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Ya know...

This season will be so interesting because with no Michael Schumacher, who is the third best guy out there?

Last year, the only real championship contenders were Alonso, Schumacher, and Raikkonen. This year, Raikkonen and Alonso must be the odds on favorites to win the title, but if McLaren or Ferrari falter...

Renault must be considered one of the top 3 if not the best chassis still, so there may be many wins for Fisichella and possibly Kovalainen...

The BMW Saubers were looking better than the Williams, the Red Bulls, Toyota, and their drivers drove better than the Honda dudes, so there may be wins for Heidfeld and Kubica (who may be a champion in the making)...

The Adrian Newey effect is about to kick in at Red Bull, so there may be wins in the offing for both Coulthard and Webby...

What if JensoButane and Rubinho actually get it together in the very potent Honda? Wins for J Boy and R Boy...

Then there's Toyota. Well, they've got Trulli and Ralf driving...I'll get back to them...

Toro Rosso and Spyker drivers have Ferrari engines now albeit year old ones! Hmm...

Am I forgetting anyone? Oh yes, Williams! Okay, Williams has Keke Jr driving and who else? Oh yeah. The sorely underrated Alex Wurz. Wurz can win races, and if the Williams chassis and the Toyota engine like each other, he will. I can't see Nico driving that much better than last year.

Super Aguri has a Honda and the ultra-fast Anthony Davidson...


So what's the point of this diatribe? Realistically, we could see up to 12 different winners this year. Or, we could see Alonso dominate again with Raikkonen, Massa, Button, and Fisichella being the only top step contenders [consider the names of Alonso and Raikkonen interchangeable ]. Rubix Kubica looks like a win is not far off in his future if not many wins. He looked as promising last year as Schumacher or Alonso did in their first year in Formula 1. Kovalainen and Hamilton are poised to take the odd win. Then there is R B'chello.

Realistically, I see wins coming from FA, KR, FM, GF, JB, RK, and RB. With all of the promising rookies and/or re-vamped teams, this is the conservative bettors odds.

See what living in Las Vegas even for a short time does to you!

Interesting remarks...

RE30B#16 wrote:The Adrian Newey effect is about to kick in at Red Bull, so there may be wins in the offing for both Coulthard and Webby...

I think the real question here is "how soon"...

RE30B#16 wrote:Toro Rosso and Spyker drivers have Ferrari engines now albeit year old ones! Hmm...

With the engine freeze that "one year old" problem is no longer a major issue...

Your post RE30B#16 trigged me to post what I actually think will happen in 2007!

With the shuffle at the top, it will be harder to predict what will happen this year, nevertheless here are my thoughts:

- If the McLaren is reliable then Alonso will run away with the Championship, if not then we could have a 3 way between Alonso, Raikkonen and Massa.
Ferrari have had a few management changes and the fact that Michael is not driving will mean that things will go wrong and that will mean car failures, lost positions due to strategy, etc ...

- The constructors will be between McLaren, Ferrari and Renault. If Hamilton does well then McLaren will win it. How Kovalainen does in his first year will also reflect on how close Renault can be to McLaren and Ferrari. Fisichella will do his usual, can't see why all of a sudden he will find another gear.

- BMW Sauber are definetly on the way up and they will at some races compete with the top 3 but they won't be consistent as their car doesn't appear to be that reliable. As for their drivers, Heidfeld is in a similar league to Fisichella while Kubica is still a rookie, he will have some great races but will also have some miserable ones.

- Honda puzzle me, for the last 2 years they were setting very impressive times in testing and when race day arrived they failed the expectations. Have they changed their strategy ? Perhaps there is a bit of that.
They will fight with BMW for 4th place and it will be close. Button will continue to outperform Barrichello

- I can't figure out the order of Toyota, Red Bull and Williams. I think Toyota have a serious problem with their choice of drivers and that will not help them go forward. Red Bull now have Adrian Newey but even with an aero genius, are Red Bull giving him the required resources to compete with the manufacturers. The signs from testing aren't too good!
And Williams, logic says they are going out but they are passionate about what they do and they may just surprise many and top this group. If they do, it will be major acheivement and I wouldn't bet against that.

- Super Aguri by the end of the season will easily be in 9th with Toro Rosso and Spyker very close to each other in 10th and 11th.

I suspect conflict within the top level at RB.

