Who will come out on top? Ralf vs. Trulli? My pick is Ralf, if he can maintain some level of consistency. Kimi vs. Montoya? My pick is Montoya, however it will not be easy. Webber vs. Heidfeld or Pizzonia? My pick is Heidfeld, if he ends up driving. Otherwise I pick Webber over Pizzonia. JV vs. Massa? My pick is JV (my fellow countryman). Fisichella vs. Alonso? My pick is Alonso, no contest. Jenson vs. Sato? My pick is Jenson, but should be interesting.
1. Ralf (he's faster and knows what it takes to win) 2. Kimi (vey very close between him and Juan but I'd go with KR) 3. Heidfeld over Webber or Webber over Pizzonia. (Quick Nick will show what he's made of) 4. Villeneuve (this year will be his best season since he left Williams) 5. Fisichella (in terms of points..they're going to be close but I think GF will have more and maybe even a win) 6. Button (if he wants a Williams drive in 2006, he will have to continue what he did last year--Warning:Watch out for Sato in 2005--)
1. Trulli (he'll be giving Ralph fits and will feed off of Ralph's frustrations) 2. Kimi (He always seems to dig down and find those few extra tenths when he needs them) 3. Webber (He has the team and maturity to keep him above the others) 4. Massa (I'm hoping at least. Used to love Villeneuve now I loath the guy. But, for this to happen Massa will have to have better results in the first few races. Then Villeneuve will just self implode as he's done before) 5. Fissichella (FASTER than most give him credit for) 6. Sato (If his car's trouble free he'll equal or nip Button)
Ralf vs. Trulli? Both impotent and working fast towards no F1 drive, so I guess RS will take a slight advantage ... but expect team to end up with 2 mooding drivers, RS will be in the grumps while Trulli will be struggling with personal commitment again. Kimi vs. Montoya? This will be a great battle, but Kimi is Ron's darling so JPM has no chance. Kimi also is just plain faster. Webber vs. Heidfeld or Pizzonia? Webber will destroy either! JV vs. Massa? JV will win this battle, simply 'cause Massa is so far out of his depth it is embarrassing. Unfortunately though this driver pairing will be the weakness in an otherwise moving forward Sauber team. Both have to be retired. Fisichella vs. Alonso? I pick Alonso also, but am worried about his future as his fire has dimmed. Fisi is passed his F1 use by date IMO. Jenson vs. Sato? Another interesting battle. Sato has raw speed and if that can be tuned with experience, Jenson will get a fright. One to watch. The team is behind Jenson though so I guess Jenson will come out on top ... just. Coulthard vs Coulthard? Well this year DC might just surprise himself and earn some respect, but he will have to watch out for DC as DC can be a little erratic to be racing near. Pete
Ralf vs. Trulli? Ralf will beat Trulli if he can stay consistent through the year. Kimi vs. Montoya? Kimi because a) he has more experience with Mclaren and the car b) He is more consistent c) Less chance of driver errors. Montoya might be some distance behind in the first few races but will make up ground by mid-season. Webber vs. Heidfeld or Pizzonia? I would go for Heidfeld. He has been underrated for a long time. But he is super consistent in races and very quick. To be honest, my choice here is more from a sentimental standpoint than from a truly logical base. JV vs. Massa? Massa has improved a lot. Villenueve is probably more consistent but he still doesnt have the speed of old. Also Massa has experience in Bahrain while Jacques doesnt. Small point though. Fisichella vs. Alonso? For sentimental reasons I would choose Fisico. He like Heidfeld deserves a break. But I was reading in F1 racing that Fisi was struggling to get the wayward Renault to handle in the high speed corners. The car seemed more suited to the bullish Spaniard who wrestled the cars into corner than Fis who teases it into corners. Therefore it will be close fought but Fisi might dominate in the end. Jenson vs. Sato? Jenson is quicker, more consistent and more experienced. No contest.
