F1

Guess the 2018 Grid

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 35 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #133843
    Lucas Wilson
    Participant

    So, who will be in the top seats in four years time, do you think that lotus and other teams have been saved from crises, have a guess :-) . My prediction:

    Mercedes AMG F1: Have won 2 world championships since 2014, one for Hamilton and one for Rosberg.

    1. Lewis Hamilton, world champion in 2014
    2. Nico Rosberg, world champion 2015

    Scuderia Ferrari: employ Adrian Newey for his final few years until his retirement, won the championship in 2017, the year after Alonso leaves.

    3. Nico Hulkenberg, won the 2017 world championship
    4. Sebastien Vettel, no more world championships yet

    Mclaren-Honda, the bet on Honda engines pays off, winning both championships in 2016.

    5. Kevin Magnusson, wins the world championship in 2016
    6. Stoffel Vandoorne, comes 3rd in 2016

    Red Bull-Renault: Slowly begin to drop down the order, no longer the works team as Renault rejoins F1 in 2015

    7. Daniel Riccardo, best world championship result was 3rd in 2014
    8. Jules Bianchi, waits in the ailing RB for a seat to open up at Ferrari

    Renault, return as a manufacturer under new regulations, re buying the Enstone team

    9. Romain Grosjean, unable to find a seat elsewhere, he is stuck at Enstone.
    10. Robert Frijns

    Sauber-Ferrari, manage to survive but only just on Russian money.

    11. Antonio Felix da Costa, made the jump from former Toro Rosso team
    12. Sergey Sirotkin, has failed to impress so far, may leave F1 next year

    Infinity Racing-Mercedes, former Force India team is bought by Infinity (current sponsors of Lotus) after Vijay ruhs out of cash a few years ago

    14. Daniel Kyvat, has been at the team a few years now.
    15. Unknown

    Minardi, the Red Bull squad can no longer afford to keep Toro Rosso running, it is sold and renamed Minardi.

    16. Unknown
    17. Unknown

    Williams, are still back markers, after Frank passes away, Claire trys to keep the team going.

    18. Felipe Massa, his final season of F1
    19. Unknown

    RUSSIAN TIME-Hyundai, Marussia fail to find money, their licence is bought by GP2 team RUSSIAN TIME

    20.
    21.

    Hyundai, new entrants last year bringing new engines after record car sales.

    22.
    23.

    #244512
    Mathers
    Participant

    I know I will be way out, but worth a try

    Ferrari – Alonso wins them the 2017 title, before hanging up his helmet
    0. Jules Bianchi – After being Alonso’s team mate since 2016 after Raikkonen got fed up and quit the sport again, Bianchi has progressed to a title contender in 2018
    2. Rafaelle Marciello – having been placed at Marussia in 2016 after winning the 2015 GP2 Series and Sauber 2017 with the promise of a Ferrari seat this year, Marciello has risen through the ranks to become a major player in F1.

    Mercedes – Have been as good as this since 2014 – winning the 2016 title with Hamilton and coming oh so close last year with Rosberg.
    3. Lewis Hamilton – 4th last year after a disappointing 2017
    4. Nico Rosberg – very nearly robbed Alonso of his glorious exit from F1, but will be one of the favourites this year.

    McLaren-Honda – doing well with the new engines, but not quite at the top level
    5. Nico Hulkenberg – been close to the front since his arrival in 2016 from Lotus, he hopes this year is his year.
    6. Sergio Perez – Been overtaken by Hulkenberg as number one, but hopes he can get some good results.

