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Well, here we go then. Money on Kubica getting top ten in Australia?
A Max/Red Bull/ Honda/ Suzuka win would be epic. But no, Ham for the season, he and Merc seem right. If they've lost their way they''ll get back.
Pretty safe bet that Merc and Ferrari will be at the front. My money's on Hamilton, mostly because he seems to have Bottas whipped whereas Vettel may be destabilized by having a competitive teammate. I'm picking Renault for third because I can't see the Honda engine being reliable enough and I think Verstappen will implode when things don't go well whereas Ricciardo and Hulkenberg will steadily accumulate points. Hard not to see McLaren and Williams improving massively, so no idea who will come in from 5th downwards.
WDC Hamilton, after this season Vettel has too much ground too make up, plus he's got a new team mate who may prove a bit difficult to contend with...
Red Bull / Honda possibly up there, def interesting if the power unit delivers..
Ferrari will implode, not until they UnItilan management structure they succeed.
Renault will be knocking on the door, but Ricardo will be left wandering what if.....
Looking forward to Ferrari fireworks. Hopefully it will be like Hamiltons first season. But no change in the WC.
If I predict anything it’ll be wrong but here’s what I’d like to happen.
Hamilton wins 6th WDC.
Vettel struggles with Ferrari and decides to move teams - I don’t like him but I just don’t think Ferrari is good for him.
Kubica gets top 10 finish in first race because a) Williams have turned things around and b) Kubica is a legendary driver who gets things out of cars no one else seems to be able to
Verstappen has an incident and he ends up lamping someone which gets him banned from a race. He comes back a better driver as he’s a) learnt to control his temper and b) admits he’s wrong sometimes and learns rather than dismisses criticism.
Honey Badger beats the Red Bulls on a regular basis.
LeClerc gives Vettel a run his money and wins a race or two.
Kimi, well, just turns up and is 100% Kimi. Would be nice to see Sauber get a race win with him.
The Honda engine power and reliability is really going to affect how Red Bull do. They are all hyping it up how amazing it's going to be. It hasn't worked out for Torro Rosso this year but everyone seems to be ignoring that fact. Torro Rosso results for the last 4 seasons:
2015 - 7th - 67pts - Renault engine
2016 - 7th - 63pts - Ferrari engine
2017 - 7th - 53pts - Ferrari engine
2018 - 9th - 33pts - Honda engine
So, half as many points as when they had Renault power.
My money would be on Hamilton again for WDC. Bottas knows his place and Vettel will be either straight beaten by LeClerc or will generally lose points through red mist moments and spins like this year.
Hamilton for WDC, Mercedes for constructors.
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Williams and Mclaren to be fighting out for last spot as both cars will be dogs.</span>
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Ferrari to have a good car, but Vettel squabbling with it-is-i-leclerc will lead to tears.</span>
Oh, and Danny Rics engine will go pop regularly.
I'd love to be wrong, but I think that Kubica is really going to struggle..... didn't Sirotkin beat him in testing this time last year? Ocon to replace him mid season.....
Hard to see past Hamilton really isn't it? Unless Vettel ups his game, which didn't really happen the last time he had a quick teammate.
Hamilton and Merc to clean up.
Battle for 2nd between Max and Bottas
LeClerc to take Vettel to the cleaners, who will then throw a strop and go back to RB for 2020.
Ricciardo to be best of the rest
Kubica is a legendary driver who gets things out of cars no one else seems to be able to
Apart from Hamilton, Alonso, Ricciardo, Verstappen...
Problem is, even if Kubica is as good as he was, it's going to be like Alonso in the McLaren driving the wheels off it just to stay ahead of a rookie in a Sauber.
Bottas won't see the season out - replaced by Ocon before Silverstone.
Having a wing-man doesn't suit Mercedes - they need two consistent winners.
Can't see Vettel going back to RBR - Max is Marko's new favourite and is there for a while (unless Honda performance is properly bad). I doubt RBR will remain consistently in the top tier either - Honda may deliver some power but reliability is still looking flaky so they'll be starting from the back end of the grid a fair bit.
I reckon Bottas will see the season out as long as he can take points off the Ferraris. If Ocon gets a drive my bet is Williams after one or t'other of their signings fails to perform.
