2018 Pre-Season Thread

[anonymous-user]

2018 Mercedes sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&amp...

[NZDave]

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

[anonymous-user]

NZDave said:

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

Another stupid idea.

Liberty media were supposed to be making F1 great again. Things seem to be getting worse.

[sgtBerbatov]

NZDave said:

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

You know how the Europeans feel now when we have to wake up at 4am to watch the race in Australia.

[thegreenhell]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

NZDave said:

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

Another stupid idea.

Liberty media were supposed to be making F1 great again. Things seem to be getting worse.

Unfortunately it's a numbers game, and they're American, so it makes more sense for them to make it more convenient for the North American viewers they hope to attract, NA being a much bigger potential marketplace than NZ.

[Norfolkit]

thegreenhell said:

ELUSIVEJIM said:

NZDave said:

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

Another stupid idea.

Liberty media were supposed to be making F1 great again. Things seem to be getting worse.

Unfortunately it's a numbers game, and they're American, so it makes more sense for them to make it more convenient for the North American viewers they hope to attract, NA being a much bigger potential marketplace than NZ.

"potential market place" shouldn't take precedence over the established market place. Americans (generally) have never really got F1 in a big way. Austin seems to be doing OK but I'm not sure F1 will ever compete with NASCAR or Indy racing generally across America.

[HustleRussell]

predictions;

Ferrari, Mclaren and Williams will be grandstanding in pre-season testing but they will flatter to deceive.

Mercedes are once again going to turn up with a near perfect balance of power and reliability and they won’t suffer the early season troubles they experienced in 2017. They will be a force to be reckoned with especially in qualifying. With a winter for reflection and an easier car to drive, Bottas will start to deliver and will be a closer match for Hamilton.

Ferrari and Red Bull will be separated from Mercedes by a small margin of a couple of tenths and will fight amongst themselves resulting in significant carbon shed. However as the season goes on it will transpire that these teams are better on tyre wear and often race pace than Mercedes which will make the whole thing more interesting with softer tyres, more stops and pit strategy.

The gap between the top three teams and Force India will generally be filled with Mclarens and Renaults, who will take it in turns to nip at the heels of the lead pack.

The Williams will be placed anywhere in the bottom twelve or so depending on the circuit, prevailing wind and whether either of their drivers are having a good day.

Haas will have an unspectacular season with a difficult car redeemed to some degree by their driver line-up which is the better of Williams and best of the remaining teams I haven’t yet mentioned.

Sauber at the back will be closer to the midfield than before and it’ll be a close-run thing between them and Toro Rosso. Maybe Toro Rosso will suffer the indignity of a whole season without points, while Sauber nab one or two capitalising on reliability problems and late-season grid penalties for Honda and Renault powered cars.


Constructors

Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Mclaren
Renault
Force India
Haas
Williams
Sauber
Toro Rosso

Drivers

Hamilton
Bottas
Vettel
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Raikkonen
Alonso
Saintz
Vandoorne
Ocon
Perez
Hulkenberg
Grosjean
Sirotkin
Stroll
Magnussen
Gasly
Leclerc
Hartley
Ericsson

[Vaud]

I think I broadly agree, though Ferrari seem to be pretty advanced with their car, I think they will challenge Mercedes from day 1. No big sackings from Marenello over the winter which is a good sign?

I think Haas will drop and Sauber rise - having the new Ferrari lump will be very useful, and I think they will develop well through the season. They have some very good people.

[anonymous-user]

HustleRussell said:

predictions;

Ferrari, Mclaren and Williams will be grandstanding in pre-season testing but they will flatter to deceive.

Mercedes are once again going to turn up with a near perfect balance of power and reliability and they won’t suffer the early season troubles they experienced in 2017. They will be a force to be reckoned with especially in qualifying. With a winter for reflection and an easier car to drive, Bottas will start to deliver and will be a closer match for Hamilton.

Ferrari and Red Bull will be separated from Mercedes by a small margin of a couple of tenths and will fight amongst themselves resulting in significant carbon shed. However as the season goes on it will transpire that these teams are better on tyre wear and often race pace than Mercedes which will make the whole thing more interesting with softer tyres, more stops and pit strategy.

The gap between the top three teams and Force India will generally be filled with Mclarens and Renaults, who will take it in turns to nip at the heels of the lead pack.

The Williams will be placed anywhere in the bottom twelve or so depending on the circuit, prevailing wind and whether either of their drivers are having a good day.

Haas will have an unspectacular season with a difficult car redeemed to some degree by their driver line-up which is the better of Williams and best of the remaining teams I haven’t yet mentioned.

Sauber at the back will be closer to the midfield than before and it’ll be a close-run thing between them and Toro Rosso. Maybe Toro Rosso will suffer the indignity of a whole season without points, while Sauber nab one or two capitalising on reliability problems and late-season grid penalties for Honda and Renault powered cars.


Constructors

Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Mclaren
Renault
Force India
Haas
Williams
Sauber
Toro Rosso

Drivers

Hamilton
Bottas
Vettel
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Raikkonen
Alonso
Saintz
Vandoorne
Ocon
Perez
Hulkenberg
Grosjean
Sirotkin
Stroll
Magnussen
Gasly
Leclerc
Hartley
Ericsson

Yes tend to agree. Can't see anyone beating Mercedes until the engine rules change. It's basically Hamilton's to lose unless the car's "diva" comes out worse in 2018 which I can't see. Mercedes even stated they want to keep it a diva side of the 2017 car so they must have things pretty sorted.