    Williams-Mercedes – after a tricky few years, Williams re emerge as a strong force, with multiple podiums and points in every race last year.
    7. Daniel Juncadella – the man who took Williams back to the sharp end, not only with his driving, but with funding from Astana as well
    8. Pastor Maldonado – remains with the team, providing substantial finance, but actually remains due to form that evokes more memories of the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix than anything else

    Red Bull-Renault – after a difficult season last year, the power house return with renewed vigour due to the hiring of many of the best technical minds from up and down the grid.
    9. Sebastian Vettel – took a sabbatical in 2017 to pursue a win of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche alongside Mark Webber (!) – which they duly won, but now returns, ousting Daniel Kvyat from his big opportunity in which he was totally outclassed by Ricciardo.
    10. Daniel Ricciardo – no stranger to a shootout to earn a drive from his Toro Rosso days, he shows his worth to the Red Bull team through a tough spell.

    Marussia-Honda – after the 2016 season in which a budget cap was finally introduced, Marussia got technical support from McLaren and engines from Honda, and started running drivers for them in return, effectively became the McLaren junior team, and became solid midfield runners.
    11. Stoffel Vandoorne – driving for Marussia in 2014 and 2015 anyway, was overlooked for Hulkenberg but retained his ties with the team, and was rewarded by getting Marussia their first win in an amazing 2017 Belgian Grand Prix.
    12. Kevin Magnussen – raced for Honda in the World Endurance Championship in 2015, joined up with Vandoorne when the McLaren support became more widespread, came 3rd in the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix.

    Russian Airways Grand Prix Team-Renault – After a buyout of Toro Rosso in 2016, they have run Russian drivers exclusively in the series, including Vitaly Petrov in 2016 and 2017, before settling on their current line up
    14. Daniel Kvyat – after being ousted from Red Bull, he signed for this team, and big things are expected.
    15. Sergey Sirotkin – after solid points, he looks like a future champion.

    Sauber-Ferrari – their championship position doesn’t tell the whole story. A massively quick car was ruined by reliability, with both their drivers failing to finish 12 of the 25 events, and the closeness of the field meant they slipped rapidly down the order.
    16. Esteban Gutierrez – still there, was desperately unlucky not to win the Belgian Grand Prix after driveshaft failure on the final lap, but looks good if they can sort out reliability.
    17. Robin Frijns – the first driver to suffer a retirement after the mandatory hybrid system ceased in Monaco while in P3, is another to watch for podiums in the closest F1 field ever.

    Enstone-Renault – after Lotus pulled their backing, they were totally bought out by Boullier and his management firm, and he gave the team their rightful name after many changes.
    18. Romain Grosjean – despite winning 2 races in 2016, failed to get a podium in 2017, but will be hoping his Total liveried car will be faster this year
    19. Jean-Eric Vergne – the Total sponsorship meant another fast Frenchman remained on the grid after he was ousted in 2016 from Caterham.

    Caterham-Alpine-Renault – after Toro Rosso was bought, a more informal relationship was formed between Red Bull and Caterham, running two junior drivers.
    20. Carlos Sainz Jr. – after being a part of the Porsche Le Mans squad since 2015, winning with Vettel and Webber last year, he finally gets his F1 break
    21. Tom Blomqvist – a runner in the GP2 Series for 3 years, gets his move to F1 due to a move by Christian Horner to get a British Red Bull F1 champion.

    Force India-Mercedes – difficult times meant Mallya refocused the F1 team to find the best talent from Asia, and has been quite successful
    22. Jazeman Jaafar – Still carries significant Petronas backing, and has the pace with it.
    23. Kazuki Nakajima – a familiar name, with Petronas backing too, was a condition for the funding, but there could have been worse options for the grid.

    The cars are really closely matched, and the racing is better than ever due to lower downforce, and there are no gimmicks like DRS. The cars are powered by 1.6 turbos still, but now with full blown hybrid systems that mean the cars produce a peak output of 1500bhp.
    22

    #244514
    Deej92
    Participant

    This looks like fun, so here’s my go!
    Scuderia Ferrari
    1. Vettel, 2. Bianchi

    Mercedes AMG Petronas
    3. Hamilton, 4. Rosberg

    Gillette McLaren Honda
    5. Hulkenberg, 6. Magnussen

    Total Renault (formerly Lotus, before French manufacturer returns)
    7. Grosjean, 8. Vandoorne

