Swiss Blick did its preseason predictions for the 11 teams, here the rating: 1. Renault 2. Honda 3. McLaren 4. Ferrari 5. Toyota 6. BMW 7. Williams 8. Red Bull 9. Toro Rosso 10. Midland 11. Aguri They see team struggle with Renault because of Alonso's departure. They wonder about the durability of the Merc engines and they think that Bridgestone is still playing catch-up to Michelin, which is why the rated Ferrari only as #4. Personally I'd say they got it right. 5 more days and the BS stops.
I agree with most of it, but I think Redbull will be right behind Toyota. They seem like they could be pretty strong. Mark
I was surprised too to find them so much back in the field. Particularly ironic that they're just in front of their B team. Part of this might be a negative bias by Swiss Blick against Mateschitz (there is some animosity since Mateschitz wanted Klien in the Sauber and when Sauber didn't agree Mateschitz pulled the Red Bull sponsorship from the team).
The first four look pretty realistic based on testing times. I think Red Bull should leap frog both Williams and BMW. I agree with the Toro Rosso trumping Midlands with the detuned V10 holding sway. It might even beat the Williams and BMW for the first few races till the V8 development trumps it. I believe McLaren performance will tail off towards the latter half of the season.
they might be right about red bull tho. this is based on preseason testing times. red bull have not done really well, compared to toro rosso. plus, DC has some back problems, and his comeback wasn't that fiery. the engines have not been up to mark and has been struggling with reliability issues. compared this to toro rosso, who has been enjoying a rather problem-free winter testing with the more reliable restricted V10. as for honda, personally, i don't think they should be high up there. just because they got rubens, and yes, i do agree they have been good in the terms of pace wise, but when the real race comes, it's just not about pace, it's all about teamwork. i wonder if they really got it, as they never proved that they had it in the past. and, for renault, admit it or don;t admit it, FA's shock departure has certainly hurt the team's morale. to be honest, i don;t think the team will struggle, IF, they focus on fisi, instead of FA. i'm pretty sure, if fisi is given the proper equipment, he'll let his driving do his talking, so i really think it's do-or-die for fisi. this is only last chance to finally prove himself. as for mac, it's difficult to say whats gonna happen. 1 day kimi's flying, 1 day he's complaining about the engine section,.....so it's gonna be a tough call. but, i think they will struggle..again...and kimi will switch to ferrari . speaking of the scuderia, i think people underestimated them based on their performace last season. don;t forget the number of private test sessions they had. and don;t forget that MS is hungrier than ever. the whole team is motivated like hell and i'm sure they won;t make the same mistakes twice, i'm reflecting on last season. p/s: i didn;t mean to offend anyone in my own views and comments. but this is just what i think's gonna happen. oh yeah, andreas, u still owe me the MS racing suit and his visors should he do well this season
Can I ask you where you get your info from, you always seem to have the inside track on things like this. I mean is there some where I could read the same info you get. I would really like to be as informed on F1 as you seem to be. Mark
Have a look at the F1 predictions from Sniff Petrol, two thirds of the way down: http://www.sniffpetrol.com/
I make the stuff up as I go along. You haven't figured that one out yet? Seriously thanks for your nice compliment. Just for the record I also often get it wrong, particularly when it comes to forecasts. I just read a bunch of sources, but the one that normally is fastest is www.blick.ch (which also listed the ratings below). Sorry, but it is in German. Their F1 reporter Roger Benoit has been doing F1 since the sixties and he lives it (the guy is pretty weird, he does this not for a living anymore, but out of passion). Literally and while other reporters reprint press communiques he is chatting it up with the drivers and team bosses in their motorhomes. I'm not kidding: For example at Sauber they have his favourite dish ready when he stops by.
Honda came 2nd in the 2004 championship. They must know a thing or two about teamwork. If Renault focuses on Fisico then they're already lost.