I’d love to be wrong, but I think that Kubica is really going to struggle….. didn’t Sirotkin beat him in testing this time last year?
He only just beat him by a tiny margin and Sirotkin was bringing loads of money to the team. I think I read that Kubica was now much better and was bringing some sponsorship from Poland now too. It’ll be good to watch as a lot of drivers really rated Kubica, who knows what he will be able to do once he gets into race situations.
Its such a good positive thing to happen and will really give some other disabled drivers hope for the future (Billy monger maybe but he hasn’t proved himself in F1 like Kubica did).
From what I've read Kubica hasn't been given light qualifying spec car yet - he's mainly been trudging around doing data work.
Problem is, even if Kubica is as good as he was, it’s going to be like Alonso in the McLaren driving the wheels off it just to stay ahead of a rookie in a Sauber.
Agreed, that’s why I made point a) in my post recognition that Williams need to turn things around a bit as well.
I would love to see Williams win a race again before Frank passes away, he literally lives for F1 and if the team died I reckon he would too. There’s a great moment at the end of the Williams documentary (Amazon Prime or Netflix) where he is falling asleep in his wheelchair and he snaps awake and alert when an F1 engine bursts into life. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has bits of a Cosworth DFV engine keeping him alive.
Proper owner run teams are in fear of becoming history which would be a real shame. It’s those teams that often give some of the greatest drivers their chances in F1.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he has bits of a Cosworth DFV engine keeping him alive.
I heard its a V10 Renault
Williams, being a smaller team, may well manage to turn themselves around faster than Malaren. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mc at the bottom next year.
I hope Williams do manage a significant improvement. A few years ago they had some success going for a low drag concept that helped them on the faster circuits .I wonder if the new front wing regs may encourage a similar philosophy.
Hopefully the new In wash front wings will mean they can all start using their own wind tunnels again.
I like Sebastian Vettel, I think he’s funny, articulate and can both race and be ruthless. BUT and it’s a massive BUT - he can’t drive a bad car or one that doesn’t deliver power in a very linear way. Hamilton can and has. Not consistently like Alonso, but he can do it. Hamilton struggles when he loses front end grip and can’t predict the turn in, that’s why he struggles in the wake of some cars. The upcoming rule changes and tyres should favour Hamilton.
I might struggle to follow the '19 season as I'll only have access to C4's coverage (I tend to lose interest in watching a race if I find out the result beforehand!) but I would love to see:
Williams have a resurgence back up to the midfield. They are in a horrible place right now and as the last of the historic privately owned teams they need to survive. It also helps I've been a lifelong fan of theirs.
Ferrari implode as LeClerc shows up Vettel. Ferrari are just too cocky for their own good, living off their historic status and Vettel is just plain annoying. Why the team insist on sabotaging their own efforts every year is unfathomable and Vettel is just hot-headed when things don't go his way.
Merc must have some genuine competition from at least 2 teams otherwise they will win again, they're just too good a team to not get it right over the course of a full season. SAdly I only see Ferrari and possibly RedBull step up but Ferrari will implode (see above) and RedBull will be hampered by the Honda engine.
I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't look great for anyone else but Mercedes unless the rule tweaks allow on team to find a hidden performance advantage.
McLaren hit rock bottom forcing Zak Brown out and allow them to rebuild properly. Their problems all lead back to him and he has done nothing to change anything the whole time he has been there. They desperately need someone Ron-like to make the team work again.
"Its such a good positive thing to happen and will really give some other disabled drivers hope for the future (Billy monger maybe but he hasn’t proved himself in F1 like Kubica did)."
Don't forget that Billy fought for the ban on disabled drivers be able to race a single seater to be overturned, it has helped Kubica's return by removing a block that was previously there (Renault were concerned about his self-extraction times, as were the FIA). With power steering and brakes there is really no reason either of their injuries should prevent them both racing to their full potential.
Here goes:
Leclerc to podium on his first race for Ferrari.
Alonso to make a "guest" substitute this season in a much improved McLaren.
Verstappen publicly berates Honda for poor driveability and reliability. Verstappen and Red Bull part company for 2020.
Bottas will do something. Anything.
