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Originally Posted by
minardi
Going to quickly get my short predictions in just before the green line goes on for the start of testing.
Mercedes
A close season between Red Bull and Mercedes, but the Silver Arrows edge both championships, with Hamilton taking his second crown… just. Hamilton and Rosberg are close all year but Rosberg gets the bad luck of the team, allowing Hamilton to be #1 in the run up to the finale.
Red Bull
As said before, very close all year between the Red Bulls and Mercedes, but Vettel's car finally gets the bad luck with the car that MW had the past few seasons, which allow Mercedes to get the edge. Ricciardo has good performances and is closer to Vettel at points than expected, but consistency/experience means Vettel still has a clear advantage over him over the season.
Ferrari
A fast car and not far off the top two, but let down by being a little down in horsepower, which in a very close season, is enough to see them in third. Alonso wins in Monaco, and spurred on by inter-team rivalry, outscores the Finn over the season. The two have some very close encounters where body work comes off, with a slanging match over the radio and post-race ensuing.
McLaren
A better car than last year, which isn't hard, but just down on the pace over the top three. They'll return to the podium this year, but not quite enough to return to the top step. Button and Magnussen quality near each other all season, with Button having the more points in the first half, but Magnussen putting in better weekend performances in the second half. They finish close together with Button just ahead, but paddock is impressed with Magnussen and hope he can build on a solid (not spectacular) first season.
Force India
Hulkenberg finally makes the right move as Sauber languish towards the back, and Lotus' troubles continue (more on that later). Although the top four are a clear top four, Force India finish in 5th thanks to a couple of podiums due to reliability and generally good drives from Perez and Hulkenberg who both shine and mix it with the McLarens at time at particular circuits. While Perez gets his mojo back at times, Hulkenberg shines brightest, and everyone is still bemused when he still doesn't get snapped up by the big four.
Williams
Williams return to the points on a more regular basis than last year (again... not hard) thanks to a consistent but not spectacular car. Massa and Bottas are close all year alternating most weekends. Massa gets a podium at some point thanks to a crazy race, and the little Brazilian couldn't look any happier.
Toro Rosso
Another season of the same for STR as they show promise at times but mostly go out slap bang in the middle of Q2, except for the odd race where they show no pace, and Kyvat goes out in Q1, then the races where they seemingly pull it out of the bag, and Kyvat squeezes into Q3. Kyvat outscores Vergne despite being up and down all year.
Lotus
Money, money, money... or lack of it dogs the Lotus boys all year. The car is unreliable and a pig to drive, and they're always playing catch up, with a B-spec car talked about but never quite emerging. Maldonado has a horror of a year running into other cars, and looks a picture of frustration and uninterest all season. Grosjean easily performs better, but struggles with the car, and his late-2013 form is forgotten, causing frustration to settle in a couple of times.
Sauber
The car struggles from Day 1, and despite topping a test session, it's a bluff and the car is slow and down on power. Sutil outperforms Guttierez all season, and picks up a few points, but a disaster of a season. Sirotkin is talked about mid-season replacing Sutil but never quite happens as the team struggle with money.
Marussia
Marussia scores two points!! A chaotic race with a large number of retirees, allow Bianchi to take a 9th place early in the season. Chilton is nowhere. The car is better than the Caterham but still off the rest of the field, but Bianchi gets something out of the car and looks impressive in the races.
Caterham
Caterham finish last again and the talk of a takeover emerges around mid-season. Kobayashi outperforms Ericsson who has a couple of good drives in his debut season, but being at the back with the Marussias, it doesn't impress as everyone's eyes are on Bianchi.
Thank you for reasonable argument. Calling people names is really unnecessary though. Now you speak about 2027 rules but we know little about what they are working on for 2027. What if they come...
WRC main class in 2025