Not sure about Bottas. I just can't see him improving enough to give Hamilton any issues. Perhaps in qualifying at times but that's it. I would be amazed if he finished 2nd in the Championship if Hamilton wins.

Ferrari might be the closest of the bunch but it will need to be a better car than the Mercedes if Vettel has any chance of the title. He has shown weakness throughout 2017 and he is not the class act many think he is.

Red Bull will be hard to guess. With Renault now stopping supply after this year things might start going backwards for the team. I hope not as both drivers can produce great results IF the car is good enough. But will the Renault engines last races without issue?

McLaren will take a step in the right direction but I would be amazed if they were anywhere near Mercedes

Force India again will be the best of the rest. They seem to be able to produce a great car with limited funds. Very refreshing.

Renault works team need a good 2018. They have the drivers so they now need the car to perform. Again just not sure how well it will go. Needs another season IMO.

I do hope the Williams new recruit Sirotkin is as good as Williams state he is after the test. Stroll will be another weak link so they need Sirotkin to be good. If not it will be a dire 2018.

[DanielSan]

ash73 said:

Most interesting scrap is Danny versus Max. Fingers crossed Danny will come out on top again.

The interesting side story will be if Danny Ric renews with Red Bull or possibly takes Bottas’ seat in the Merc/Kimi’s Seat in the Ferrari.

[cheddar]

NZDave said:

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

I doubt our tiny islands got a mention during start time negotiations and rightly so.

Midnight wasn't exactly a sociable hour for race start anyway.

[The Moose]

NZDave said:

Not at all happy with the hour later for European races. That means a 1:00am start here in New Zealand. That makes it very difficult.
Dave

Really? Because 12am is much better!

It’s almost as it people are desperate to find something to moan about.

[bobbo89]

DanielSan said:

The interesting side story will be if Danny Ric renews with Red Bull or possibly takes Bottas’ seat in the Merc/Kimi’s Seat in the Ferrari.

Aren't there rumours of Merc being more interested in Ocon?

[thebigmacmoomin]

bobbo89 said:

DanielSan said:

The interesting side story will be if Danny Ric renews with Red Bull or possibly takes Bottas’ seat in the Merc/Kimi’s Seat in the Ferrari.

Aren't there rumours of Merc being more interested in Ocon?

Ocon is only on loan to Force India from Mercedes.

[HustleRussell]

Gaz. said:

The pecking order and how it unfolds is interesting, I don't share the optimism of Mclaren, I think they are going to be slaughtered by RBR and soundly beat by Renault. I think Ferrari have shot their bolt with the suspension fannying about of last season which wrong-footed Merc and RBR, this year both have cars as intended. I'm fascinated to see how Torro Rosso get on, my word I'll laugh like a drain if they piss all over Mclaren.

I can't wait for testing and I think we're in for a belter of a season- well fans of the sport are, the sky is falling "oh if only it was 1986, where's Diana" brigade will never be satisfied but they are fking off at the end of the season anyway so it's all gravy baby.

That’s the spirit!

I agree that Ferrari aren’t going to create the kind of opportunity they wasted last season, but I think both they and Red Bull will challenge Mercedes at times. I just think that the reliability of Mercedes’ cars and drivers will be the difference. If you’re Daniel Ricciardo and you’re starting on the 3rd row with Vettel to your right, Verstappen immediately in front and maybe a Sainz and Ocon behind you’re probably not going to get through the first corner unscathed 21 times.

I really agonised over the McLaren / Renault order in my prediction, Alonso was my key decisive factor there- Sainz is going to be driving out of his skin in an effort to embarrass Hülkenberg and I don’t think he’s beyond the odd mistake here and there. Also I didn’t want to underestimate Vandoorne.

Edited by HustleRussell on Thursday 8th February 11:02

[thebigmacmoomin]

Can't explain why but I just get the feeling McLaren are still going to slow this season. Perhaps quicker than Torro Rosso & Sauber, but nowhere near where they think / hope they will be.

[Angpozzuto]

It's Mercedes titles to lose, it'll all come down to reliability they've been the most reliable team since the beginning of the v6 turbo hybrid era. They'll win both titles comfortably and Ferrari will fight with RB for the scraps

[Stan the Bat]

Angpozzuto said:

It's Mercedes titles to lose, it'll all come down to reliability they've been the most reliable team since the beginning of the v6 turbo hybrid era. They'll win both titles comfortably and Ferrari will fight with RB for the scraps

Same as last season then, no need to watch now.

[Angpozzuto]

Stan the Bat said:

Angpozzuto said:

It's Mercedes titles to lose, it'll all come down to reliability they've been the most reliable team since the beginning of the v6 turbo hybrid era. They'll win both titles comfortably and Ferrari will fight with RB for the scraps

Same as last season then, no need to watch now.

I'm still hoping that Ferrari will pull something special out of the bag, I just won't bet my own money

[Vocal Minority]

As regulations stabilise the field will inevitably bunch up a bit. I expect Mercedes will still have their noses in front, but I don't think Ferrari will squander the progress they made in 2017. I can see Red Bull challenging more consistently this season.

I think the field will split into distinct chunks

Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari

Force India, Renault, Mclaren

Williams, Haas,

Sauber, Torro Rosso


Sauber are as much of an unknown as McLaren really - as they were similarly hamstrung by engines in '17