Kubica makes a habit of wrestling a Williams into the top ten during Q3.
George Russell or Lando Norris score a podium.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he has bits of a Cosworth DFV engine keeping him alive.
Lovely sentiment. 🙂
They desperately need someone Ron-like to make the team work again.
+1
Sadly I can't see it happening.
Oh, and I doubt I'll watch any coverage next year.
I agree with what PJM1974 says regarding Max. He's been told continually over the last few years that he's going to be WC. He's getting impatient. He can see Leclerc coming in and getting a drive in a (potentially) WC winning car. If the Red Bull isn't competitive, he'll be looking to move. I don't think Vettel will stay in F1 if he doesn't win the WC in 2019, so there may be a seat at Ferrari.
Perhaps we should set up a sweep stake on how many cars Verstappen hits during the season. He seems incapable of overtaking anyone without hitting them.
Had Max down as swapping to Merc to partner Ocon, and Lewis to the Ferrari. But it all really depends on who bail before the new rules.
Also depends on what RedBull can do with the Honda. It can't be *that* bad? can it? And Ricciardo will surely have better reliability in a works Renault rather than rebadged Renault with duff clutch etc.
Williams-Honda for 2020? or will they be the next team to file for administration (sadly). Hope I'm wrong there.
Also depends on what RedBull can do with the Honda. It can’t be *that* bad? can it?
As bad as the McLaren-Honda? Probably not, but the Honda guys seem to have a habit of promising the world and underdelivering so nothing would be surprising.
Williams-Honda for 2020? or will they be the next team to file for administration (sadly). Hope I’m wrong there.
Williams reports are on their website ( https://www.williamsf1.com/pages/corporate/investors/financial-reports) and considering their recent form they're not in bad financial shape at the moment. There will probably be some form of release settlement from Stroll which will help (they got money by selling Bottas to Merc too) but they're losing their title sponsor next year and I haven't heard much about a replacement apart from it not being Rich Energy.
Merc were repotedly looking to adopt a B team possibly along the Ferrari/Haas model so with Stroll's buyout of RPFI Williams are the only current Merc powered team who might be in line for that, but they have siad they're not interested. It'll be interesting to see how that lack of ienthusiasm plays out when their payments from FOM start to dwindle due to their recent results.
So I'd be suprised if they jumped ship to Honda - they're desperate for results and if they're switching to a new PU that decision would need to be taken by about April to allow the 2020 design sufficient time. That means the Honda would need to be seriously impressive from day 1 of testing to give them the confidence to do that, plus of course the finances would need to make sense and Honda won't be giving their PUs away any more.
SHOCK NEWS!!!!
Lance Stroll confirmed at Force India next year, Nice of his dad to give him his Xmas present early.
They desperately need someone Ron-like to make the team work again.
Been reading Andreas Seidl of Porsche LMP1 fame is been lined up for a top job at McLaren.
I’d love for Kubica to make a fairytale return to podium, or even just get the most out of the Williams, even by F1 driver standards he’s got such amazing mental strength to make a come back from such a horrible accident and so many years out of F1.
I think Grosien deserves a decent car again, he’s seems to be crashing a lot again trying to make his car faster than it is.
As for WDC, are there many reg changes for 2019? It’ll be Ferrari v Merc again with RedBull a distant 3rd or possibly miles ahead if Honda finally produce a decent engine, I can’t see it being in between.
As for my personal 2019 F1 ‘experience’ I suspect I’ll watch the opener (it’s only highlights on C4 now isn’t it?) with great anticipation, by the 2nd race I’ll skip quali, by race 3rd I’ll only watch the start and end and the rest of the season I’ll read about it in the news and then decide if I can be bothered to watch the race, and then won’t.
Its pretty staid at the moment, the top team too dominate and the same guys who’ve been winning for the last 10 years are still winning and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Maybe for fickle fans like me a massive over-haul every 5-10 years is what’s needed.
It would be a fairy tale if Kubica found himself on the podium, but it's unlikely.
The car would need a big leap up the field to just be reasonable, watching him drive last week showed how his injuries are affecting his driving, and he has a young hungry team mate who will want to make his mark.
I can't see it.