1) This ones tough (both suck). I'll pick Ralph simply because I don't like Trulli, but it's kind of like..........whose faster Bruni or Baumgartner (no one actually remembers or cares for that matter). 2) Kimi.........JPM is there to get Kimi in shape and once that's done Ronny will let JPM selfdestruct. 3) Always been a huge Nick fan and I really hope he get's his chance, but Webber will mentally destroy Nick if he's any threat. Forget Pizza boy if he get's the drive he won't make it past Monoco before getting his pink slip. 4) Alonso by a thin margin. I think Fisi had at one point World Class Talent, but hey so did others at one time during their career (remember Ricardo Patrese). Fisi is simply past his use by date as Pete mentioned. I also think that years and years of having to drive utter pieces of sh*t have dulled his senses. 5) Im picking Sato for one reason. BAR is now a Japanese team and the team (mostly Japanese) will not forget nor forgive Jensen for his idiot behavior. What he did is akin to disgracing your family in Japanese culture. Overall I think it's going to be a good season. My pick for surprise of the year will be both Jordan and Toyota. Jordan will surprise and Toyota will majorly disappoint. I also think the new Red Bull team is nothing more than a rebranded Jaguar with some fancy advertising. Unless they start putting Red Bull in the gas tank the car and the drivers will be slow as #&%$# assuming they don't blow up most of the time. Regards, Jon P. Kofod www.flatoutracing.net
1) Ralf. No question about it. He did get embarassed by JPM but he is still very fast at times. 2) Kimi will get the edge I believe. I do think Montoya is better in qualy though, race performance Kimi gets the nod. 3) Heidfeld over Webber. IMO this is the team of the year. Both are ultra professional, ultra quick and they do not give up. I have big hopes for Williams this year. 4) Massa seemed very fast this year. So Massa. JV looked slow. 5) Fisi. No question. Trulli proved that Alonso has a bit more hype than previously thought. Fisi has never been beaten in a teammate battle.
I wondered about that too! How about a prediction for the top 5 for the season? I wonder how close someone would predict it compared to the end of the 2005 season? My thoughts at this point are (however, subject to change!): 1. Michael 2. Rubens 3. Kimi 4. Alonso 5. Button Carol
My Top 5 prediction as of end of 2005: 1. Michael 2. Kimi 3. Rubens 4. Button 5. Montoya Its all a crap shoot till Melbourne and we see the cars true competitiveness .... Hopefully my #2 and #1 swap. Just so that Michael remains motivated to run a couple of seasons to get his revenge
What is the point? We all know the answer to that. If you are one of the few who does not know the answer, just ask the team, they'll tell you........
1. Ralf 2. Kimi 3. Heidfeld BTW: Who is Webber? Never heard of him and probably never will...Seriously I was just reading an editorial about the situation at Williams and they have very little hope that this team will go anywhere with a #1 driver like Webber. They said it was a huge mistake to let Ralf and JPM go and not even get Button and instead ended up with Webber. They basically totally dis him saying he never did anything at Jaguar and he won't do a darn thing at Williams. Let's wait and see. 4. Massa 5. Alonso 6. Button 7. Michael 8. DC
That is interesting. Who said it was a huge mistake, Williams or the author of the article? There is no doubt that Williams took a step down in the driver department, on both drivers. I would be surprised if Williams would ever even acknowledge something like that, knowing how car-oriented they are. Regarding Webber; he hasn't done anything to make him stand out in my mind. I think he will have a very hard time against either of the two drivers being considered. I can't imagine the pressure he must be feeling, this is do or die for him.
It was the author and editor in chief of the magazine "Motor Sport Aktuell", which is IMHO one of the best, if not THE best F1 newspaper there is. You might argue they have a somewhat German bias, true, but in general they get it right. And they are normally somewhat conservative and so I was suprised to see them outright bash Webber. Personally I have never seen much good from Webber (yaya, I know 5th in a Minardi, lucky fluke) so I don't expect much from him. Neither good nor bad. Pressurewise I think it is do or die for all three Williams driver. And I agree Williams lost big time in their driver department. Say what you want about Ralf of JPM, both were heads above what they got now. After all they have won. PS: Interesting side comment the paper made about the situation at Mc Laren, where they have the issue of the two fast but not very technical drivers when it comes to setup: Mc Laren can run a third car this year. So if they find a technical test driver, they're all set. Unfortunately Wurz won't be that third person because he is too tall for the new Mc Laren.