    Infiniti Red Bull Racing-Renault
    9. Ricciardo, 10. Kvyat

    BMW Sauber (another buy-out of Sauber from the German manufacturer)
    11. Kubica, 12. Perez

    Petrobras Williams-Mercedes
    14. Massa, 15. Nasr

    Sahara Force India-Ferrari
    16. Maldonado, 17. Marciello

    GE Caterham-Renault
    18. Pic, 19. Rossi

    Scuderia Toro Rosso-Renault
    20. Sainz, 21. Unknown

    ING Volkswagen (2018 is VW’s first year)
    22. da Costa, 23. Frijns

    #244515
    Dion
    Participant

    Prepare for my nutjob predictions! (Disclaimer, car numbers don’t indicate actual placing in 2017 championship, they’re just there to make it look a tad better)

    Ferrari – Ferrari:
    1. Jules Bianchi
    2. Sergio Perez

    Mercedes – Mercedes:
    3. Sebastian Vettel
    4. Nico Rosberg

    Red Bull – Renault:
    5. Daniil Kvyat
    6. Daniel Ricciardo

    McLaren – Honda:
    7. Kevin Magnussen
    8. Stoffel Vandoorne

    Lotus – Renault (renamed to Enstone):
    9. Romain Grosjean
    10. Nico Hulkenberg

    Sauber – Honda:
    11. Sergey Sirotkin
    12. Esteban Gutierrez

    Williams – Mercedes:
    14. Lewis Hamilton
    15. Daniel Juncadella

    Force India – Ferrari (renamed to Scorpion)
    16. Valtteri Bottas
    17. James Calado

    Toro Rosso – Renault:
    18. Callan O’Keeffe
    19. Carlos Sainz Jr.

    Caterham – Renault:
    20. Alexander Rossi
    21. Giedo van der Garde

    Marussia – Honda:
    22. Nyck De Vries
    23. Tio Elinas

    Porsche – Volkswagen (new team in 2017):
    24. Antonio Felix Da Costa
    25. Robin Frijns

    Chevrolet – Chevrolet (new team in 2016):
    26. Conor Daly
    27. Charles Pic

    Toyota – Toyota (new team in 2016):
    28. Kamui Kobayashi
    29. Kevin Korjus

    #244516
    Slr
    Participant

    23. Kazuki Nakajima – a familiar name, with Petronas backing too, was a condition for the funding, but there could have been worse options for the grid.

    Assuming you mean Nakajima makes his return in 2018 and not earlier, I wonder if nine years between successive races would be a record?

    #244517
    mnmracer
    Participant

    I like the idea of Vettel and Webber winning Le Mans together.

    #244518
    Iestyn Davies
    Participant

    Lammers and Badoer had 10 year gaps to 1992 and 2009. But I dunno if they are really ‘countable’ in the fan’s sense.

    I like your optimism, but I wonder if Bernie would allow new teams, given he has a new working group and 1/3 of the votes for himself :D

    It’s hard to look so far ahead, I’ve predicted elsewhere half the time ahead, but this is far enough for another generation to come in. So I would say this:

    Infiniti Red Bull Renault
    Kvyat, Ricciardo

    Mercedes
    Hamilton, Rosberg

    Ferrari
    Vettel, Bianchi (Fuoco)

    McLaren-Honda
    Magnussen, Vandoorne (de Vries)

    Total Renault (or Lotus-Renault/Honda)
    Grosjean, Vergne/Pic (Ocon etc.)

    Sauber
    Hulkenberg, Sirotkin

    Force India
    Calado, Daly/Frijns/Evans/Harvey (King)

    Williams-Mercedes (maybe Honda)
    Bottas, Juncadella

    Toro Rosso
    Gasly, Auer/Blomqvist

    Caterham
    Rossi, Pic/Jaafar

    Marussia
    Marciello, Ellinas/Chilton

    It’s hard to know if Hamilton will give up on F1 by then, if so you could put Vettel or Hulk there, and add in say Nasr to Sauber.

