There was supposed to be an F1 2012 team by tea preview by rjbetty here...

[steveaki13]

What do you think? You think it's something like this?

My guess for average sort of Quali times

1. Vettel
2. Hamilton +0.2
3. Webber +0.4
4. Button +0.4
5. Alonso +0.5
6. Rosberg +0.7
7. Raikkonen +0.75
8. Massa +0.8
9.Schumacher +0.9
10. Di Resta +1.1
11.Grosjean +1.2
12. Perez +1.2
13. Hulkenberg +1.4
14. Ricciardo +1.7
15. Senna +1.8
16. Kobayashi +1.9
17. Maldonado +2.1
18. Vergne +2.2
19. Kovalainen +2.4
20. Petrov +2.7
21. Glock +4.8
22. Pic +5.3
23. De La Rosa +5.3
24. Karthikeyan +5.9

[rjbetty]

Hey those are very good! I think they're better than mine. I hope Caterham will be that close! I was going to put +2.4 and +2.7 myself but I'm cautious after so many years of disappointment hoping for closer fields but it not happening (especially 2002 - my gosh).

[steveaki13]

I too really hope that Caterham mingle amongst the tailend of the midfield. Heres hoping.

[jens]

Regarding your qualifying predictions.

If past seasons are anything to go by, Rosberg will beat Schumacher quite significantly. If midfield is tight, Schumacher may well miss Q3 on several occasions, while Rosberg qualifies around top6.

I personally think Vergne may turn out to be quicker than Ricciardo, especially on Saturdays. But Vergne is more 'aggressive' and potentially more error-prone in races.

Grosjean v Räikkönen, Senna v Maldonado and Hülkenberg v di Resta are going to be interesting in qualifying trim too. One may claim that while in race trim Räikkönen is the favourite, in qualifying it can be the other way around.

I agree that Pérez will likely outqualify Kobayashi though. Wonder about Kovalainen v Petrov. I suspect on some occasions Petrov will get a serious beating, especially while he is adapting to the car, which increases the average.

[rjbetty]

Championship Points Prediction
====================
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 312pts
2.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 297pts
3.Jenson Button (McLaren) 291pts
4.Mark Webber (Red Bull) 234pts
5.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 214pts
6.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 142pts
7.Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 124pts
8.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 123pts
9.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 74pts
10.Paul di Resta (Force India) 47pts
11.Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 36pts
12.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) 31pts
13.Sergio Perez (Sauber) 23pts
14.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 19pts
15.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 14pts
16.Bruno Senna (Williams) 14pts
17.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 10pts
18.Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 9pts
19.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham) 4pts
20.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham) Best Finish - 12th
21.Timo Glock (Marussia) Best Finish - 12th
22.Pedro de la Rosa (HRT) Best Finish - 13th
23.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) Best Finish - 14th
24.Charles Pic (Marussia) Best Finish - 14th


CONSTRUCTORS
===========
1.McLaren - Mercedes 588pts
2.Red Bull - Renault 546pts
3.Ferrari 338pts
4.Mercedes 265pts
5.Lotus GP - Renault 110pts
6.Force India - Mercedes 78pts
7.Sauber - Ferrari 41pts
8.Toro Rosso - Ferrari 24pts
9.Williams - Renault 23pts
10.Caterham - Renault 4pts
11.Marussia - Cosworth
12.HRT - Cosworth

Please Michael and Heikki, and McLaren, make it come true!

[jens]

According to your prediction Ferrari will make a good recovery during the season, with Alonso pulling well clear of Mercedes' drivers and getting even close to Webber in the end!

Then again he has already recovered from a horrible start in his career - 2008. After the beginning of the season wouldn't have thought Alonso in the Renault would finish 5th even ahead of Heidfeld's BMW and Kovalainen's McLaren!

[rjbetty]

Ok I haven't got time to do everyone else before tomorrow, so a quick rundown it is:

FORCE INDIA
=========
To their credit, have improved year on year, even last year when they were predicted (by me too) to reverse. So I'd say then can defy predictions again and maybe take another small step, especially with the driver line up being a year stronger.
Team-mate battle is probably the most interesting one for me - so hard to call!
Having thought a lot, how about this: di Resta to be ahead on points, Hulkenberg to edge it in quali.
I like both drivers but I want Hulkenberg to win it - he just seems humbler, but I hope di Resta is as good as he thinks he is.
I do wonder if di Resta could have been capable of bettering what Hulkenberg did in Brazil 2010.
All in all, an easy 6th in the championship.