BMW might cause major headaches if the cars prove to be reliable.

I feel for Toyota, really... They need a spark, a source of enthusiasm... That means new driver lineup

Ed wrote: - I can't figure out the order of Toyota, Red Bull and Williams. I think Toyota have a serious problem with their choice of drivers and that will not help them go forward. Red Bull now have Adrian Newey but even with an aero genius, are Red Bull giving him the required resources to compete with the manufacturers. The signs from testing aren't too good!

Newey will do some good for sure but I think it'll take some time until we witness the impact. Perhaps in 2008, or maybe the best case becoming reality mid-2007.

Ed wrote:And Williams, logic says they are going out but they are passionate about what they do and they may just surprise many and top this group. If they do, it will be major acheivement and I wouldn't bet against that.

Pity. They seem to have failed keeping up with the times. Remained old-fashioned, which may be an okay thing but does not work in the world of F1.

Ed wrote:- Super Aguri by the end of the season will easily be in 9th with Toro Rosso and Spyker very close to each other in 10th and 11th.

Despite the issue of their chassis-use I tend to support SA above others among the lesser teams. They may even outrun Toyota and RBR occasionally. Even a finish in the points? Why not?

Newey has said many times....."we will be a chance for a podium mid season....not before"

Julian Mayo wrote:Newey has said many times....."we will be a chance for a podium mid season....not before"

See? Even he agrees with me.

multiple winners could make for a very interesting WDC, me thinks

Julian Mayo wrote:multiple winners could make for a very interesting WDC, me thinks

Yup, it'd be surprising, just like Ed's patience

gkaytaz wrote:

Julian Mayo wrote:multiple winners could make for a very interesting WDC, me thinks

Yup, it'd be surprising, just like Ed's patience

Ah, t' man is a saint, to be shure

Okay...I take it back!!!


These are the only drivers I believe WILL win in 2007:

Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa

These guys might win:

Kimi Raikkonen
Giancarlo Fisichella

These other guys can win (if they had the right gear):

David Coulthard
Nick Heidfeld

These guys may well get their first victory this season:

Robert Kubica
Lewis Hamilton
Heikki Kovalainen

These guys I would like to see win in 2007:

Mark Webber
Alex Wurz

These guys I can't see them ever beating Alonso or Massa in a straight fight (equipment notwithstanding):

Jenson Button
Rubens Barichello
Ralf Schumacher

These guys could shock the hell out of us all still:

Jarno Trulli
David Coulthard

These guys deserve to be driving a top car this year:

Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa
Pedro delaRosa
Robert Kubica

Honorable mentions to the last category:

Alex Wurz
Giancarlo Fisichella

IMHO, the most impressive drives of 2006 came from:

Fernando Alonso
Michael Schumacher
Felipe Massa
Pedro delaRosa
Alex Wurz
Robert Kubica

These guys were the best teammates:

Giancarlo Fisichella
Felipe Massa
Pedro delaRosa

These guys were solidly unimpressive to mine eyes:

Jenson Button
(despite his victory, in my mind he has underachieved for way too long) [I believe PDLR would have been good for at least 3 victory in that car!]
Rubens Barichello
(must not have a knockout punch at all because JB was on the ropes and RB didn't take him out)
Ralf Schumacher
(so why doesn't PDLR have a starting gig?)
Jarno Trulli
(didn't keep his 2005 momentum, but for some reason, I still believe he is a sleeping giant)
Christian Klein
(see Jarno Trulli)
Jacques Villeneuve
(why Jacques why?)
Juan Pablo Montoya
(he was still more fun to watch than the other dudes in this group. he has been unfairly classified an underachiever in F1, but his win record puts him in the company of all the greats)

As for these guys, I have no faith a change is gonna come (not that it can't, just that it won't):

Jenson Button
Rubens Barichello
Ralf Schumacher
Kimi Raikkonen (that's right! if he could not get it to work at McLaren, why should the 'iceman' fare better with the tempermental Italians. Remember, Ross Brawn ain't there any more)



Cynical C is back!

Well thought out and with some very valid reasons.

Dunno y i have this feeling...but i think...only 3 drivers will win races this year...
Alonso - 7 wins
Kimi - 5 wins
Massa - 5 wins

unless a hungary happens..

Agreed Kaps. There may be another to change your figures slightly but I also feel the numbers are close to the mark.