GTPNewsWire
Contributing Writer
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This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Andrew Evans (@Famine) on February 18th, 2019 in the Formula One category.
Meet F1's 2019 Cars, and Where We Think They'll Finish
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- LR-MR-Cole
I just do not see it. Ferrari are coming into this year with a new secondary driver, who is proven just one who will not consistently finish up front and come time to help his team mate in the latter part of the season will need to consistently be up there. Also add the fact that a new team principal is there. I could be wrong and Ferrari bandaged up all wounds from last year and LeClerc will be right up there adding with solid constructor points.
- 2,812
I think they are underselling the progress Honda made last year (and likely during the off season). I wouldn't be surprised if they are on par with Renault for power, if not ahead. The Sauber was also the 4th fastest car at several venues last year, so 8th seems a bit pessimistic...
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- PaMu1337
My prediction:
- Ferrari (I think Leclerc will give focus back to Vettel)
- Mercedes (Bottas holding the team back, guessing a mid season swap for Ocon)
- Red Bull (Guessing the Honda will work well, Gasly is a bit of a question)
- Renault (Tight battle with Haas for best of the rest
- Haas
- Alfa Romeo (Kimi + Ferrari funding will help)
- Racing Point
- McLaren (Won't have solved their problems)
- Toro Rosso (Sacrificed for Red Bull experimentation)
- Williams (Probably have serious funding issues)
- 3,177
- St helens, merseyside, England.
- crazybuttocks198
- Crazybuttocks19
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda. Not totally sure on that name.
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- GTP_Famine
I'm not expecting to be entirely correct - it's more a bit of fun with a bit of reasoning behind it. You might have different reasoning, and that's cool too...
... but won't it be neat if I am right?
- 2,941
- Columbus, Ohio
Now that Renault has a driver they can build the team around and doesn't have Red Bull breathing down their necks, I'm expecting to see steady improvement from them as the year goes on. Might come close to overtaking Red Bull in the points, depending on the reliability of the Honda engines and whether Gasly ends up being a non-entity.
Leclerc will probably integrate well into Ferrari's organization, and that may be enough for Bottas to get sent off after this season. But probably not.
The only goal I'm expecting of Williams this year is to not have the word "receivership" mentioned in the same sentence as them.
Leclerc will probably integrate well into Ferrari's organization, and that may be enough for Bottas to get sent off after this season. But probably not.
The only goal I'm expecting of Williams this year is to not have the word "receivership" mentioned in the same sentence as them.
- 2,812
I'm not expecting to be entirely correct - it's more a bit of fun with a bit of reasoning behind it. You might have different reasoning, and that's cool too...
... but won't it be neat if I am right?
Not so much about Sauber, as I would love to see them emerge as a genuine top 4 contender, but I would definitely be happy to see Ferrari win again!
- 95
- New Zealand
PFFFT. All I want is a decent season for Williams. Mercedes can win, whatever. I just need a sign of life from my favourite team...
Also Lance Stroll is a petulant child with no place in the sport. /r
Also Lance Stroll is a petulant child with no place in the sport. /r
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- mustafur
I think Redbull need a significant problem in the chassis to fall behind, even if Honda is behind Renault in power the Redbull chassis is on another planet compared to the teams below.
Renault will probably pull away from the rest of the midfeild but we stuck in a middle ground between the top teams and the midfeild, if they can do that that's a steady step up over last season, if they get really lucky with the regs they may be on Redbulls trail but that is probably the limit.
Mercedes is going to win the drivers title I think Vettel is going to be beat by leclerc this year, but the battle will cost them a shot at the WDC they might be good in the Constructors though, I'm 50/50 on them or Mercedes winning that.
Williams are due a big upgrade, they have Paddy Lowe and this is the first car made from him so I would expect a team with their budget and a top designer like him to be able to move up the grid.
Renault will probably pull away from the rest of the midfeild but we stuck in a middle ground between the top teams and the midfeild, if they can do that that's a steady step up over last season, if they get really lucky with the regs they may be on Redbulls trail but that is probably the limit.
Mercedes is going to win the drivers title I think Vettel is going to be beat by leclerc this year, but the battle will cost them a shot at the WDC they might be good in the Constructors though, I'm 50/50 on them or Mercedes winning that.
Williams are due a big upgrade, they have Paddy Lowe and this is the first car made from him so I would expect a team with their budget and a top designer like him to be able to move up the grid.