There's only one winner next year and that's Hamilton, he owned this year's championship with for most of the season was the second quickest car. Ferrari/Vettel made to many errors.
Bottas will cement himself as a number 2 for Hamilton, leclerc in think will push Vettel but he'll maintain number one status.
Unless Honda pull off a miracle off season Redbull may really struggle and Renault, if they get their act together may trouble them. Redbull have the right rear end philosophy that Honda struggled with in the 'size zero' McLaren but then the chassis is always excellent. With the rule changes a curve ball may be shown but it'll have to be mighty curvy to topple Hamilton gaining number 6.
Lewis to the Ferrari.
I can’t ever see that happening. I think Lewis needs to right team to flourish - was so much better at Merc than Mclaren as he didn’t have to do all the promo stuff. In Ferrari you’ll always be second to the team itself - they don’t reallt care about the drivers all they want to do is win but they don’t realise that having a strong team makes great drivers even better.
I cant imagine Merc would let Lewis go without a fight anyway, he probably sells more cars for Merc just by being who he is than any amount of promo work could ever do on its own. Just in the USA market their sales must have increased enough to pay his wages as he’s really popular over there as well as in the UK.
Kvyat’s return to Toro Rosso had passed me by. Interested to see how that goes!
"Been reading Andreas Seidl of Porsche LMP1 fame is been lined up for a top job at McLaren."
That could be good, as long as Zac is pushed aside that is.
Schumacher is 50 today. I hope that in some way he can enjoy it.
Odd that they missed the French 4-stopper
I was a big fan when he started at Benneton and made Piquet look average, but then this was very dubious:
Then this was blatantly foul:
Then this was just pathetic:
So his unquestioned ability and achievements will always be overshadowed by the scandals for me.
Then this was just pathetic
Not sure how Michelin and the FIAs **** up taints him?
Not sure how Michelin and the FIAs **** up taints him?
Schumacher was happy enough taking glory for a non-race that dealt a fatal blow to F1 in the USA. Ferrari could have said they would accept Michelin swapping the unsafe tyres for safe ones and the FIA would have accepted it. Schumacher was a big enough star that he could have refused to race and Ferrari would have had to accept it. After all the scandals, team orders, etc., his desire to win at all costs was just too much for me, and this is a pathetic example of that attitude.
It's my understanding that Michelin (who started the almighty **** up by not taking into account the new surface) didn't have any safe tyres up their sleeve to use (or certainly not enough of them). Which is why they suggested a chicane was added at the last minute, but that was knocked on the head and the FIA told them they would just have to lift off *insert facepalm here*. From my perspective he was paid to get in a car and drive, he shouldn't have been involved in meddling with the tyre issue.
Yes, now I remember, it was a chicane, not replacement tyres. Basically, all the other teams agreed, but Ferrari refused. Ferrari were a really nasty bunch of cheating pricks back then and Schumacher was quite happy to go along with it for most of his career. He was much more than just a guy paid to turn up and drive, he was right at the core of the Ferrari team and quite happy to take a few points from a debacle that left 100 000 American fans out of pocket. Utterly pathetic.
The FIA knocked back the chicane, not Ferrari
For me it was his parking up at Rascasse to deny Alonso (or anyone else) a chance to take pole from him that meant he will always be a total bellend in my memory. The not being seen in public or being interviewed at all after his accident is also to me very weird - the act of a supremely vain man.
Yeah that one and the Villeneuve incidents in particular I'll never understand
The FIA knocked back the chicane, not Ferrari
All the other teams agreed to the chicane, Ferrari refused. If Ferrari had supported the other teams, the fans would have been able to watch a race. Schumacher didn't give a rat's arse about the fans.
Ferrari weren't at the meeting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_United_States_Grand_Prix#Attempts_at_compromise
Even if the statement from Bernie about what Todt said is ropey, his actual "I wouldn't have agreed" comment came after the minutes had been published.
Also "The nine team principals who were present then resolved that, unless they and the FIA could come to a decision in the best interest of the sport, they would not participate in the race."
Then there was the massive threat from FIA/Moseley about all FIA staff being removed from the race and then that the FIA would go to town on any/every FIA race (of any type) held in the states!
