OK, the 2011 season is over. Now is the time to place your bets for 2012. Who is the World driving champion and who wins the World constructor championship.... AND WHY. You can't just pick one at random. You have to have a reason for your belief.
Red Bull dominated and remains intact, I think you have to favor them. I don't know how any rules changes might upset that.
I'm going with Vettel WDC and Red Bull WCC again. Vettel is just driving perfectly almost every time he goes out on the track. The regulation changes aren't going to be drastic enough for next year to really change anything I feel, and they have Newey who I think will be able to do the best job of interpreting the new regulations. Not going out on a limb here but it just seems reasonable to me.
Ferrari. Alonso: Because Ferrari are running out of things to celebrate with badges and special edition cars. If not, we'll soon have a "Alonso made it to work on time" 599 Limited Edition. And that sentence will create and very large and unattractive badge.
Lol, yeah Ferrari's limited edition road cars named after F1 achievements don't work too well anymore. The 599 "10 consecutive 5th place qualifying edition"
LOL. please explain the "AM I TWOT". LOL. That will be cool. The "Dominicalli has a new favorite restaurant" 458 Special Edition will be sought after as well.
Simple answer, Adrian Newey, and if you believe, karma. Ferrari will be an also ran until Alonso's contract expires and a driver of his unparallelled skill but with class and conscience replaces him. And also Luca leaves. Luca is an ass waiting to fart. Not to forget, Vettel is just an incredibly disciplined driver unlike any other on the grid. Especially for his age. He will only mature, and that means he should only get better. Possibly Hamilton will outgrow his diapers, but after getting whomped by his mild mannered teammate, I am not sure Hamilton has the huevos. So to answer the question, I see 2012 as another Red Bull year, with a few threats by McLaren, and even Mercedes.
For sure, I don't think there is another driver anywhere near as dedicated as Vettel is right now. You would never see another driver sit on the pit wall and try to help his team out the whole race like Vettel did after his puncture in Abu Dhabi. I've heard hes usually the first to arrive and last to leave the track, no one seems to be able to match his dedication and passion for F1 right now.
I don't know who will lead next year, but I know this... -If it's Ferrari, everyone will say they knew Ferrari was going to be dominant again -If it's Red Bull, everyone will say they knew Newey and Vettel would unbeatable again -If it's McLaren, everyone will say they knew McLaren was ripe for a resurgence and Hamilton was too F1 fans have the attention span of golfish. Last year when Vettel had his crash with Webber, we heard how he just wasn't mature enough for the place he found himself in, and how the smart thing for the team to do would be to order Webber to be given the chance. Of course, when Webber flubbed the season, that line of reasoning went real quiet Remember, when MS had his season that he won almost all the races, he was magnanimous and looked utterly sporting and capable as well. Everyone thought the Ferrari dominance would never end and Michael couldn't fail. The next year, when Schumacher was coming apart at the seams as he battled the lower-pack Jaguar, all that changed. I am not nearly as convinced the RBR will be so dominant next year. And if it's not, you will see Vettel run into the same issues every other WDC has (Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso, JV, etc) when things went from good to bad - they get aggressive, frustrated. And when that happens, everyone will say Vettel experienced too much win too soon, and if only he came up through the ranks, etc, etc, etc. Goldfish, I tell ya! As for next year, either McLaren or Ferrari - gotta go with the numbers
I think Red Bull will be among the front runners with Vettel, but not as easy as this year. I wouldn't mind seeing him as a triple world champ next year! I'm sure Mclaren will do something but they seem to have spent quite a lot on development of this car in the last 8 races or so, much more than Red Bull has done. I hope Button will outscore Hamilton again . Ferrari won't be of any significance and it'll be about the same as this year, mainly because they want to keep it an all Italian team (minus the drivers, of course) and we all know that doesn't work. Domenicalli needs the sack, and he needs it quick. If they want to keep him in the company give him a broom or something so he can sweep the floors. Put someone in his place with at least half a brain and by 2014 they'll be running way upfront again. Mercedes will be giving Ferrari a lot of grief and occasionally the Mclarens. Expect the same Rosberg, qualifying up front and then average during the race. I'm hoping for a good amount of podiums for Schumacher so he can consider staying in 2013 as well.
Agree. I bet Andreas that it won't be a Vettel title next year but we'll see. I wouldn't be shocked at all if he claimed his 3rd straight, either. Roll on 2012!
+1 and FA said they need to make up .5-.6 to be with the leaders. For me is RedBull, Mclaren and Ferrari as Manufacturer's lineup Drivers will be Vettel, Button and LH as the top 3. Wilcard is Mercedes just for fun. From the BBC after the race: "Red Bull's advantage in Brazil was bigger than it has been in recent races, which is a worrying sign for their rivals." They have been testing next years components already. Others as well of course.
+1 However, history tells us it's incredibly difficult to win 3 in a row. Fangio got 4 ('54-'57) and Michael 5 (2000 - 2004). Nobody else has more than 2 and that's been done many times. It really would be quite the achievement if they can pull it off. I'm still not willing to bet against them though..... Cheers, Ian
Racking luck?!..... I presume that's similar to racing luck? Hopefully Adrian will do something bizarre and it won't work once it gets on the track. But, as you said, not much to hang your hat on. Cheers, Ian
I'd go with similar to this year, although Mclaren and Ferrari will be much closer to the bulls on pace, having said that if Newey keeps one step ahead as it still seems, forget it. Tyres seem to me to play one of the biggest factor, and who can get the most out of them, either heat in to them quickly and making them last, on the various compounds.
With the exception of drastic rule changes and somebody finding a pot of gold (Brawn F1) the teams normally pick up where they left off the previous year. Interlagos showed how dominant the RB still is: Whether the gearbox problem was real or not, the fact remains that they pulled off a 1-2 victory which never was in doubt. Also the driver transfer market was surprisingly dull this season, so no important changes coming from there either. Ergo: 2012 will be a repeat of 2011 (not accounting for any fluke driver accident which leaves somebody injured)
F1 cars are a game of technique and efficiency in aerodynamic design. When something does not massively change then no, the order the following season does not change much. Newey is a clever fellow, but their cars and I would wager a large amount of their data sits with what I believe to be a relic of '11 setup, which is: soft front end with a ton of rake and a very planted rear end. RB is losing 30-50 points of rear end downforce which is going to have to change their entire configuration paradigm as the cars internal packaging is going to have to change as well (weight distribution rules too). Unless RB has something up their sleeve to replant their rear end with the loss of the EBD then they will not be as successfull in '12. Someone quote me later. Macca is in the same boat as their '11 contender relied heavily on very new technology with the U sidepods and once they get back to a traditional configuration they will be somewhat behind the 8 ball, but being Mclaren they will make it work. Ferrari is cracking on but I worry for their future. If they slip again next year I fear it will be another long drought for them. MB is a shot in the dark right now as their team is just now built to championship staff which probably will not affect '12 too much. Bob Bell has been literally hibernating with the design team working on W03 since early this year and they have tons and tons of test time saved up from this year which they can use for W03. Brackley people have also said W03 has a new and very innovative radiator layout which of course has me madly curious considering the double radiator design was very innovative as well. The W02 rear suspension configuration with the semi-active dampers was no doubt the class of the field so I truly hope to see a continuation of that excellent technology. Ask anyone at Brackley MB operations who the head driver is with MB and they will all have the same answer which is of course; Schu.
