2007. Begining of new F1 era.

2007 will see a new begining. One tire supplier, engine freeze and 'voluntary' testing limit, plus a few changes in engine supplies, not to speak of drivers swaps.

Team by team, here are my predictions:

-Ferrari still among the best 3 teams, but don't expect domination. Ross Brawn's sabatical will be felt by the absence of the team's tactician. Raikkonen will take time to gel with the team, and could be overshadowed by Massa, at the begining. Raikkonen, unlike MS, won't spend much time at Maranello, just turning up for testing and at the races. Should fight for the title, one would expect.

-McLaren-Mercedes. The team will have to regroup with 2 new drivers. Volatile Alonso will bring a culture shock to the British team. Irregular performances, but among the 3 top teams if Mercedes engines reliability improves.

-Renault. Renault will be on the decline, with increasing budget constrains and no more technical breakthrough. Fisi will be found more disappointing than ever.

-Honda. Will hold station: I wouldn't expect much improvement from them and even more reliability problems. Button will get more frustrated, and Barichello contemplating early retirement.

-Toyota. The team's effort to improve, will be let down by the continuous lack of pace by the 2 drivers. Ralf's form will start to be questionned. Question mark over the long term future of this outfit.

-Williams. The Toyota engines will bring some reliability, and Williams will climb back from the brink after a disastrous 2006 season; still a long way to go.

-Sauber-BMW. This is the team I expect to make the most progress in 2007. Theyssen's gamble to split with Williams will have paid off and bring success to BMW - at last. Heidfelt and Kubica putting some strong races, and BMW among the best 3 teams.

-Red Bull. Recruiting Adrian Newey will bring some modest success, and Webber will outclass Coulthard straightaway. Some good results, but Coulthard will quit at the end of the season.

-Toro Rosso. I don't see much improvement there for this team which is first and foremost a mobile advertising board for Red Bull. Berger will grow more and more dissanchanted with his half-share of the team.

-Spyker. Not much to expect in 2007 after recent take-over. Gascoyne's work will be felt later, in 2008 maybe. Kolles will be sacked. Yet to prove that the Dutch owners will do better than Schnaider.

-Super Aguri. Apart from carrying the Japanese flag 100%, not much to expect there. Should be right at the bottom with drivers playing musical chairs.

 

I agree. I really hope to see BMW-Sauber do well. I think there will be a pretty big learning curve for Kimi, but will get semi-used to it after a few races. I think Massa will continue to be a great #2 driver, and he WILL finish better than Kimi in multiple races. If it gets bad for Kimi, Massa might just go for wins instead of making sure that the other cars don't get in front of the #1 Ferrari driver by the first turn. I think Massa is a lot better driver than other people take him as. I also see Alonso continuing to be a great driver, but then the McLaren grenade engines will explode into a long trail of smoke at the exit of a turn. Finally, I see Renault as a team that will be right above average. Fisi just doesn't impress me much.

Just my $.02

-John

 

Ferrari will dominate next year. The switch to Bridgestone for Renault, McLaren, Honda and BMW will leave them in the lurch for the beginning of the season. That's all Ferrari will need. The only possible challenge could come from Toyota, and I don't think that's going to happen. The season could really turn into a Ferrari rout.

It could be a very boring year.

 

With Renault, why do I get the feeling that 2007 will be reminiscent of 1996?

 

I agree, but the boredom will come mainly from ever more restrictive rules..

 

18 Races
18 Victories for Scuderia Ferrari
18 Great Weekends
18 Ferrari 1 - 2
18 Bridgestone 1 - 2

Kimi wins his first world championship!

 

Mclaren
Honda
Ferrari
Renault
BMW
Red Bull
Toyota
Williams


Projected standings.