Don't get me wrong, Todt could have decided to be more involved but I dont feel it can be laid at Schumachers door.
If he had any self-respect, his car would have suffered an "electronics glitch" and he would have quit the race. He was happy to be gifted points for a win in a non-race while fans got shafted.
The not being seen in public or being interviewed at all after his accident is also to me very weird – the act of a supremely vain man.
Really? Given the little news about the accident other than ‘very serious head injury’ what makes you think he is capable of an interview?
tomhoward+1 = maybe it's the act of a very sick man. Sadly I doubt that an interview with him would be productive.
The not being seen in public or being interviewed at all after his accident is also to me very weird – the act of a supremely vain man.
That's a seriously weird attitude.
Really? Given the little news about the accident other than ‘very serious head injury’ what makes you think he is capable of an interview?
It didn't even occur to me that was the accident being referred to - what a bizarre statement
If he had any self-respect, his car would have suffered an “electronics glitch” and he would have quit the race. He was happy to be gifted points for a win in a non-race while fans got shafted.
The fans would have been happier with less cars, you think?
The fans would have been happier with less cars, you think?
I don't think they could have been less unhappy, but at least Schumacher and Ferrari wouldn't have looked utterly ridiculous. Here's the Wikipedia report on the race, note how huge numbers of fans just walked out as soon as they realized what was happening (because nobody even bothered to inform them what was going on):
Because of the retirement of the drivers who qualified ahead of them, Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari teammate, Barrichello, were the foremost starters, though using the grid positions they had qualified in; the pair were followed by Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan, both driving for Jordan. Rounding out the remaining field of six were Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher of Minardi. Schumacher retained the lead when the race started, and the only changes in positioning came when Karthikeyan overtook Albers but immediately lost the position again going into turn 1.[19] The two Ferrari drivers quickly built a significant lead over their rivals. By lap 10, many of the estimated 100,000[20]–130,000[21] attendees had begun to leave the grandstands. Thousands of fans were reported to have gone to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office to demand refunds, and police were called to keep the peace.[22] Boos were heard throughout the race, and some upset fans threw beer cans and water bottles on the track.[23]
The race was a story of pit strategy, as the only passing on the circuit was of lapped traffic. Albers was the only car to run a three pit stop race, as all other drivers chose to stop only twice. The only lead changes came on lap 26, as Schumacher's 32-second stop gave Barrichello the lead, and on lap 51, as Schumacher turned in the quickest pit stop at 23.615 seconds, giving him enough time to exit pit lane at the same time as Barrichello, with the result of forcing Barrichello into the grass of Turn One. After this incident, which was not investigated by race officials, both Ferrari drivers were reminded over their radios not to crash out of the race, and they both settled into a slower pace, comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.[16] Schumacher ended up with the victory, ahead of Barrichello. Monteiro and Karthikeyan, more than a lap down, finished in a distant third and fourth, and Albers and Friesacher brought up the rear, two laps down.[24][25] All four of the drivers for Jordan and Minardi scored their first points in Formula One at this race.[25] Karthikeyan's points were the first for an Indian driver in Formula One.[26] This was also the final race at which the Minardi team tallied points.[27]
At the podium ceremony, at which none of the scheduled dignitaries were present, all Ferrari team members quietly accepted their awards, and quickly exited. However, Monteiro stayed behind to celebrate his first podium finish, and the first for a Portuguese driver.[16]
Hmm. So why did Schumi look ridiculous, and not Barrichello et al? Wasn't his job to run the PA system, and I'm not sure the situation would have been improved by any of the remaining drivers/teams voluntarily opting out.
So why did Schumi look ridiculous
It was fairly obvious to everyone that Ferrari had always imposed team orders, although they pretended they didn't. I much prefer the way Mercedes have done it, with both drivers allowed to fight for the championship, but team orders sometimes used when it makes no sense for the two drivers to fight each other. As long as it's done openly and fairly, I accept that as part of the sport. Clearly, Schumacher was stronger than any of his teammates, no doubt about that, hence his number one status in the team, but even when Ferrari were crushingly faster than any of the opposition, his teammates were still required to let him win because they were contracted to be supporters for Schumacher.
