AMuS were once a reputable source but lately they've been almost as bad as Bild (AMuS stated after Jerez that McLaren were 1 second slower than Lotus). I'm not surprised they've voted Ferrari 9th - they've been bashing Ferrari at every possible opportunity. Bear in mind that Ferrari have spent most of the testing time doing aero work and trying to understand their car, while the rest of the grid (who evolved their 2011 cars) already understood a lot about their cars and were quickly able to do long runs and focus on set-up. So these comparisons are a bit unfair. I'm sure that the F2012 is a good car - if it was a midfield car, how was Alonso able to do a 1.23.1 on hard tyres on Day 2? Perez and Hulkenburg did qualifying simulations on SS tyres that day and only did 1.22.6's. The important thing moving forward is that Ferrari have now found a baseline and are in a position to do long runs like everyone else. Reliability issues have been solved, the car is very stable under braking and the only problem at the moment is that they're lacking traction on the exit of the corners. I completely agree with AG's predictions - and I'm confident that Ferrari will be the podium in Melbourne.
They look nowhere near as bad as some are suggesting, none of those experts had them in the top four. Williams and Sauber have set some quick times but they're both desperate for sponsorship, no idea how AMuS came to the conclusion they're behind those two teams and Toro Rosso.
Its worth noting however that even if AMuS had put them higher, they would probably still come out 6th in the average. . I think thats crazy to be honest, but actually plausable at the moment. Although i think they will outdevelop Force india by the first race. (and then probably Merc and Lotus in the season) At the moment i would guess. (with a whole heap of gut feeling). Still a lot of time to change. 1. Red Bull (again ) 2. McLaren 3. Lotus 4. Mercedes 5. Force India 6. Ferrari 7. Sauber 8. Williams 9. Toro Rosso (gap) 10. Caterham 11. Marussia 12. HRT
Benson talks crap sometimes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/02/reading_between_the_lines_in_a.html
1)RedBull 2)Mclaren Mercedes =3)Mercedes AMG Petronas =3)Ferrari 4)Force India 5)Sauber 6)Torro Rosso 7)Lotus 8)Williams 9)Caterham 10)Virgin 11)HRT
That's pretty much what I expent too, I think the first race or two might be slightly different but the season overall will finish like this.
You think Lotus, after having car problems during valuable testing days, unable to develop performance in that time.. will jump Mercedes? This as Kimi needs time to acclimatise with F1, and a teammate in the same position. Dear god.
Don't know why they are in F1. They are a shambles of a team who have not made any progress and if I was driving for them I would be worried that they passed the crash after 3 attempts.
Mercedes also missed a test. Lotus have looked impressive in testing and I honestly rate both of their drivers above Mercedes' as well. Last season aside, Lotus usually develop their car well as well, whereas Mercedes usually abandoned the year after half a dozen rounds of not winning anything, I think they'll do the same this year, especially with there being a major overhaul in regulations at the end of the season. The car wouldn't have passed if it wasn't more than safe. They are shambolic though, as are Marussia, can't imagine them being in the sport much longer. They've both undergone major overhauls recently, if it doesn't pay off I think they'll be out.
Given how the new Mercedes hardly set the world alight in Barcelona last week I reckon there's a good chance.
We said last year Ferrari were on par with Red Bull and Mclaren were going to fight in the midfield. We know how that prediction turned out.
Lotus looked consistently quick in Jerez, I've heard it said for a while that the reactive ride height was probably a smokescreen. The Mercedes has come out of the blocks and been... mediocre really. Even the team principal has admitted that the new car is probably not ready to win races yet - how's that for ambition?
