10 Years ago Fernando Alonso won this Grand Prix with the Iceman second and the other Schumacher in third. David Coulthard, Villeneuve and Fisichella were close behind. Jenson Button grabbed pole. 10 Years into the future, Alonso and Button are on the edge of retirement in a collective last ditch effort to recapture the glory of yesteryear. Kimi Raikkonen still believes he has what it takes at the front and the rest have retired. Now we have a new story with two titans, a triple champion in the Silver Arrow and a quadruple champion in the Prancing Horse... This is the last season of the current regulations, savour the moment my friends, enjoy the ride. Has Ferrari closed that gap? Will Nico challenge? Will Kimi, Massa, Alonso or Button see glory again? Will anyone understand the new tyre system? Will Magnussen beat his former team Mclaren? How will Palmer fair? Will Hulkenberg ever see the podium? Will Manor or Haas race for points? Will the Renault or Honda engine come good? please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Number of times held 80 First held 1928 Most wins (drivers) please log in to view this image Lex Davison (4) please log in to view this image Michael Schumacher (4) Most wins (constructors) please log in to view this image McLaren (12) Race length 307.574 km (191.071 mi) Laps 58 Length 5.303 km (3.296 mi) Turns 16 Lap record 1:24.125 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004) (TV TIMES, ONLY AVAILABLE ON SKY) FP1 FRI 18TH MARCH 01:30 FP2 FRI 18TH MARCH 05:30 SP3 SAT 19TH MARCH 03:00 Q SAT 19TH MARCH 06:00 R SUN 20TH MARCH 05:00
interesting, when I voted it was 2:1 in Vettel' favour, wishful thinking, I don't think they're close enough yet, I hope I'm wrong, in fact I hope none of us score a point.
I hope it's not another Hamilton bore fest of a season, they are still fastest but I'm hoping for some action.
I'd like to think Rosberg could continue his form but it's not going to happen. Hamilton to win in corporate fashion.
I'm feeling strangely confident that there will be a Ferrari in the top two. It may be a flash in the pan but something just seems likely.
Going to wait to see the likely weather before I vote, but I'd like to see Nico go all out for it this year. Being out of contract at the end of the year - the way I see it - he has two options: Continue his relatively passive approach and hope for some luck. Probably isn't going to be WDC, but will likely earn a new contract and win a few races a year for a few years as a number 2. Be super aggressive on and off the track and don't give an inch. He's lost the narrative war since Spa 14, despite the fact that Hamilton's done far worse to him since. He needs to show he's prepared to lose his job to win the WDC and give the fans something to get behind turn the narrative tide. Likely there will be decent drives at Ferrari, McLaren and Williams available at the end of this year, so there will be somewhere to go. If he can get the fans behind him he may even keep his Merc drive as fans and Bernie pressure them to give us a chance to see round 2. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he has it in him, but I'd love to be proved wrong - over to you Nico.
Perfect summary of Rosberg. I'd be utterly amazed if he was passive in his approach and rolled over. I don't think he'll give an inch and if I was him I'd be prepared to piss off everyone. I can see them being so defensive of their positions that contact is inevitable this year. Even if he plays politics and is waiting for Lewis to leave one day, someone like Alonso will then turn up so there's no point waiting. Attack this year and if you have to leave then so be it. Williams will be a good seat to fall back on and he has history there.
I can't help but think that Merc might have an embarrassing amount of time up their sleeve and it will be pretty crushing to deal with such a gap ....again. Bottas thinks that they are in a league of their own. I hope not. Ferraris testing was pretty peculiar though and one would think that they haven't been silly enough to reveal their full hand just yet.
Safe thing to do is go for Hamilton, but I just have a funny feeling the first race might throw up an interesting result. Maybe a Ferrari or even a Williams getting in there, even if that isn't the pattern for the whole season. So I've gone for Vettel in Aus. Maybe Merc will get caught out by their rivals closing the gap, or perhaps some sort of cock up or coming together. I don't think he'll win the championship but I think Ferrari will win 5 or 6 races. And I think Williams will get one too. Merc will win the constructors but they won't have it their own way this year.
Can't get the link from my phone but a smashing article from Brundle in the Telegraph today about just how exciting it would be if you had McLaren fighting Merc and Ferrari- he said it would be a proper Chanpionship but fears they may be fighting Manor early on!
well, could be that Manor are at the sharp end this season, their livery should add 1-2 seconds to their lap time. If they work on upgrading a couple of go-faster stripes down the side, it could see them on pole.
Ted's testing round up with a couple of Journalists put McLaren just in front of Hass/Manor and on a par with Sauber
How can I put this politely. Teds a prick. Bore those sandals off Ted. He might be right though I think McLaren are going to be faster than Sauber, Manor, and Haas and I think they'll be around P10.
5 seconds covering the top 4 throughout the race... Who wins, I don't really know.. Thinking it could be anyone of the 4 from Merc/Ferrari... Going to take the easy option and go for Hamilton, but I really have no idea.. Just want a good race/start to 2016 and not a borefest!