At Indy, the Ferrari was massively faster than the Jordan, and the Minardi was a long way further back, so the only way the race could have been interesting was if the Ferraris were allowed to race for the win, the Jordans were allowed to race for third, and the Minardis were allowed to race for fifth. Instead, Ferrari ordered their drivers not to race, so Schumacher was just gifted a win and the fans were robbed of what little excitement was possible. Just pathetic. Schumacher's career achievements will always be clouded by the use of team orders, not to mention the other scandals. At Indy, he forced his teammate off the track (one of his nasty habits) and then the team imposed team orders to make sure that Schumacher could win without needing to play dirty. That's not how someone who has any respect for his teammates and fans behaves.
We’ve talked about this before. This isn’t Schumacher or F1 specific, theres plenty of examples of sports people pushing boundary’s or being accused rightly or wrongly of cheating on the basis of a predominant will to win against all costs.
I mean - forgetting the German connection, look at Vettel now. We had plenty of team orders, baby strops, “dodgy” manoeuvres, ignorance in the form of the Mark Webber incident etc from him have we not? He talks a better fan based story than Schumacher, but is he really any better? I don’t think so. I think in Schumachers day it was just easier for a Driver to be the predominant political force in the team than it is today in some respects.
look at Vettel now. We had plenty of team orders, baby strops, “dodgy” manoeuvres, ignorance in the form of the Mark Webber incident etc from him have we not? He talks a better fan based story than Schumacher, but is he really any better? I don’t think so.
I don't think so either. Hamilton, however, managed to hold his own against three World Champion teammates (Alonso, Button, and Rosberg) without needing team orders. He can be an annoying dick at times, but I can't recall him ever crossing the line into outright dirty play the way Schumacher did whenever it suited him.
So your outrage at Schumacher's Indy behaviour is now nothing to do with your original complaint, right?
No, my point is that I was a big fan of Schumacher when he first appeared, but then his behavior over the rest of his career was disgraceful. It wasn't just one thing, it was numerous things that made it obvious that he didn't care how he won. The Indy thing was just one of the most pathetic examples. Crashing into Hill and Villeneuve were probably the two worst, but his career was just one shameful thing after another. Real pity because he was unquestionably a massively talented driver, but there will always be questions hanging over him because of his behavior. Hamilton and Alonso have not always been perfect, but they will both go down as great drivers who achieved their titles without needing to play dirty.
It was fairly obvious to everyone that Ferrari had always imposed team orders, although they pretended they didn’t. I much prefer the way Mercedes have done it, with both drivers allowed to fight for the championship, but team orders sometimes used when it makes no sense for the two drivers to fight each other.
You are aware I assume that at one time team orders were banned whereas now they are allowed?
The Indy thing was just one of the most pathetic examples
You haven't demonstrated that, if you don't mind me saying.
You are aware I assume that at one time team orders were banned whereas now they are allowed?
Yes, I am aware of that, but it's something that was never enforceable, hence Ferrari's blatant use of team orders to ensure Schumacher always beat his teammates. Or are you saying that Schumacher and Ferrari were cheating?
You haven’t demonstrated that, if you don’t mind me saying.
And you think it was an exemplar of motor racing at its best?
That's not what I said - but I don't think it's fair to Schumacher's behaviour was "outrageous".
Or are you saying that Schumacher and Ferrari were cheating?
If Rob Smedley had said "Let Michael pass" that would be cheating, but he didn't. he would say something cryptic like "Michael is faster than you" - i.e. orders were illegal, giving information wasn't. Which is pretty much why the whole team orders thing was reversed back to what it used to be, because it was unenforceable. That and the acceptance that F1 after all is a team sport.
Michael is faster than you
It amounts to the same thing. Thats a coded order which if not obeyed likely results in an internal team sanction aka its an order when team orders were banned, aka cheating or at best bending the rules.
I'm in agreement with Hols in general with the exception that I don't think Schumacher is unique in his unbending will to win which results in overstepping the line. Yes there are drivers that don't need to do that, yet STILL drivers that do. On that basis I don't think Schumacher deserves to be vilified. He's an gifted driver and deserved of his record as much as anyone, whether you like his methods and personality or not.