MY PREDICTION:
Constructors: 6th
Di Resta: 10th
Hulkenberg: 12th (10th-12th)




SAUBER
======
They're saying they're quick after testing - but so is everyone else. I can't see them making a big leap to beat Force India. I expect Perez to grow stronger, and maybe Kobayashi to be discouraged and grow weaker maybe. Team might go back to the bad old days of starting pretty well and fading away in the season. Could be vulnerable to Toro Rosso and an improved Williams too. I will be surprised if this team do make any big jump in performance. Neverthless, experience to see them hold on to 7th in the end (my guess).

MY PREDICTION
Constructors: 7th
Kobayashi: 14th
Perez: 13th




TORO ROSSO
=========
Another interesting battle. I tip Vergne to win, especially in qualifying. Maybe in the points too as I could imagine him picking up one biggish result somewhere to tip him ahead on points. Hard to tell if Toro Rosso will continue their upward car momentum this year. I'd guess inexperience will cost points and they will total (slightly) less than Alguersuari/Buemi would have done, though I guess the new drivers ultimately have more potential. Maybe they can beat Sauber this time, but may have to watch for an improved Williams.

MY PREDICTION:
Constructors: 8th
Vergne: 15th
Ricciardo: 17th



WILLIAMS
=======
The good news is I think Williams at least won't slide down any further - for now.
They have scope to improve and hopefully Senna's money will help them do so.
Both drivers can only improve this year and the Renault engine is a guaranteed improvement.
Expect a good haul more points this year, and give Sauber and Toro Rosso at least some challenge - alhough I expect Wililams may fall short, having SUCH a big points gap to make up on 2011.
I've just had a thought: How about if Williams 2011 = Honda 2007, then Williams 2012 = Honda 2008? (not a transformation, but a good load more points)

MY PREDICTION: 9th
Maldonado: 18th
Senna: 16th

[rjbetty]

CATERHAM
=======
Oh boy have I learned over the years to rein in optimism as positive predictions have been quashed by cold hard (boring) reality one the season is underway. So I have learned to never expect much and make bold predictions.

And yet, if Caterham finish 2012 pointless again, I will actually be surprised. Just as surely as Michael must get that podium this year, so surely must Caterham finally make it into the top 10. If rumours are to be believed, they could actually be very close to the midfield, and maybe even at the level Williams were at last year - which for them would be utterly fantastic!

This year, Caterham will finally shut up their critics over on crash.net .

As for their fight with HRT and Marussia, forget it. Caterham are in another league now.

MY PREDICTION:
Constructors: 9th
Kovalainen: 19th
Petrov: 20th



HRT
===
Despite the unprepared start again (possibly even worse this time around), this is a team I believe in. Why's that? Because they've already defied the predictions of what seems the majority in that THEY ARE STILL HERE.
They've even managed to finish 11th for both years, but they can't keep staying ahead of what is actually a faster Marussia. But is it? Maybe now Marussia are in the same boat, HRT can beat them on merit this time! I expect to see them again in 2013.

MY PREDICTION:
Constructors: 12th
Karthikeyan: 24th
de la Rosa: 22nd




MARUSSIA
=======
So another naive businessman saunters in thinking they will be successful in F1 in a short time, only to find it's not the case, then they quietly pack up and leave, having sold the team on. Cheerio Richard!
Hard to tell where Marussia will be, except it's NOWHERE near Caterham. These two teams are now totally out of touch with Caterham. There are reasons for promise: Pat Symonds and McLaren resources.
But if any team were to the pull the plug, I'd bank on it being Marussia rather than HRT.
Tough luck Glock - I guess you hould have taken that Renault seat when you had the chance - who knows where you would be now with Kubica gone...

MY PREDICTION:
Constructors: 11th (for Glock's sake)
Glock: 21st (again for his sake)
Pic: 23rd




CONCLUSION
=========
So there we have it. Basically I haven't got a clue what's going to happen, unlike 2010 where I somehow got it perfect!