2012 predictions

It would certainly be an exceptional achievement, but I hold the guy in very high regard.
I actually think that he is ahead of MSc's "achievement curve" and based on that it is quite possible that in Vettel, we are looking at the most complete driver of all time (in the making).

Only time will tell, though.
 
sunama said:
It would certainly be an exceptional achievement, but I hold the guy in very high regard.
I actually think that he is ahead of MSc's "achievement curve" and based on that it is quite possible that in Vettel, we are looking at the most complete driver of all time (in the making).

Only time will tell, though.
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people said the same thing about alonso and hamilton
 
True.

Though Alonso is "all that" and widely regarded as having been the best driver in F1, for the past 6 years or so. His problem is that he messed up his chance at McLaren in 2007 and since then has not found a decent drive.

As for Hamilton, I will agree that he has been a huge let-down. The guy clearly needs a lot of moral support from friends family (eg. dad, girlfriend, etc), without which he doesn't seem to perform too well.

It also doesn't help when you have a team-mate like Button who is mentally astute and knows how to play the political game.

IMO Hamilton needs to move to a new team, where he is No.1 and the entire team effort is focused solely on him.

He is a driver who needs to be molly-cuddled.

With Vettel, the main thing is that he has one of, if not the best, car.
 
sunama said:
IMO Hamilton needs to move to a new team, where he is No.1 and the entire team effort is focused solely on him.
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I agree, and disagree. New team yes, number 1 status, not so much.

I don't think Lewis needs number 1 status to perform (look at 2007), but I think you are right that he needs a supportive team around him of family and friends as well as the race team itself. If Lewis was in a relaxed team who let him be himself and gets a solid supporting group around him he will shine again, regardless of whether hes number 1 or on an equal contract.

*cough* Red Bull *cough* ;)
 
When he was driving alongside Alonso, Hamilton was the darling of the TV. He was the golden-boy. Ron Denis has a habit of always supporting 1 driver (and not the other driver). He did this with Senna (vs Prost - Prost left in disgust). He did this with Hakinnen. He also forced Montoya and Coulthard to effectively play 2nd fiddle to the No.1 driver at the time.

In 2007, Ron Denis had reached a stage where he was not on speaking terms with Alonso (how crazy is that).

Also, consider that McLaren and Alonso had reached a point whereby Alonso had been assigned an FIA rep, to oversee operations in the garage, to ensure that Alonso was given fair treatment. Yes....this is how bad it got.

So, when Hamilton knew that he was the darling of the team (in 2007) and that the team management wanted him to win the title...he would've felt that he was the No.1 driver.

You cannot use the example of 2007, as those were extreme circumstances.

Now, Button is a completely different kettle of fish. He is politically astute and knows exactly how to play the political game.
 
I think you can definitely use the first part of 2007 before all the spygate stuff made everything messy.

Your right though, Hamilton needs support. I just don't think he needs both support and number 1 status to be on the top of his game. He made it through all the lower formulas without needing number 1 status in a team to perform.

I think we can both agree that a change of team would be a good thing for him though. The faceless cold hearted corporate wheel of McLaren isn't the most nurturing of environments.
 
Vettel won't dominate with a far superior car
Webber will be more competitive because RBR won't be able to hold back his car this season (they'll need all the points they can get)
Hamilton will have a much better season because he won't be overdriving
Button will continue to be a steady eddie with no chance at the title
Ferrari will suck
 
You have been very specific with your predictions.
I agree with points 3-5, but disagree on points 1-2.
We need to save our posts for review after the season is done.
 
Mr Jack said:
And 27.5% believe neither of them will be! I can understand the blind faith of a few Ferrari fans, but Toro Rosso, Sauber and Force India - what were they smoking?
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I know that Sauber have been very fast in some of the testing sessions, along with Lotus. Toro Rosso and Force India - I have no idea why anybody would vote for them.
 