And lest we forget, he's spending the rest of his life suffering for his art in the most terrible way, I like to think we could have some empathy for that whilst remembering an exiting and talented driving personality which we've had the pleasure to grace our life times.
Schumacher always seems a lot of stick for his unsporting/cheating actions & win at any cost attitude.
FWIW, I admired his driving but didn't particularly like him much as a sportsman and the Ferrari dominance during his years there did make things rather boring.
I wasn't particularly into F1 when Senna was a dominant force but I seem to remember he had a similar win at any cost mentality, but is revered for it rather than hated. Maybe my perception of this is wrong, but can anyone shed any light on this? Is my perception wrong (quite likely), or does the hot-blooded Brazilian get perceived differently to the cold & clinical German?
I think being tragically killed at the height of your career tends to gives a more favourable view of your past indiscretions.
The passionate Brazilian versus the cold and clinical German is just applying national stereotypes. They could both be cold and calculating or passionate and emotional when required.
Schumacher was tearful on plenty of occassions and Senna certainly had a cold ruthless streak. They were more similar than a lot of people realise I think.
I wasn’t particularly into F1 when Senna was a dominant force but I seem to remember he had a similar win at any cost mentality,
He was fanatically determined, but not generally dirty, apart from putting Prost off in the deciding race back whenever. Apparently him and Prost sorted out their differences later on, I think they had a lot of respect for each other, it's just that having the two top drivers in the same team will always lead to friction. Senna and Alonso had their moments of pushing a bit beyond the limit of sportsmanship, but it doesn't define their careers. Schumacher just kept on doing it; crashing into other drivers, forcing other drivers off the circuit, blatant team orders, the traction control and missing fuel filter controversy at Benneton, etc. Everywhere he went rules got bent or broken and he mostly got off without serious punishment. Senna, Alonso, and Hamilton had their moments but nothing like Schumacher.
Getting back to the earlier discussions I agree with the sentiments that Vettel is likely to get riled by Leclerc as I think he will be a hungrier driver than Kimi. Vettel is a very good driver but, IMHO, like Rosberg just doesn't quite have that x-factor when it comes to driving with his elbows out and overtaking strong drivers. It often just looks clunky and badly managed and last season usually ended up with him coming off worse. I originally thought he was a great driver - his first WDC, but by the time it got to 3 and 4 he got far too smug and up himself, disrespecting his fellow driver. I ma hoping Leclerc will at least win a race or two, certainly podium and generally give Vettel a proper fight. Bottas is clearly a number 2 to Hamilton. While he is a quick driver he has drifted off in far too many races this season. I expect this to be his last season at Merc before Occon comes in for him. The thing with RBR is that their cars have been very good in the past couple of years - they seem to drive well, get good traction and are capable of getting up close to the car in front. They were let down by the unreliability and lack of power in the engine. Not sure that the Honda engine will be as bad as some are predicting and I see them doing much better than we saw McLaren doing. As the Honda engine got better it revealed that the McLaren chassis was not as hot as they had tried to suggest it was. Could be an interesting season and looking forward to seeing the results from the first couple of races. I would expect Hamilton to do well - but will see how the cars are before thinking of predicting a 6th WDC. Will miss seeing it on TV though
Vettel reminds me of Damon Hill, who was really fast and excellent at setting up a car, but never seemed up to the rough and tumble of close racing like Schumacher, Senna, and Villeneuve.
My guess about Honda is that they won't be much of an improvement over Renault. At the moment, they seem to be roughly as powerful as Renault, but haven't had to worry about reliability. Renault should improve a bit next year, so Honda need a big step up in power and reliability to match Red Bull's ambitions. Also, Red Bull haven't always turned out class leading cars at the start of the season, but they are very good at developing through the season. It's not guaranteed that the 2019 Red Bull will be as good as 2018.
It's hard to say about the McLaren chassis. Last year's was absolutely a dog, but the 2017 car seemed decently quick at circuits where engine power wasn't an issue. Probably not quite as good as McLaren were saying, but much better than last year's car. Still, they will be doing very well to beat Renault next year, so probably 4th or 5th fastest at best.
That'll teach Max a lesson!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/46846722
Raised eyebrow emoticon goes here.
Good win for Alonso in Daytona.