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Jim,

Michael may not have any retirement plans but the way things are going it seems that he is the type that will only be pushed out of F1 rather than leave at the top. Last year he made a number of mistakes and that will only get worse. He is past his prime and will only win if he has a dominant car.

You can believe who said so but I am telling you that we will see a trend very similar to last year and Alonso will prevail.
McLaren will be fast but unreliable. They have a new engine so it will be even worse than last year for them.

I think Toyota will beat Ferrari this year and Trulli will be competing for that podium spot with Montoya and Kimi

Jay Vee: !!

Toyota will beat Ferrari?! And who will be the team boss that brings this miracle about?

Remember, even if Michael IS "past his prime" he can put "little bro" in his pocket any day of the week. I venture to believe that Michael could beat Ralph in an Arrows!

And remember, too, that Fernando is now a "defending champion" facing some pretty hungry drivers: Kimi, Juan Pablo, and, yes, Michael, too. And, though he has said all the right things about "getting on with business and working for Renault to repeat this year," I can't believe that either Flavio OR the factory is thrilled with him.

In a word, he's going to be in the kind of pickle Jenson put himself in and, as a champion, he'll not have the kind of excuses Jenson could make (that the team leader didn't like him, that the cars just couldn't get there, etc. etc.).

Juan Pablo, on the other hand, has absolutely NOTHING TO PROVE this year and my hunch is that he'll be putting his wheels inside Kimi AND Fernando every chance he gets, believing --correctly-- (as he did last year when he spanked Fernando) that the other guy will HAVE TO BACK DOWN because he has so much more to LOSE!

By the fourth GP look for Juan Pablo to be leading in the points (maybe JPM 33, Fernando 29, Kimi, 28?)

Anyway, it's going to be a great year for F1; better even than last year.

Jim

Jim nowhere in my post did I mention Ralf
I think most agree that Ralf has 2 (maybe 3) good races in a season.
I said Trulli will shine this year and beat Michael ..... I can hear you laughing but that's OK

Now my turn to laugh

Alonso The Cute is no Button. When Alonso speaks the rest listen and Renault know that he is their best chance to win the title for them again so thrilled or not, they will all get on with the business of winning.

Neither of the McLaren drivers would be leading the championship. You seem to have conveniently forgetten that they will be running a new McLaren/Mercedes/Ilmor V8 engine and looking at the history of that combination (you can blame whichever party), we all know they make powerful engines that keep blowing especially early in the season.
Add to that McLaren need time to adjust in a post Newey environment and it will take them a year to get back to title winning ability - just in time for Alonso to step in

Jay Vee!

Surely you jest (about Jarno Trulli)

I doubt if, in his entire career, Jarno Trulli has enough laps leading Michael to add up to a single GP win! (oh yes, I remember Monaco -- but I mean a single [real] GP win, not that high fashion parade for nostalgia freaks.)

And anyway, I can't believe Ron Dennis hasn't straightened Ilmore out by now! Still, I admit that I haven't heard ANYTHING about the Merc badged V-8 so far; everyone here is still singing the praises of the Cosworth (but then, they would, wouldn't they, here in America).

Nor have I heard anything about the Renault entry (though one local idiot insists that they're going to enter one V-8 and one V-10, the V-10 going to your boy Fernando!)

However it turns out, can't we agree that a parade of podiums featuring blue and gold is just as boring as one featuring black and silver or flaming red?

I want a FOUR WAY race to the title next year and I'd like it to go down to the very last race!

cheers and I hope you're enthusiasm is rewarded (I'm guessing your "One More DAY" refers to the debut of the French V-8?)

Jim

Jim, testing starts in earnest today

Jim Watt wrote:I admit that I haven't heard ANYTHING about the Merc badged V-8 so far; everyone here is still singing the praises of the Cosworth (but then, they would, wouldn't they, here in America).

Nor have I heard anything about the Renault entry (though one local idiot insists that they're going to enter one V-8 and one V-10, the V-10 going to your boy Fernando!)