I actually fancy Webber to take a lot of points off Vettel this year. With the new compounds the tyre issues should be sorted, which which should give us the Webber of a season or two ago.

I expect McLaren to be the second strongest package and constantly fighting the Redbulls.

I envisage a great fight between Alonso, Schumacher and Rosberg, with Massa, fighting at rear of that group with Kimi.

HRT - nowhere, Marussia - Nowhere, Caterham - not made a big enough step to challenge Williams.
 
Think it will be even stephen's between McLaren and RBR , with at least 3 of the four drivers competing for the title, and it will come down to when the Ferrari gains its speed mid season /and which tracks this happens for as to who will gain an advantage in the long run

I expect Merc, Ferrari and Lotus and FI to be the leading mid-table pack with Ferrari and Merc breaking away the further the season goes on...but possibly Lotus and FI to get some decent poiints under their belt first
 
I see a lot of you saying that RBR and McLaren will run eachother close.
Fair enough...I won't argue on that.
But you don't seem to be mentioning anything about the drivers?

Vettel was in exquisite form last year. He possesses the brute speed of Hamilton, with the consistency and intelligence of Button. Even if McLaren produce a car which is slightly faster than the RBR...I still say that Vettel would outscore the 2 McLaren drivers, during the course of a full season.

In equal machinery, the only guy who I believe would beat Vettel is Alonso. The rest of the pack are no longer able to match up to him. Last year the guy drove like a robot. It was as if somebody had programmed him before each race and he would literally execute the code, each and every lap, making little or no errors. The one time he did show a weakness was when Button was rampant at Canada, though on that day, I donot believe any driver would've been able to handle Button. Even Button himself is unlikely to perform ever again, as he did in that race. Basically, if you are going to beat Vettel, you are going to have to put in an almost super-human display.

Have people forgotten what he did last year?

I was really hoping that Ferrari could get their act together, as I wanted to see Vettel put under serious pressure; unfortunately this is now unlikely to happen.

At this stage, I have to agree with Bernie, in that I can't see anyone other than Vettel winning (at this early stage).
 
If McLaren are on form and Hamilton has sorted his head out I think he will take the fight to Vettel and leave Button in his wake.

However, thats easier said than done, so a more realistic prediction is for Vettel to win again.
 
sunama said:
Vettel was in exquisite form last year. He possesses the brute speed of Hamilton, with the consistency and intelligence of Button. Even if McLaren produce a car which is slightly faster than the RBR...I still say that Vettel would outscore the 2 McLaren drivers, during the course of a full season.
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Have you forgotten what JB has been able to do to SV in two different cars in totally different conditions?

Force him into a mistake

One of the few drivers to be able to claim that (or even to force SV into a single error) , but it requires the McLaren to be at least equal to the RBR (and preferably better, as RBR are seemingly better at /around the pitstops).

Skeeter said:
If McLaren are on form and Hamilton has sorted his head out I think he will take the fight to Vettel and leave Button in his wake.

However, thats easier said than done, so a more realistic prediction is for Vettel to win again.
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Even if Lewis does have the car totally to his liking, I still think over the whole season JB can manage the car better over a race distance

(remember JB has still managed to win the same number of races Lewis has for both years they have been at McLaren - so its not as one sided as some believe)
 
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FrankJH said:
Even if Lewis does have the car totally to his liking, I still think over the whole season JB can manage the car better over a race distance

(remember JB has still managed to win the same number of races Lewis has for both years they have been at McLaren - so its not as one sided as some believe)
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True, but Vettel showed you don't need to be fast over a race distance, you need to be fast at key points. Namely Qualifying, the opening laps, and then your in and out laps. Lewis can switch it on for short periods and deliver amazing laps. He just needs to keep his head together and be steady for the other bits and he will be fine.

But again, this all depends on someone other than Vettel being on pole, and I'm not convinced anyone is going to have Red Bull beat on qualifying pace.
 
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