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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:25 am
by Julian Mayo
Ed wrote:Interesting comments here but I would say it is more speculation than based on facts at this stage of the season (or pre-season!).

Apart from McLaren and BMW no two new cars have been on the same track yet. Even with McLaren and BMW that was only for 1 day.

Later this week we should start getting a better picture at least in terms of the reliability. In February with a number of tests where all or most of the teams will be attending we should get some idea about the pace of the new cars on the same track.

Only then will one be able to make some predictions that are based on more than just speculation.

We'll be putting the Predict Driver and Constructor World Championship threads with Polls next week after most teams have unveiled their cars.

The real test of course will be in Melbourne in March but you all will have to predict cause the 2007 8 'n' Pole Competition will be announced in February :wink:
Thats what I said, but better said :cry:

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:46 am
by gkaytaz
Julian Mayo wrote:
Ed wrote:Interesting comments here but I would say it is more speculation than based on facts at this stage of the season (or pre-season!).

Apart from McLaren and BMW no two new cars have been on the same track yet. Even with McLaren and BMW that was only for 1 day.

Later this week we should start getting a better picture at least in terms of the reliability. In February with a number of tests where all or most of the teams will be attending we should get some idea about the pace of the new cars on the same track.

Only then will one be able to make some predictions that are based on more than just speculation.

We'll be putting the Predict Driver and Constructor World Championship threads with Polls next week after most teams have unveiled their cars.

The real test of course will be in Melbourne in March but you all will have to predict cause the 2007 8 'n' Pole Competition will be announced in February :wink:
Thats what Ii said, but better said :cry:
Perhaps more experience using his linguistic skills :)

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 12:37 pm
by rah
Constructors
Ferrari
Renault
McLaren
BMW
RBR
Honda
STR
Toyota
Williams
Super Aguri
Spyker

Drivers is too hard to work out. But I would put my money on Massa to take the WDC.

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:10 pm
by Julian Mayo
rah wrote:Constructors
Ferrari
Renault
McLaren
BMW
RBR
Honda
STR
Toyota
Williams
Super Aguri
Spyker

Drivers is too hard to work out. But I would put my money on Massa to take the WDC.
Do you think STR has the drivers capable of getting the team that high??

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:05 pm
by cmlean
Do you know something we don't. STR are yet to announce their driver lineup. :?

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:22 pm
by Julian Mayo
cmlean wrote:Do you know something we don't. STR are yet to announce their driver lineup. :?
Looking at the available talent..........hang on.......Nigel Mansell & JV ? :shock:

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:47 pm
by gkaytaz
cmlean wrote:Do you know something we don't. STR are yet to announce their driver lineup. :?
I don't think STR can beat both Toyota and Williams...

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:11 pm
by JayVee
Aren't Toro Rosso running the Ferrari engine :roll:

Oh and I too agree with Ed but shouldn't we be exchanging thoughts about the new season so we can then say I told you :D

Of the other teams that hope to improve (lower than the top 4), I think Red Bull will improve the most, not only because of the Renault engine :D but because they wrote off last year and concentrated on this year.

BMW and Toro Rosso are in their second seasons and will struggle to continue improving.

I actually think Spyker will do better than Toro Rosso. I think Gascoyne is over there and he used to be good in small teams. And aparantly Sutil is good (just wikipeed him :D and he turns out to be an Uruguayan German :shock: :shock: :shock: )

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:00 pm
by gkaytaz
JayVee wrote:Aren't Toro Rosso running the Ferrari engine :roll:
Yep. And no customer team running a Ferrari engine has ever won a race so far. If STR accomplish that feat it'll be a first :)
JayVee wrote:Oh and I too agree with Ed but shouldn't we be exchanging thoughts about the new season so we can then say I told you :D
That's the best part :D Nothing like the satisfaction of reciting that particular phrase.
JayVee wrote:Of the other teams that hope to improve (lower than the top 4), I think Red Bull will improve the most, not only because of the Renault engine :D but because they wrote off last year and concentrated on this year.
That I agree.
JayVee wrote:BMW and Toro Rosso are in their second seasons and will struggle to continue improving.
This I don't. The BMW part at any rate. They have had very few retirements last year (last engine failure at Indianapolis) and with the engine freeze and the Kube-factor they will probably score another top 5 finish. Their exact spot will heavily depend on how consistent Heidfeld will be. He can be fast but somehow fails to deliver when it counts. Kubica will only get better with experience.
JayVee wrote:I actually think Spyker will do better than Toro Rosso. I think Gascoyne is over there and he used to be good in small teams. And aparantly Sutil is good (just wikipeed him :D and he turns out to be an Uruguayan German :shock: :shock: :shock: )
Yep. Gascoyne is the CTO of Spyker for 2007. He'll surely be useful to the team. I have my reservations though. Spyker seems to be the only team left without the benefit of seamless shifting. They may borrow it from Ferrari at some point but until that day comes Spykers are doomed to lose precious 37.5 seconds every race. Sutil may be the greatest Uruguayan-German F1 driver ever yet he's still a rookie and needs to build up some experience. For that they need to do a lot of testing. Long story short, I think Spyker will only start to recover from mid-season on, if at all.

Now whether they will beat STR or not remains a big question mark. I guess we gotta wait and see STR's driver lineup before passing judgment. When two cars are quite close to each other, as in this case, a good driver could mean a world of difference.

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:29 am
by Julian Mayo
Pat Symonds says this season is the closest he can remember. He says it is impossible to predict.
What bloody chance have I got, then :shock:

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:17 am
by GhoGho
Julian Mayo wrote:Pat Symonds says this season is the closest he can remember. He says it is impossible to predict.
What bloody chance have I got, then :shock:


................:that:

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:27 am
by rah
cmlean wrote:Do you know something we don't. STR are yet to announce their driver lineup. :?
I am sure I know something you don't. Unfortunately it is a useless piece of info overshadowed by the amount of things I don't know.

Me thinks they will do better with a betther chassis. The drivers, well who knows.

The most important thing is to be able to say I told you so. Well if you have a look through the predictions in this thread, all the obvious choices are taken.

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:33 am
by Julian Mayo
rah wrote:
cmlean wrote:Do you know something we don't. STR are yet to announce their driver lineup. :?
I am sure I know something you don't. Unfortunately it is a useless piece of info overshadowed by the amount of things I don't know.

Me thinks they will do better with a betther chassis. The drivers, well who knows.

The most important thing is to be able to say I told you so. Well if you have a look through the predictions in this thread, all the obvious choices are taken.
I never ever say "I told you so"......in my experience it has a nasty habit of resulting in a case of incisors in the posterior :cry:

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:32 am
by rah
Julian Mayo wrote:
I never ever say "I told you so"......in my experience it has a nasty habit of resulting in a case of incisors in the posterior :cry:
I just don't let scissors go near my bottom anyway.

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:19 pm
by jacfan
rah wrote:
Julian Mayo wrote:
I never ever say "I told you so"......in my experience it has a nasty habit of resulting in a case of incisors in the posterior :cry:
I just don't let scissors go near my bottom anyway.
Scissors with incisors :shock: Pinking shears perhaps?