    #244519
    Dion
    Participant

    Or place him at a resurgent Williams, as I did ;)

    #244520
    Nick
    Participant

    Bit optimistic here.

    Red Bull
    1. Daniil Kvyatt
    2. Daniel Ricciardo

    Ferrari
    1. Nico Hulkenberg
    2. Romain Grosjean

    McLaren
    1. Kevin Magnussen
    2. Stoffel Vandoorne

    Lotus
    1. Jules Bianchi
    2. Robin Frijns

    Mercedes
    1. Lewis Hamilton
    2. Sebastian Vettel (trying to do what his idol couldn’t; win with Mercedes)

    Sauber
    1. Felix Rosenqvist
    2. Raffaele Marciello

    Force India
    1. Nyck de Vries
    2. Valtteri Bottas

    Williams
    1. Sergey Sirotkin
    2. Nico Rosberg

    Toro Rosso
    1. Carlos Sainz Jr.
    2. Tom Blomqvist

    Caterham
    1. Esteban Ocon
    2. Weiron Tan

    Marussia
    1. Max Verstappen
    2. Sergio Perez

    (Don’t drink and proofread, kids. Edit 2: nor do so when you’ve been up for 5 minutes, you might mistake drivers for each other.)

    #244521
    markyrc
    Participant

    @npf1 I see Carlos Sainz Jr. is gonna be very busy. :)

    #244522
    JackySteeg
    Participant

    Mercedes
    1. Sebastien Vettel
    2. Valtteri Bottas

    McLaren-Honda
    3. Lewis Hamilton
    4. Kevin Magnussen

    Ferrari
    5. Sergio Perez
    6. Jules Bianchi

    Lotus-Renault
    7. Ukyo Sasahara
    8. Pastor Maldonado

    Red Bull-Renault
    9. Daniil Kvyat
    10. Carlos Sainz, Jr.

    Force India-Mercedes
    11. Nyck De Vries
    12. Stoffel Vandoorne

    Sauber-Ferrari
    14. Raffaele Marciello
    15. Kimiya Sato

    Williams-Mercedes
    16. James Calado
    17. Felipe Nasr

    STR-Ferrari
    18. Tom Blomqvist
    19. Beitske Visser (yeah, I know she’s out of the Red Bull YDP, but I can’t think of anyone else)

    Caterham
    20. Conor Daly
    21. Jazeman Jafaar

    Marussia
    22. Esteban Gutierrez
    23. Facu Regalia

    Some real stabs in the dark there. One thing that will be certain is that Heikki Kovalainen will still be Caterham’s reserve driver.

    #244523
    Lucas Wilson
    Participant

    @mathers

    wow that is wishful thinking!

    #244524
    Bullfrog
    Participant

    Antonio Felix da Costa’s single seater career is finished, now that he’s commentating alongside Will Buxton (it’s a kiss of death – look what happened to his other co-commentators! Chandhok and d’Ambrosio won’t be seen again, and Brundle never made it)

    #244525
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Red Bull
    1. S Vettel
    2. D Ricciardo

    Ferrari
    3. N Hulkenberg
    4. J Bianchi

    Mercedes
    5. L Hamilton
    6. N Rosberg

    McLaren
    7. K Magnussen
    8. R Grosjean

    Lotus
    9. S Vandoorne
    10. S Perez

    Sauber
    11. S Sirotkin
    12. D Kvyat

    Force India
    14. V Bottas
    15. J Calado

    Williams
    16. D Valsecchi
    17. D Juncadella

    Toro Rosso
    18. T Dillmann
    19. M Evans

    Caterham
    20. A Quaife-Hobbs
    21. R Frijns

    Marussia
    22. R Marciello
    23. C Sainz Jr.

    #244526
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Obviously forgot Sauber! Will edit the above post when the site allows me to.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 35 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.