Who will be WDC after Schumi retires?

Kimi. 100% Hopefully he will be driving for Ferrari before he does

 

Kimi and/or Weber.

Pete

 

I think it could be Webber/Button/Kimi/JPM as they look to have a fast according to next years team rosters for 06(assuming Schumi gets out then). Alonso and Fisi also seem to be contenders.

Big factors:
Single tire supplier?
Who races for Ferrari?
Who has the strong car/cars for the year in question?

Considering that Kimi looks to be the next #1 Ferrari driver I would tend to think he could be the favorite driver for the next WDC.

Another looming factor could also be that of Toyota. With the amount of money the are dumping on their cars they should be able to get some sort of speed in the coming years. If Toyota have the "it" car the year MS leaves, maybe RS or JT could be WDC?

 

100% Webber.
Go you good thing!

 

It will be most likely that Barrichello will take the crown if he is still with Ferrari and Ferrari is still strong when Schumi leaves (key presonnel remain or ahve adequately transitioned knowledge before they left).

If we had relatively equal cars and only the driver made the difference ... I would say Kimi as:

- he is as talented as anyone else
- he is calm under pressure
- he is the one most capable of a sustained challenge throughout the season

 

Kimi driving a Ferrari in 2007 will be the next world champion. Mark my words!

 

Kimi in 2007 I agree. Not sure it'll be in a Ferrari though.

 

I also think Kimi has a great shot at the WDC after Schumi leaves, but I also would not take my eye off of RS. I know he is not well liked, but after seeing the difference he made in William's setup this year (they were awful with him out), I think he has the possibility to transform Toyota into a serious contender. They already have a great engine and factory support. I have yet to see Toyota fail to win what it sets out to accomplosh in motorsports. They are in this for the long haul. I would have also said Alonso last year, but he seems to have fallen off the board this year.

 

I strongly disagree.
I honestly do not see any talent from Kimi.
From what I heard on SPEED this past weekend, it seems that Kimi "steals" how DC sets up his car.

Do you think JPM will share that information? I do not think so.

In my opinion after MSc the tradition hopefully will continue with RSc

If not I put my bets on Liuzzi or Webber.

 

I hope it will be JPM ! He is so much fun to watch.

 

What about Button? Agree with the others that Kimi could be the one. I also happen to like Sato (if the team can keep his car from blowing up regularly) - but if Scuderia Ferrari transitions everything to Rubens, then he'll be the one to beat.

 

JPM is no setup master either - he borrows info from Ralf. So Mclaren looks like they have two great instinctive drivers for next year. Hopefully their race engineers will be able to help them out with the setup.

And this has worked in the past with Jim Clark and Colin chapman. One did the driving and the other the setup.

 

Kimi or Montoya

 

If Williams can get Webber half a car next year, we will not have to wait for 2006 for a new WDC. Webber will shread next year. PSk and I have a bet on Webber making the top step next year. Hey Pete, I can get Fosters here - but a Foster's girl calendar would be nice! If Button does end up at Williams he will be wondering what the hell he got himself into.

Kimi - maybe in an F-car
Sato - no way, unless they can procure an unlimited supply of Ritalin.
JPM - way no way
RS - I agree with TPM that he will do wonders at Toyo - it will be a question of IF he can hold it together to make a serious charge.
RB - maybe, he is getting better and better.
Alonso - maybe in a few years. I think he has humbled from early success and has his head down and is working hard - a good sign.
Button - not with Webber in the team.

Just MHO!
Jim

 

I think it depends if Ferrari stay the top team then even Rubens could win if he's still with them. Whoever wins after Michael retires it would seem a hollow result without the master for competition.
However there are multiples of possibles but I'd like to think Jenson could do it, OK I'm English but he is good but it's highly unlikely that anyone will win as many and as often as Mike.
Cheers mates

PS Lope, I think Jenson will out qualify Webber but ive a sneaky feeling he'll stay where he is at BAR in which case he definately will.
Just remind me how many 2nd and 3rd places Webber got this year????? lol

 

I think Webber is definitely overated. I haven't seen much to see what justified all this praise given to him.

RB is still the guy to beat with MS out of the picture.

 

I actually read that Webber got a faster time than RS and GF back in 2000 for a Benneton test. That means a lot actually...

 

I think the next world champion after Schumacher will be Kimi. I think Webber and Button will be very competitive but might hurt each other chances of becoming WC since they will be on the same team(not a clear leader on their team). Whereas I think Kimi will have an advantage over Montoya due to the fact that he has been with McLaren for so long and knows the team.

 

We'll see ... don't ignore the tenacity of Australians. While Jensen is now fast and so is Weber ... Weber will (like MS) raise the team and his game.

Hopefully Jensen will not follow some others with British traits and start whinging and moaning about treatment and equipment, etc. (... remember Mansell ). Unfortunately Jensen has already IMO started down that road, of publicly airing problems in his teams and with his deals ... I can understand he was unfairly dealt with, but there are ways to handle these situations without demotivating the WHOLE team, etc. and coming across as everybody is against me, moaner.

Pete

 

I think the obvious chioce is DC, he has been manipulating his entire career so far so that when, at the last moment he steps up and takes the crown next year, there's going to be a whole lot of surprised people.

Except me.

And you heard it here first.

 

I retract my previous prediction of Kimi. This next year looks like it could be the real deal.

 

I had a hunch a few other smart people on this board had also figured out DC.

 

I have to agree with you on the Webber thing. I too think he's overrated. Maybe because he's driving a crappy car, next year will be the defining factor for Webber.

I hope Alonso steps up his game. I think he's got some natrual talent. But in-terms of having the "full package" I'll have to go with Kimi.