Driver with most at stake in 2008?

[keysersoze]

Webber has been quicker in qualifying only, in racepace they have been equal.

Nelson is known as a qualifying specialist, like Trulli and Webbo. He will give Alonso a lot of trouble in qualifying, so basically I think your prediction is ****.
In racepace I dont see him beating Alonso yet though. People inside F1 paddock, including some drivers think that Piquet will trouble Alonso a lot too, especially in qualifying. Piquet also has a talent for getting under the skin of others, he did it to Lewis in GP2 and seems immune to mind games and considering what LH did to Alonso last season, I can totally see him doing it to Alonso this year too. Watch out for this guy, he will surprise a lot of people.
I just hope Alonsos status as nr.1 in the team wont hurt NP too much.

Who have the most at stake?
*Alonso - He needs to regain his reputation, he needs to destroy Piquet jnr. People thought after Schumis retirement he was nr.1, but he sure didnt look like that last year . If Nelson matches him, his reputation will be shot.
*Hamilton - needs to beat HK bigtime, or his reputation as best talent since Schumi will suffer. Oh how I would love to see Retard Peter Windsors face, after his beloved Golden Boy who is better than Senna and Prost according to him, gets beaten by HK.

*DC, Fisi, Trulli and Barrichello all are already so old that they need to show a lot every year, they wont get a second chance again.

*Kubica. He started off really well in 2006, showed a lot of talent, but was a dissapointment last season. Needs to at least match Heidfeld, or I dont see BMW keeping him for 2009.

Perhaps Mark needs to remain quick to keep his current seat, but I don't think his F1 career is at all in jeopardy.

Piquet a qualifying specialist? I'm not up on his GP2 career, but how often has he been accustomed to a knock-out qualifying format with an F1 caliber grid? He was OK in testing for Renault in '07, did nothing spectacular; he may surprise us, like Hamilton, but there's no indication that he can be on par with a two-time WDC.

Alonso may have something to prove, to the critics or to himself, but since every team save Ferrari contacted him when he left McLaren, I'd say his reputation and future are safe.

I'm not up on Peter Windsor, but what little I've read of his in F1 magazine, he clearly exhibits a great deal of insight as to HOW a driver is fast, and has often broken down, in technical jargon that is somehow readable, exactly WHAT a driver is doing in each phase of a corner. Apparently, Lewis has something special; the next two years will tell if he has the technical abilities to put it all together, because it's obvious he has the Schumacher-like ability to play unfair yet somehow garner the respect of his team.

Naturally, as that BWW ride becomes more and more competitive, both drivers will have to prove they deserve it. Kubica got on terms with Heidfeld later in the year. I predict this will be the most boring intra-team battle, both making Q3 regularly and doing extremely well, taking their fair share of the results, giving us nothing to talk about.

[Roamy]

Hamilton and Bourdais.
Also, Massa will also be wanting to prove he can still compete for #1 Ferrari driver role without TC. Otherwise his best hope for a championship just passed him.

i'll go with the squirrel !!

[Valve Bounce]

I think the two guys at Honda : Bunsen and Rubens are in the hot seat; they don't run hot, they get burned. Let's face it, bunsen hasn't really done all that much in F1, and he is replaceable. The other guy won't get another contract anywhere.

[Osella]

I'd say Trulli. He is comfortable at Toyota and if he is beathen by Glock (which I predict he will), he will be out.
He doesn't really have that advantage Fisichella or Heidfeld has had of having driven for the smaller teams and pulling off miracle podiums and wins after driving for a top team.
If he beats Glock, TImo can blame being a rookie and new to the team, Trulli has no luxuries this season at all, and I can't see him being around in 2009...or possibly before... Shame, as I always liked the guy, but I just see him as another Jean Alesi, without the drive to really pull out all the stops all the time. And he's probably not cheap, so I think he will be replaced before season's end.. Bold prediction perhaps, but not surprising if it happens.