We had so much hope for last season in terms of the race for both championships.. but alas, the race was as boring and predictable as many of the previous seasons! This season I hope for only one improvement on the last - at least one driver to take Schumacher and Ferrari, in a realistic battle for the title, down to the very last race. That would provide us with a thrilling season
, regardless of the outcome.
There was one thing I really enjoyed about last season - the battle between McLaren, Williams, Renault and BAR. I don't think many of us expected BAR to be as competitive as they were, so it was a good surprise for all! However, they didn't manage to win a race, but had many podiums. Could 2006 be the season when they record that first win? With their driver line-up staying the same for this year and progress being made on the 2005 car, it's likely that we could finally see either Button or Sato standing at the top of that podium.
McLaren - 2004 started very poorly for them, but the second half of the season was much better with the release of a new car. This season they will be competing with the MP4-20, which is essentially an upgrade on the McLaren used in the second half of 2004, but with modifications due to the new rules! I believe it could be a challenge to Ferrari.
One advantage McLaren will have over Ferrari, BAR, Renault and Williams; is that they will be able to run a 3rd car in Friday practice sessions. Wurz and De La Rosa - McLaren's full-time testing drivers - will both be eligable for participating in these sessions.
Williams - they had an average 2004. I can't really remember an occassion (apart rom Montoya's drive in the last race) when they outshone any of the other teams, or pulled out anything spectacular. Despite what the points table suggested, they were the weaker out of the 5 big teams for me. Their driver line-up doesn't look as strong as it has been.. and their 2005 car is being outpaced by Red Bull in the latest tests. Atm, I don't think Williams will be fantastically strong for 2005.
Renault - faded a little towards the end of 2004. Porblems with their driver line-up certainly didn't help in that matter.. Their first day of testing for this season's car came on Wednesday. Alonso is quoted as saying that he was pleased with the cars performance for that day, but weather conditions and a few technical problems have prevented them from getting a good idea of the teams potential for this year. One obvious change on the R25 over last years car is a much thinner nose. We'll see whether this is a good or bad thing for the Renault team within a few months.
What about the others? Ferrari are bound to be strong (as usual). Red Bull have shown that they are making progress, with their fast times in testing .. but will that equate to good performances in races? Jordan have been taken over by the Midland Group, which looks like it will secure their future in F1, but how long will it take until we see the effects on track? Could Jordan start producing results closer to their form of 5 seasons ago by the end of this year? Totota will be hopeful for a better season than 2005, with an improved car and an experienced line-up. Sauber will also be looking for an improvement .. but how good will it be for both? Minardi seem like the team that will still be trawling round the track at the back every weekend. Hopefully they'll come away from 2005 with some memorable moments. Hopefully 2005 will be a season to remember for a long time.
Any predictions for this season?
Schedule 2005
6th March: Australia (Melbourne)
20th March: Malaysia (Sepang)
3rd April: Bahrain (Sakhir)
24th April: San Marino (Imola)
8th May: Spain (Barcelona)
22nd May: Monaco (Monte Carlo)
29th May: Europe (Nurburgring)
12th June: Canada (Montreal)
19th June: USA (Indianapolis)
3rd July: France (Magny-Cours)
10th July: Britain (Silverstone)
24th July: Germany (Hockenheim)
31st July: Hungary (Hungaroring)
21st August: Turkey (Istanbul)
4th September: Italy (Monza)
11th September: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
25th September: Brazil (Interlagos)
9th October: Japan (Suzuka)
16th October: China (Shanghai)
Drivers and Teams 2005 Ferrari: M.Schumacher, R.Barrichello
BAR: J.Button, T.Sato
Renault: F.Alonso, G.Fisichella
Williams: M.Webber, N.Heidfeld
McLaren: K.Raikkonen, J.P.Montoya
Sauber: J.Villeneuve, F.Massa
Red Bull: D.Coulthard, C.Klien
Toyota: J.Trulli, R.Schumacher
Minardi: C.Albers, P.Friesacher
Jordan: N.Karthikeyan, T.Monteiro
Rule changes for the 2005 season Qualifying
* In 2005 we will have one qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, with the second session on Sunday morning.
* The session on the Saturday afternoon will be in the exact same format as in 2004. The Sunday morning session will be in the exact same format as the second session from 2004, except the time and date are different!
* On Saturday, the cars will run with unrestricted fuel .. but on Sunday the cars will be running with race fuel - as it was for both sessions in 2004.
* To determine the grid position, the times of both sessions will be aggregated. So mistakes in qualifying won't be as costly this season.
Tyres
* Drivers will be restricted to ONE set of tyres for qualifying and the race. A tyre can only be changed if it has a puncture or is damaged.
* Drivers will be able to test two different dry tyre compounds in the Friday practice sessions. They must then choose which one of these compounds they wish to use before Saturday's practice session. Once chosen each driver will have three sets of this compound - one for Saturday's practice, one for qualifying and the race, and one as a spare set (should they need replacing)
* These changes will force drivers to drive slower than before and force teams to adopt different race strategies than before.
Engines
* In 2005 engines must last for 2 race weekends (the genius that thought of this obviously didn't take in account the fact that there are 19 races, thus it won't work for every race!
