper than a bang... Predicted Winner: Webber. Toyota: Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock To state that Trulli has provided Toyota with better value for money than the deposed Ralf Schumacher is to damn him with faint praise. Trulli, along with his team, has underperformed - occasionally lighting up a race but all too often fading into obscurity. The recruitment of Glock, fresh from success in GP2, may be just the tonic. Failure is no longer an option, and Trulli must be aware that if the German has the upper hand then he will not be retained for 2009. Predicted Winner: Trulli. Toro Rosso: Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais The clash of the two Sebs should be one of the most compelling team-mate wars on the grid. Bourdais' arrival in the sport is long overdue and it will be fascinating to see how the reigning Champ Car Champ copes with the fundamentally different technical demands of an F1 charger. Toro Rosso's position near the back of the grid will also be unfamiliar territory for a driver used to winning races. And then there's Vettel, eight years Bourdais' junior, and one of the most promising talents in F1. The boy may be a very special talent...and alongside Bourdais has the perfect opportunity to prove it. Predicted Winner: Vettel. Force India: Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil A contest almost identical to the one at Toyota with an ageing Italian taking on a young German determined to make his mark against one of F1's fading powers. Sutil had a curious rookie season, delivering a couple of excellent performances to earn his retention but also exasperating technical chief Mike Gascoyne with his inconsistency. The Force India technical boss was a pivotal influence in the appointment of Fisi yet is nevertheless uncertain that, by mid-season, he will still have the upper hand on his younger team-mate. Quite how much that scenario would say about Sutil and how little of Fisi is a debate for another day. Predicted Winner: Sutil. Honda: Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello No contest. Rubens was abysmal last year and is fortunate that he still has a seat in F1. He can only have been saved by the wretchedness of the Honda he had to drive (although that still does not excuse the manner in which he drove it). Jenson excelled in near-impossible circumstances and there's no reason to expect a different set of results this year. So the prevailing question is whether Rubens will manage to last the season or if the wretchedness of the car he is driving will save him again... Predicted Winner: Button. Super Aguri: Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson If they reach the grid, expect Takuma to be his usual self (i.e. wild but fast) and Anthony to be the first driver to bite the bullet due to his nationality. Predicted Winner: Sato (by default). Pete Gill
Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa Given that Ferrari have possessed the fastest car during winter testing, it is an oddity that Massa has received such scant attention ahead of the new season. Raikkonen may be the World Champion but the Brazilian had his measure for the majority of 2007 before his own title bid was scuppered more by misfortune than misjudgement. Massa deserves his seat at F1's top table and greater recognition. Raikkonen, bolstered by his newly-conferred status as World Champion should have the edge, but the under-rated Massa remains a decent outside bet if he can adapt quickly to the absence of traction control. Predicted Winner: Raikkonen (but Felipe's worth a flutter). OK, Phil haters. Put your flame suits on!
gee i wonder why Massa has received little attention so far...err, duh, he had the best situation last year (being supposedly 'adored' by his team, and having a teammate new to his car and team), couldn't get it done. then now early on, his pace in testing has been mostly less than his WC teammate. not a good sign. oh, here' my fave part "but the under-rated Massa remains a decent outside bet if he can adapt quickly to the absence of traction control". uh huh, that's "IF" he can adapt, and also how well he can adapt relative to everyone else. it's a pretty darn big "IF". Massappeal has worn off, now if he wants greater respect/recognition, his driving on the track will have to earn it for him. not much help will be coming from elsewhere. sure, again being in one of four fastest cars will keep him in the picture, but he's now zoomed out of focus
That's the ****tiest article that has been posted on this website. The guy basically just spent a couple of hours writing down what everyone already knows, but added his own conjecture into the mix, just to give it enough ignorance that no one will take him seriously. 1 thing ****ing matters: winning. Since there are no races, the closest we have is lap times. Kimi vs. Hamilton the entire season. Will be good. We already have seen the very good article about Massa being one of the most inconsistent drivers on the grid in regard to the loss of engine braking and traction control. And we've already seen the posts about Ferrari's new management style and how much more the new team is getting behind Kimi, and how much respect Luca and Dominicali have for Kimi, and how much he has for them and their management style. It was literally said that Ferrari feels like it did when the Old Man was around, and the Todt era is, while effective, thankfully over. Or do people on here not read these things? Or do you read them and just not understand them?
I have nothing against Massa, but think last season it took Kimi a while to adapt to the new team, car, and tires. By the end of the season I thought he had. I also think the F2008 is better suited to Kimi and doubt Felipe will be as close this year.
you cant have it both ways. when articles from various places are used as a source of debate, to support driver X, you Massa lovers jump in to downplay it. when the article (read Massappeal, etc) helps support your love for Massa and not driver X, you're all for it. hmm... btw, the article that broke down how the drivers were coping--objective analytical breakdown-- without driver aids, that one is of particular interest. and yes, Massa was not looking too hot (in fact he actually looked amateurish). Melb can't come soon enough.
Haha. Yeah in regard to the same assumption everyone makes when reading something in the press: that they have access to more knowledge than us and are in a position to form opinions and represent their interpretation of their experience in an article or other form of communication. Which is more intelligent than others is less an issue of WHERE it is posted/written/viewed but rather WHO is talking the talk, and WHAT they are saying. I feel like I'm speaking to a 3rd grader. I appologize, its not meant as an insult as much as it is an observation of my past sentences (or fragments). After reading this article, written by a member of a group of people who have more access behind closed doors and who are assumed to have a wealth of first-hand knowledge, I feel that nothing enlightening or progressive has come from the article. It is a regurgitation of general assumptions and common knowledge. None of it provides valueable insight. Combine that with articles that have been posted praising Kimi and you'll see a trend that the article provides previously unseen (to the masses) information or events, a thorough (and thus fair) analysis of the other players, and insight based on first-hand knowledge and experience. Same can be said for the article I make reference to concerning the new Ferrari management. Do you need to watch Reading Rainbow or something?
Interesting to see how Giancarlo compares to Sutil. Also surprised that Kubica is expected to be better than Heidfeld, I'd say that they are essentially equal with Nicky having a slight advantage.
Wow, I haven't thought about that show in years. Thanks a lot Lindsay...now I've got that stupid theme song stuck in my head!
Sorry, I reread what I wrote and I was very angry about something, though what it is escapes me. But Reading Rainbow was just too funny not to post. That song IS super annoying. All these years later and still it gets stuck in your head!
Glad you're not angry anymore. I was able to cure the "annoying Reading Rainbow song broken record syndrome" in my head by quickly turning on my ipod. That solved the problem in no time. You're right though, I thought the Reading Rainbow reference was great!