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- HamiltonMP427
Hot take article that admits to being such, and a bit of nostalgia coming through in hopes that the old guard of the UK f1 teams come back to some form or at least not be at the bottom of the scrap heap.
I mean I'm not sure why RBR would be fifth with an engine that at this point is pretty sound, and purposely took penalties 2/3rds of the way through last season just to make sure and sure again it was sound. But McLaren will have figured out all their woes potentially with an engine that was at times worse for them or as bad as the Honda...hmmm
I mean I'm not sure why RBR would be fifth with an engine that at this point is pretty sound, and purposely took penalties 2/3rds of the way through last season just to make sure and sure again it was sound. But McLaren will have figured out all their woes potentially with an engine that was at times worse for them or as bad as the Honda...hmmm
Veinz
Premium
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- Ontario
Not expecting the status quo to change much. Ferrari and Merc very close with Red Bull nipping at their heels, then the rest will be relatively close together in tier 2. This won't change until the regs get heavily revised, imo.
I hope I'm wrong, this series is getting pretty stale. At least the cars look great though, and the driver line ups are good.
I hope I'm wrong, this series is getting pretty stale. At least the cars look great though, and the driver line ups are good.
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Dotini
(Banned)
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- CR80_Shifty
I'm operating under the assumption it is better to do well in testing rather than do poorly. So far, Ferrari has separated itself at the front, and Williams separated from the back. But I'm looking for a good scramble from 2nd to 9th, with a lot depending on the engines, particularly Honda and Renault being a bit behind. Haas is looking strong, but will Grosjean ever find his mental and nervous comfort zone?
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- CENLA
- SoCaLLbeer
After the last couple years, I can't see Ferrari keeping it together as a team to win the driver or the manufactures. The new boss, new driver.. and Vettel has shown some cracks. It is Merc's championships to loose. Their team is solid, and Hammy seems to still perform well when his emotions run high.
Side note.. at this point I think all the other teams, besides Williams sadly, have the potential to mix it up. Haas has the Ferrari motor and is maturing, Red Bull now has Honda as variable.. Force India may have a stable financial year (we can only hope), Renault has quality drivers and hopefully made the right design changes, McLaren, well hopefully they surprise us all..
I am excited for this year with the latest cars and rules.
Side note.. at this point I think all the other teams, besides Williams sadly, have the potential to mix it up. Haas has the Ferrari motor and is maturing, Red Bull now has Honda as variable.. Force India may have a stable financial year (we can only hope), Renault has quality drivers and hopefully made the right design changes, McLaren, well hopefully they surprise us all..
I am excited for this year with the latest cars and rules.
- 22,551
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- HamiltonMP427
Yeah but as said prior, that is a horrible assumption to operate under, because testing programs differ so widely. For example the interview after Danny Ric lost his drs in testing showcased how much of a viewer he was as those watching. He was asked what he thought of the other cars and how up to speed Renault were. Renault are simply doing reliability and long run tests and haven't even done anything close to what they will come Melbourne, that was his words. He also said that Ferrari look ultra strong, but it's hard to tell where everyone else is because most teams are hiding their true pace or doing the same as his team.
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- TenEightyOne
- TenEightyOne
That only tells you that they're probably on a similar engine test programme. Last year's times show that they don't really indicate how the first part of the season panned out although it's fair to say that Ferrari units show their hand a little earlier. Few teams will load the full package until Melbourne.
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- Vermont, USA
- GTP_Superwally, supahwally
Reading people's predictions for the season is fun. Reading the same wrong things people write about Haas is not. '2018 Haas was a 2017 Ferrari' is not accurate, early last season Georgio Piola went over it. We could start with the Halo, but it's old news now and not worth getting into. What a shame that so many people ignore and devalue the effort of the Haas aero team, their 'simple' car kept up in the development race all last year.
Your point about KMag is puzzling, he has the fewest penalty points, along with Ricciardo and Kimi, of any of the drivers. Wrongly deserved, media-driven reputation aside, he hasn't drawn the ire of the stewards much. Grosjean has though, he and Max are at the top of the list.
I understand that people have some sort of issue with Haas, but repeating this particular stuff is so old! Giving Haas credit where it is due seems to always come with some sort of caveat or tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's almost compulsive at this point.
