Who will be strongest in 2014?

Actually, Renault announced a few years ago when they sold their own team that from then on Red Bull would become their "official" team and that they were going put some guys at the Red Bull factory to make sure that their engine was designed with Red Bull´s needs in mind.

Also, if Ferrari and Mercedes have a lot of ground to recover, McLaren has a lot more, so I don´t think that they will close to Red Bull. Not saying that it can´t happen, but I wouldn´t bet on that.

 

Magic 8 Ball says... "Ask Again Later."

 

John, I'm somewhat surprised you're not telling us that Mercedes will with 100% certainty win everything in 2014 - seems they're in for a rough ride, then

All kidding aside, I believe we will see those with the biggest pockets at the front again, meaning: Ferrari and Red Bull, with Mercedes having them in sight.

The upper mid field (to which McLaren too belongs nowadays...) is where it gets interesting. The possibility is high that some teams may totally fail and drop behind were they are while others get their package completely right and can occasionally play with the big boys.

 

Permane from Lotus expects Red Bull and Wolff echo'd his overall point. So we have already 2 team senior members predicting Red Bull to be strong.

There was a report on BBC about FA and his future. They stated Ferrari were already having motor development problems and wanted the FIA to allow teams to have more engines for the year in 2014. Yes- who knows really.

Testing will be a huge media event this year. Why wait to speculate !!!!!

 

I think ferrari will be strong. Their driver lineup will at least make sure they are competitive

 

If the engines are relatively equal, Red Bull. Otherwise it's anyone's guess.

 

Marussia is going to be strongest.

 

Please Caterham will embarrass Red Bull from race 1!!! They are getting Kova back. We shouldnt bother watching at all!!

 

Ferrari and Alonso for WDC

 

Actually, as painful as this sounds, Newey has stated he LOVES rule changes. It allows him to really think creatively. He really hates periods where there are rules being frozen....
As for 2014, who the F knows....we all have our favorites, but it's wide open.
Kevin

 

Hopefully Ferrari can get it right finally. Been 2nd class for so many years now..

 

As much as I want Red Bull to have some real competition, the 2014 changes are not really that substantial. There are a bunch of changes but other than the engine, nothing is too crazy from what I can read and Adrian Newey will have no problem adapting.


The biggest changes in my opinion, apart from going to a V6 setup, are the central exhaust exit(end must point upwards) and the fact that gear ratios are fixed for the entire season. The problem is that all the teams are facing this same design challenge and Newey is probably the best at getting the most from these restrictions.

 

My question is how would the unions react to another year of Mercedes spending even more?

 

I'm not that concerned about the unions at this point: MB is doing well

 

Mercedes and Ferrari at the top.

 

Could you technically do this now?

 

Hmmm, I've always thought that Newey is best at taking advantage of new rule changes. His 1998 McLaren, for the first year of the grooved tires and narrow chassis, dominated the 98 season under the massive rule changes. The first year when the slick tires were re-introduced, 2009, along with big aero changes like the narrow rear wings and wide front wings, again Newey produced the best car of the field by far... For the conventional single diffuser cars. Unfortunately, Red Bull didn't think the double diffusers would be legal and missed the boat, and then had difficulty adapting a double diffuser to work with their new pull rod rear suspension. Even then, Newey was able to adapt, catch up, and by mid-season the RB was winning races.

 

You'd have to say Merc, they started earliest and with the biggest team. However, Red Bull and Ferrari will be fighting back VERY hard. Ferrari will have the strongest driver line up. If Alonso loses his **** (2007 again), it shouldn't matter much, because Kimi will quite simply ignore him...

Red Bull will not have the strongest line up, and they started quite late on their design. It'll be interesting to say the least...

 

I think Ferrari has the best chances for a WCC in 2014, but 2 strong drivers swapping positions (I think that will be the case) might give Vettel the WDC edge. We'll see. As far as other teams, MB will definitely be very close to RB and Ferrari. McLaren and Lotus are a big 'IF', but I predict they'll stay mid-field due to their driver lineup. I also agree RB might take a bit longer to catch up to Ferrari and MB, which would make the 2014 season very interesting until the end. Maybe we're underestimating RB for not making their own powertrain, but the presence of Renault at their plant could be all is needed. We'll find out soon enough . And yes, 2015 should be even better with Honda in the mix. Talking for myself, it's just a shame F1 switched to V6 and lower revs; the screaming V8 sound will be greatly missed.

 

"I enjoy regulation changes," Newey says. "Stability makes F1 very stale. The changes allow me to sit back with a fresh sheet of paper and work out solutions from first principles."