)
* If a driver requires an engine change before qualifying, then he will drop 10 places on the grid.. If an engine is changed between the start of qualifying and the race, then the driver will start from the back of the grid..
* If a driver fails to finish a race (engine failure) then he may start the next weekend without a penalty..
Yet if he does have an engine failure, the engine must be used until the end of the next race .. so much for making an engine last two full weekends!
* Basically, these changes will reduce the performance of the cars. How exciting.
IMHO, these new engines rules are retarded.
The person/people that thought them up must feel so proud of themselves by making up dumb rules simply because they have to justify their position by doing something..
Aerodynamics
* The regulations concerning aerodynamics have been changed in order to reduce downforce and thus reduce performance.
* Key changes inculde a higher nose and front wing section, a changer rear diffuser profile, and the bringing forward of the rear structure.
* Estimates suggest that this will cut downforce by as much as 25% since last season, but it's likely the designers and technicians will claw back a great deal of this as the season progresses. We will see slower lap times though.
Adapted from www.formula1.com .. rule & regulations section
Is it just me, or is one of the points of F1 to be the
fastest and
most exciting Motor Sport!? I can see why restrictions would be needed to keep the sport from becoming so fast that it would be far more dangerous, but some of the new regulations are simply dumb.
F1 teams sign testing agreement Nine Formula One teams have signed a voluntary deal to limit testing to 30 days during the Grand Prix season, but Ferrari have opted not to sign the agreement, which is restricted to European circuits approved by the sport's governing body - the FIA.
Teams will not be able to test at more than one circuit on the same day or with more than two cars. "We've had enough time to know Ferrari don't favour this sort of agreement," said Minardi's Paul Stoddart. The agreement also specifies that teams will remain barred from using circuits that host an event on the calendar, with the exception of Silverstone, Barcelona and Monza.
A reason for Ferrari's non-participation is that they have their own tracks in Italy and sometimes test on three circuits on the same day. Team boss Jean Todt also said recently that they expected to save over £2m by organising tests for 2005 that would require 15 fewer team members.
Last week, it had been suggested that BAR would also opt out of the cost-cutting agreement, although team chief Nick Fry was quick to dispel those rumours. "I think now there is a good level of agreement between all the Formula One teams, perhaps except Ferrari, that 30 days is the agreed amount," he said last Monday. "It was suggested partly by us anyway, so 30 is the number." Source: BBC Sport Prediction League 2005
I have decided to keep the exact same points system that we used for the 2004 season. I'll post the system again, as a reminder and for anyone who is new to the F1 prediction league.
Points System Top 8
6 points for correctly guessing the finishing place of a driver.
3 points for being one place out.
2 points for being two places out.
1 point for being three places out.
0 points for being four out.
-1 point for being five places out.
-2 points for being more than five places out.
If a driver finishes in the top 8, but you didn't predict him to be there, no points are gained or lost.
Here's the slight complexity we added last season, to take into account the risk involved in predicting a driver to finish much higher than he qualified, thus makeing it more rewarding:
If the driver gains 5-9 places, then that's 1 more point.
If the driver gains 10-14 places, then that's 2 more points.
If the driver gains 15-18 places, then that's 3 more points.
If the driver goes from 20th to 1st, then that's 5 more points!
However, if 8 cars were to retire in front of a driver, thus meaning his places were gained through luck, then the amount of additional points gained would be less by one Don't worry if this makes your head spin, I just need to understand it after the race has taken place! *lol* Bonus Points
These can be gained by predicting three drivers who you think will retire from the race (1 points for each correct driver) and for predicting who will record the fastest lap (3 points for predicting correctly)
Qualifying
3 points will be given for correctly predicting who will qualify in pole position. However, if the driver you predicted to be on pole position actually qualifies lower than 6th place, then you'll lose 3 points.
Example
Predictions:
1. K.Raikkonen.
2. J.Button.
3. J.P.Montoya.
4. F.Alonso.
5. D.Coulthard.
6. R.Schumacher.
7. T.Sato.
8. J.Trulli. (qualified 20th)
Results:
1. K.Raikkonen.
(6 points gained)
2. F.Alonso.
(2 points gained)
3. M.Schumacher.
(0 points gained)
4. T.Sato.
(1 point gained)
5. R.Schumacher.
(3 points gained)
6. J.P.Montoya.
(1 point gained)
7. J.Button.
(1 point lost)
8. J.Trulli.
(8 points gained)
11. D.Coulthard.
(2 points lost) In Summary, we predict:
* Who will get pole position
* The Top 8
* 3 drivers to retire
* Who will record the fastest lap
There are only 4 other things to note:
1) Race predictions must be made before the race starts.
2) Qualifying predictions must be made before the first qualifying session starts.
3) If you miss out on a race, there is NO way to catch-up.
4) ALL predictions must be posted in this thread - except when the board is down. In that case e-mail them to me (Nowwatchme@hotmail.com) or post them on my board.
Good luck.
35 days, 10 hours and 24 minutes until the Australian GP!
Ferrari is the best team there is, but we'll see how it goes.