Jim, McLaren are expected to test their MP4-21 later this month. A firm date hasn't been set yet. However they have been testing the Mercedes V8 since September - Story

Renault will test their R26 today for the first time. It will also be the first time for the Renault V8 to be tested on the track.
For this test only (10 - 13 January), Renault will run an R26 and an R25 (fitted with a restricted V10) with Fisichella testing the R26 on the first two days and Alonso on the last 2 days - Story (This may be what the local was referring to ?)

Jim

I rate Trulli over Ralf but I think the Toyota will be much better than the Ferrari

The Merc will continue to blow no matter how much straightening Ron has done. The Cosworth, well people are wishfully thinking it will be powerful. It won't.

As Ed said, the Renault will be fired up today and given their impressive history in making F1 engines, this one will be another gem.

But I agree, a four way battle is what I would like to see too. Alonso The Cute will be too strong though

Thanks for the best wishes and I hope you too will enjoy seeing those times set today

JayVee wrote:Jim

As Ed said, the Renault will be fired up today and given their impressive history in making F1 engines, this one will be another gem.

He he as long as they get the angle of the V correct they might be good. Of course Cosworth, Mercedes and Ferrari are in the shadow of Renault's impressive history of F1 engines.

Whether you are serious or not rah, let me remind you of these stats:

Engine Seasons Titles Ratio
Renault 24 7 29.17
Honda 21 6 28.57%
Ford Cosworth 40 10 25.00%
Ferrari 56 14 25.00%
Mercedes 14 1 7.14%
BMW 17 0 0%

And in terms of race wins

Engine Races Wins Ratio
Ford Cosworth 587 176 29.98%
Renault 372 105 28.23
Ferrari 724 183 25.28%
Mercedes 212 53 25.00%
Honda 287 71 24.74%
BMW 199 19 9.55%

Only Cosworth has a slightly better ratio in terms of race wins than Renault but as you are well aware, they haven't won since 1981

how about stats for each individual year for the last 25. Then you will see that Renault is as capable AS ANY OTHER TEAM of producing season lasting, 5 lap grenades

JayVee wrote:Whether you are serious or not rah, let me remind you of these stats:

Only Cosworth has a slightly better ratio in terms of race wins than Renault but as you are well aware, they haven't won since 1981

Hey, you brought up history.

Julian Mayo wrote:how about stats for each individual year for the last 25. Then you will see that Renault is as capable AS ANY OTHER TEAM of producing season lasting, 5 lap grenades

No engine is blow proof Julian but I just showed you stats on the win ratio which obviously means they have a lower blow up ratio

Anyway digging that sort of stat would take a long time but I'll eventually do it just to prove you wrong. I need a bit of time

rah wrote:

JayVee wrote:Whether you are serious or not rah, let me remind you of these stats:

Only Cosworth has a slightly better ratio in terms of race wins than Renault but as you are well aware, they haven't won since 1981

Hey, you brought up history.

Yes I have and if you just look at the stats for the last 20 years (which is far more relevant in technological terms to today) Cosworth don't feature at all and Renault are way ahead of any other team. Honda may be the only one that comes close (but they HAVE produced as many grenades as wins ).
But I thought I'll include all time stats just to show you that Renault have produced impressive engines during all the periods they were involved in F1

JayVee wrote:

rah wrote:

JayVee wrote:Whether you are serious or not rah, let me remind you of these stats:

Only Cosworth has a slightly better ratio in terms of race wins than Renault but as you are well aware, they haven't won since 1981

Hey, you brought up history.

Yes I have and if you just look at the stats for the last 20 years (which is far more relevant in technological terms to today) Cosworth don't feature at all and Renault are way ahead of any other team. Honda may be the only one that comes close (but they HAVE produced as many grenades as wins ).
But I thought I'll include all time stats just to show you that Renault have produced impressive engines during all the periods they were involved in F1

Renaults stats are very impressive. But as said previously, do not discount the rest. Just out of interest, can you have a look at the last 10 years and see what those stats are. It might even be more relevant in technological terms.

rah wrote:Renaults stats are very impressive. But as said previously, do not discount the rest. Just out of interest, can you have a look at the last 10 years and see what those stats are. It might even be more relevant in technological terms.

You mean you want to pick up those years when Ferrari was dominant

Well let me tell you, the most relevant in technological terms is last year and you know the stat