Will the new teams beat any of the old ones?

[woody2goody]

Following Lotus' claims that they will be the most successful of the new teams to Formula One, does anyone thing that they, Campos, USF1 or Manor, will finish ahead of any of the established teams in 2010 in the constructors' Championship? (Established teams include Sauber and 'Toyota')

Personally, and I have the utmost repect for Toro Rosso, but I think if anyone will be beaten by a rookie squad next year it will be them, simply because they (the Minardi/STR team) have not had to design a car for 4 years, and it may not be quick enough, at least out of the box.

I don't think Brawn, Sauber, Force India and Williams will have any problems with them.

I could be wrong, and a new team could come in and score some points straight away, but we have to be realistic and expect the lot of them to score 0, simplay because 28 cars into 8 points scoring places doesn't fit unless the attrition rate is ridiculous.

[Valve Bounce]

No! next question, please.

[gloomyDAY]

Lotus not really Lotus stands the best chance.

Mike Gascoyne is at the helm, just signed on Aerolab, and buckets of cash.

[F1boat]

Lotus not really Lotus stands the best chance.

Mike Gascoyne is at the helm, just signed on Aerolab, and buckets of cash.

I agree. Lotus might beat STR. That's it.

[Sonic]

Yes.

Oh you want me to expand!

I think two of the new teams can pick up points in 2010. Monaco is a good chance. With 6 extra cars to bounce off the metal it could be CARmagedon (see what I did there ;) ) and I can see a few teams running short on jungle juice in the last few laps too throwing in a few surprises.

[UltimateDanGTR]

Yes.

Oh you want me to expand!

I think two of the new teams can pick up points in 2010. Monaco is a good chance. With 6 extra cars to bounce off the metal it could be CARmagedon (see what I did there ;) ) and I can see a few teams running short on jungle juice in the last few laps too throwing in a few surprises.

agreed, and any rain-havoc may be a good shout as well!

[Sleeper]

I reckon the best of the new teams will have a chance against STR, but thats about it.

[Lemmy-Boy]

The first races of 2010 will probably give these new teams a chance to finish ahead. Like every year, all the teams will have a host of problems with their new new packages, especially at the first fly-away races.

Attrition, mechanical failures or the track layout will most likely see a new team earn points or even a podium finish!

[V12]

The first races of 2010 will probably give these new teams a chance to finish ahead. Like every year, all the teams will have a host of problems with their new new packages, especially at the first fly-away races.

Attrition, mechanical failures or the track layout will most likely see a new team earn points or even a podium finish!

I agree - it's always been the way.

Good to see Lotus's progress. Yes their constant PR isn't going to translate into performance, but at least we know they're progressing, not a peep from any of the other teams. That's not to say they're not working hard behind closed doors though, I think Manor will be a bit of a dark horse and it'll be between them and Lotus for the best of the new teams, and I agree Toro Rosso will probably be the weakest of the established teams since they won't have Red Bull holding their hand as much, and the facility hasn't designed and built an F1 car since 2005. Don't get me wrong I don't think they'll have a problem showing up, but I think they will go backwards.

Of course my predictions mean sweet FA - who would have thought Jenson Button and the reincarnated Honda would be world champions right now a year ago, or February for that matter.

[woody2goody]

With 6 extra cars to bounce off the metal it could be CARmagedon

Amazing PC game that too :)

Agreed though. We might be in the situation (hope not) where a couple of the new drivers might not be up to it, leading to crashes at the start or more likely at Monaco :D

[inimitablestoo]

I'd like to think that, as it was when I first started following F1 in the early '90s, a neat, simple car with a reliable and fairly potent Cosworth engine might be enough to score a few points. But I reckon it's going to be difficult. The newcomers will probably make up most of the cars eliminated after Q1 (which will be eight cars if things stay as they are).

In fact, here's a prediction which probably isn't sticking my neck out too far: even including Williams, the combined total of points scored by the Cosworth teams in 2010 would not be sufficient to win the constructors' championship. Unless Red Bull or someone like that makes a shock last-minute switch, I doubt they'll even come close...