Thanks very much for the response, that sounds like an awesome site to be reading with the reporter doing such great exploring of the sport. Now only if I could speak German. Mark
My pleasure. Roger Benoit is an unusual and odd bird: As I said he has been doing F1 since the sixties. He isn't married and doesn't do too much else but report about F1. He travels to every single race, has his standard location in the reporters room. He has his own way of taking notes and normally ignores official statements and hangs out in the paddock instead. Everybody knows him and I remember one incident where Bernie played a practical joke on him: For his birthday or some anniversary he had his paddock gate card locked. When Benoit tried to enter it gave him some bogus message. He even runs his own betting pool with team managers and drivers about the outcome of a GP. That of course is a great way to keep in touch with everybody. The downside of Benoit is his personal bias. Some of that is based on catering to his Swiss and German speaking readership. Probably happens with all journos, but it is annoying. So certain things I just ignore (e.g. Kimi was the media darling at Sauber, when he left for McLaren he became the evil guy, then after a while and as he continued to live in Switzerland the tide turned and now he is "real" champion for 05 and Alonso the evil doer), but I don't discredit his "early warning signs". He spots certain things faster than others. Partly because of his experience and partly because of his connections.
I think this is one of the more interesting elements of the season. What happens if that V10 is surprisingly strong and reliable? Will the powers that be allow STR to actually be competitive, or will we see a mid-season adjustment if they actually manage to score points?
Good question. RACER had an article about it and some teams are already protesting. Basically once they heard that Mateschitz millions are pouring into Minardi they filed their complaints.
My flyer for this year: Toyota will surprise a lot of people. There, I've stuck my neck out. I they don't win at least one race I'll buy you all a beer. You'll have to comr to Dubai to collect, but hey.....
If they don't win at least one race the management of Toyota will ream Gascoyne, Schumacher and Trulli a new one. Once that Ferrari theme park is up and running and you guys actually have a Dubai GP I'll come visit. Guaranteed.
Andreas, I nominate you to start a poll on why Ferrari stunk up the place last year. I don't pass by here that often, but I recall that there were numerous theories such as: because Bernie said so, the tire rule, etc. etc. etc. It would be interesting to see the results of the poll and then compare this to how Ferrari actually does this year. Dale
IMHO, honda no better than 4th. compare honda's 2005 results late season results after their trick fuel tank was discovered to the beginning of the season... they'll finish second only if they put the tank back in...
I don't care what Roger Benoit has to say... He was against the signing of JV from day one (sauber) and has been sniping at Jacques for the whole 2005 season. And he isn't finished..... Writing it's 1-0 for Heidfeld in winter test blabla... It's the only journalist that Jacques actually wonderes why he's beeing hated by. ( F1Total interview he said that) Benoit has been writing JV out of his seat before the 2005 season even started. And it all started because Peter Sauber didn't ask Benoit for "advice" before signing Jacques.
LOL! Honestly I'm not sure that he has a bias against JV. Often enough he praises him and mentions the JV Switzerland connection (went to high school in Switzerland, that's where he met his manager and friend). For instance JV gave a rock concert in Switzerland before x-mas for a good cause and Benoit was full of praise for that. A lot of people are critical of JV and that's based on other things (his attitude, his criticism of MS, his lack of results recently). Benoit has a bias towards Nick because of the reasons I mentioned below (German readership). But once you know that, you can take those comments with a grain of salt. As long as bias in reporting is consistent you can adjust your dial for it. PS: How are you so well informed about Benoit? Do you speak German?
But JV sucks and thats a fact I dont think he is the only journalist who is negative to JV. Do you remember an F1 racing article with the headline "I am not a tugger" with JV on top. I think virtually everyone seems to think JV's best days are behind him. Peter Windsor, Nigel Roebuck .... Maybe they dont hate him with passion, but they are not positive either
I don't speak German. Some JV fans inform me about Benoit. I know he's the not the only one who likes to make JV look bad. Matt Bishop also ...etc Wasn't Bishop who create the BS about Davidson replacing JV? ok enough about JV..... speedy_sam, Who are you to say JV sucks!
the V10s will have a slight advantage at the opening races, but as the season prgress, the V8s will do better off...i think..
