Hypothetical question: If the Stig had to take each car for a lap of the Top Gear test track, how do you think the cars would stack up against each other based on what we've seen in testing? Here's my order: 1) Red Bull 2) Ferrari 3) Mercedes 4) Renault 5) Williams 6) Sauber 7) McLaren 8) Toro Rosso 9) Force India 10) Lotus 11) Vigin 12) Hispania I'd just like to add (before I get a load of angry comments from McLaren fans ) that I don't think that's where they'll end up. They have a stable driver line up and are the only team with two world champions, so in the short term I think they'll be able to wrangle the car ahead of the likes of Sauber and Williams. In the long term I think their engineers will have the car competitive by the time we get to Europe and the team will ultimately end up third or fourth. I also think it's incredibly tight between Red Bull and Ferrari at the front, and Mercedes and Renault for third.
From what we've seen, that seems to be a pretty decent order. Not sure which way around I'd put Sauber and Williams, especially with Williams KERS issues, but we'll see soon! I can't believe HRT didn't get a single day of testing. I wonder whether the 107% rule will get enforced come Melbourne.
Red Bull Ferrari Mercedes Renault Williams STR McLaren Sauber Force India Lotus Hispania Virgin This is for the start of the season but im sure it wont be the same for the end of the season
Haha. Funny but true. I believe that McLaren have been flattered by their drivers for a very long time now.
As I have said elsewhere: "McLaren are making a habit of getting off to a poor start aren't they? Tardy, sloppy and too corporate. Their biggest ace is their driver line-up - who are continually having to offset the car's inadequacies. I have said all along that their insistence on the long-wheelbase philosophy is short-sighted and inflexible. I see nothing whatsoever to alter my view as yet. On top of this, the situation with Pirelli is likely to make matters worse, since the ridiculous amount of degradation is very likely to limit testing, making it more difficult for any team to catch up as the season progresses."
im not quite sure where renault and mercedes stand together as these 2 will deffinatly be the dark horses. They are both offering promise and impressive innovations. There is even a chance they could be ahead of Ferrari or Red bull. ...As a gentleman I put merc ahead
Mostly agree with this. I'm not entirely convinced by Torro Rosso's pace. What is clear is that they have improved from last year, but I don't think they are close to the front. Williams and Sauber look to have genuine pace, and I think Sam Michael said that Williams were behind Mercedes but quicker then Sauber. I would put McLaren behind Torro Rosso for the moment, but they will soon be ahead. As for HRT, the car does look very different to HRT's 2010 car, while the Virgin looks similar to it's 2010 car. For that reason I would put HRT ahead.
I think we will see McLaren feature higher than the general consensus suggests here. I expect to see them fighting as the third or fourth best team, although I concede that this is likely to be in no small part, due to their driver line-up.
McLaren are behind Ferrari and Red Bull but it's debatable as to whether the are behind any of the others.
I agree with that but this will happen later on in the season. the car will start at Australia slow and unreliable eventually I expect them to get back on form and finish 3rd or 4th
Bando, What makes you think HRT will beat Virgin? EDIT: I also think HRT will beat Virgin (which I stated above)
Slightly better drivers and I think they will have a better car with the williams gear box. Virgin also seem to be struggling alot with the new car.
You think Karthikeyan and Liuzzi are better than Glock and D'Ambrosio? Glock is clearly the pick of the bunch. For Virgin and HRT their order won't be decided on points it will be the best individual performance (probably a 14th placed finish or something). Personally I think Glock will finish top out of the four and Virgin will beat HRT as a result.
Hahaha, I see the gloves are already off for the long-term "told you so"! Just for fun, I'll stake my bet in line with AbsolutelyGlorious, who I think is more likely to be in the money hereââ¬Â¦