That being said, if they finish fourth I'll be shocked. I think Honda has it together, McLaren will be putting it together, and see no reason Racing Point can't keep it together, they were coming on very well last season after the sale.
Your point about KMag is puzzling, he has the fewest penalty points, along with Ricciardo and Kimi, of any of the drivers. Wrongly deserved, media-driven reputation aside, he hasn't drawn the ire of the stewards much. Grosjean has though, he and Max are at the top of the list.
I understand that people have some sort of issue with Haas, but repeating this particular stuff is so old! Giving Haas credit where it is due seems to always come with some sort of caveat or tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's almost compulsive at this point.
That being said, if they finish fourth I'll be shocked. I think Honda has it together, McLaren will be putting it together, and see no reason Racing Point can't keep it together, they were coming on very well last season after the sale.
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- GTP_KinLM
- KinLM
Lap times mean nothing at this point. Otherwise Mercedes would be in some serious trouble.
The key is laps completed.
Ferrari are currently dominating at both, but again these lap times are completely meaningless. I know it’s easy to look into them, but I think literally any team (besides Williams) could go out there and set a time faster than Ferrari have so far if they really wanted to.
It’ll be interesting to see times on the final day, as that’s when teams generally push their cars a bit. That’s when I expect to see Mercedes and Ferrari far beyond everybody else, as usual.
Again, Ferrari are making a statement with their laps completed + quick times. But I cannot overstate enough how relatively meaningless those quick times are at this stage..
Unless they were something along the lines of 4 seconds clear of the field. But a few tenths? Even a second? I’d put that down to nothing more than other teams maybe being more reluctant to show their hand.
***Keep in mind that all the new personnel at Ferrari including a new team boss may be a large incentive for them to ‘hit the ground running’. I know that I’d want to show a bit of potential right off the bat if I was in their position. Meanwhile, Mercedes? Nothing to prove. Same solid team as always. They’re perfectly content being 2 seconds back every day. They know their car is going to be fast. We all do. We aren’t speculating on a new team boss/driver line up for them like we are for Ferrari.
As long as teams are completing laps, they’re doing well at this stage. Which means, in my eyes, another year of irrelevance for Williams.
The key is laps completed.
Ferrari are currently dominating at both, but again these lap times are completely meaningless. I know it’s easy to look into them, but I think literally any team (besides Williams) could go out there and set a time faster than Ferrari have so far if they really wanted to.
It’ll be interesting to see times on the final day, as that’s when teams generally push their cars a bit. That’s when I expect to see Mercedes and Ferrari far beyond everybody else, as usual.
Again, Ferrari are making a statement with their laps completed + quick times. But I cannot overstate enough how relatively meaningless those quick times are at this stage..
Unless they were something along the lines of 4 seconds clear of the field. But a few tenths? Even a second? I’d put that down to nothing more than other teams maybe being more reluctant to show their hand.
***Keep in mind that all the new personnel at Ferrari including a new team boss may be a large incentive for them to ‘hit the ground running’. I know that I’d want to show a bit of potential right off the bat if I was in their position. Meanwhile, Mercedes? Nothing to prove. Same solid team as always. They’re perfectly content being 2 seconds back every day. They know their car is going to be fast. We all do. We aren’t speculating on a new team boss/driver line up for them like we are for Ferrari.
As long as teams are completing laps, they’re doing well at this stage. Which means, in my eyes, another year of irrelevance for Williams.
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Did you read the full sentence? Only it didn't say that.
It's worth noting that Magnussen may currently only have two penalty points (which isn't the fewest - two of last year's drivers have no points [Hamilton, Leclerc], as does 2017 Sauber driver Giovinazzi), but he has the second-most expired points of any driver on the grid at 14. The only current driver with more expired points is Kvyat.
Yep, I think they suck so hard and hate them so much that I predicted they'd finish 4th...
I'm not expecting to be entirely correct - it's more a bit of fun with a bit of reasoning behind it. You might have different reasoning, and that's cool too...
... but won't it be neat if I am right?
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- South Africa
Haha, yes lovely to do and read the predictions however it is clear we know nothing until the first race. I do have hopes for both Renault and the Honda powered teams. It will be grand to see them mixing with the mega teams. No reason why both those engines shouldn't be competitive this year if pedigree has anything to do with it. Would also be kinda neat if the Honey Badger had made a smart move and equally if Red Bull did too...:-)
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