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imo Kimi will be 2007 Formula 1 champion, i see no one who can rival him, ferrari and kimi are the winning formula. top contenders are kimi, massa, alonso, button, fisichella.
Don't count your chickens until they are hatched. One thing constant in Formula One is change. And a lot is changing. McLaren won't be down forever, one season they will be back like gangbusters. The only question is would it be in '07? Renault have displayed incredible depth, no team wins the double double by fluke. Honda and BMW showed they are to be taken seriously, either one could break out into the top three. And over in Red Bull, in a brand new Adrian Newey chassis with a lot of development time and money, the pit bulls of DC and Webber are itching to take a bite out of someone.
Kimi will be the always hard, quick charger, and Massa has blossomed into a better driver than only his mother could expect. And the financial situation in Ferrari won't be as bright as before. They spent a lot of money in the challenge of '06, money that came out of the future. With Shu and BBraun gone, a huge hole has appeared in Ferrari, whether it is the gash of an iceberg on the Titanic remains to be seen.
Right now, anything can, and usually does happen.
Dave...such a well calculated and thought out reply. Onon, the Kimi fans can hope for the best and only that. What Dave said was completely correct...do not count your chickens before they hatch (Us Kimi fans should live by ths rule concerning the past 2 seasons). And this upcoming season, it looks like many diffrent chickens will be hatching indeed.
I think Ferrari will win, but it will be mostly Massa that leads them to victory rather than Kimi. Ferrari should be strong coming out of the gate next year, as hopefully they've learned their lesson over the past couple of years about not being fully prepared at the start. The loss of Brawn will hurt, but he doesn't design the cars. Rory Byrne has one year left on his "consulting" contract, and I'm sure he'll want to go out a winner. Regardless, Massa should outperform Kimi because he'll have simply had more time in a Ferrari.
I'm not so sure how well Renault will fare with Fisi as its lead driver and having to come to grips with new tires. Then again, next year's Bridgestones could be entirely different since there won't be any competition for them to try to beat.
I don't really see McLaren having McLaren-like success next year either. The MP4-21 was their last Newey-penned car, and as soon as he left, they lost the pace they showed in winter testing. I really don't see how they can overcome the loss of Newey, the addition of two new drivers, even though one is the World Champion, and a new tire supplier. They'll be back, just not next year.
Red Bull should improve, but not enough to contend for a title (though they are my darkhorse pick). The same can be said for BMW and Honda. Williams and Toyota have nowhere to go but up, but they are the two teams that seem to be able to figure out how to get worse rather than better. For Williams, that's pretty sad, and I hope I'm wrong about them. For Toyota, it's just funny. All that money spent for nothing. That's high comedy if you ask me.
And I don't think anyone expects must other than subtle, sporty improvements from Super Aguri, Spyker or STR. Well, STR could prove to be pretty interesting depending on what chassis they'll be able to use.
At any rate, that's why I think Ferrari will do well, and subsequently why Massa will do well.
I don't think that Ferrari will have advantage when it matters tyres because tyres for 2007 will be different than ones used in 2006 so basically all teams will start from 0 during winter testing. All engines will have more-less similar hp and all of them will be reliable since none of them will run over 19.000 so I expect to se some radical aero and suspension solutions because those are only areas where a team could find dominance in. I believe that it will be a closest fight for the titles we've ever seen with at least 5 drivers fighting for it.
bhallg2k wrote:I think Ferrari will win, but it will be mostly Massa that leads them to victory rather than Kimi. Regardless, Massa should outperform Kimi because he'll have simply had more time in a Ferrari.
I'm not so sure how well Renault will fare with Fisi as its lead driver and having to come to grips with new tires.
I'm not really a fan of Kimi, but I think he will be the faster one. He never needed that much time to get familiar with what he's driving and he seems to be fast even in a car that doesn't really suite him. And it's not like he just jumps into Ferrari on the first race weekend, I'm sure he'll test enough to be familiar with the car before the first race.
I'm not saying Massa is slow, I'm just saying Kimi is faster.
However, I am a fan of Heikki, so my view might be a bit biased when it comes to him. But I don't think Fisi has a chance against him. So far basically no one had a chance against him in a same car, including Schumacher and Loeb, though that wasn't so serious. Have to admit he has zero experience on racing a F1 and surely he will run into issues during the season. I wouldn't mind hearing what others, not fans, think about Heikki's chances next year?
Formula 1, 57, died Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
Born May 13, 1950, in Silverstone, United Kingdom
Will be held in the hearts of millions forever
Rest In Peace, we will not forget you
MC, I hear the tires this year are designed for durability and are as much a 2s off the pace.
I don't think money will be a huge problem for Ferrari, after all they no longer have to shell out £30m/year on Shumi, I'm sure Kimi is getting much less for his first season.
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
DaveKillens wrote:Don't count your chickens until they are hatched. One thing constant in Formula One is change. And a lot is changing. McLaren won't be down forever, one season they will be back like gangbusters. The only question is would it be in '07? Renault have displayed incredible depth, no team wins the double double by fluke. Honda and BMW showed they are to be taken seriously, either one could break out into the top three. And over in Red Bull, in a brand new Adrian Newey chassis with a lot of development time and money, the pit bulls of DC and Webber are itching to take a bite out of someone.
Kimi will be the always hard, quick charger, and Massa has blossomed into a better driver than only his mother could expect. And the financial situation in Ferrari won't be as bright as before. They spent a lot of money in the challenge of '06, money that came out of the future. With Shu and BBraun gone, a huge hole has appeared in Ferrari, whether it is the gash of an iceberg on the Titanic remains to be seen.
Right now, anything can, and usually does happen.
Dave you are right. But you forget to mention that one thing can't be changed and that is engine. If you see what Mercedes engine is capable of and how fast McLaren is this season, i woud say hardly. Honda i believe will be big suprise in 2007 and maybe BMW. Reno will definitely go down, because Fisico is not a match to Massa or Button.
Ha ha ha that was the point, to make us laugh right?
Ferrari is ferrari and offcourse they will be quick but I don´t think that they will win the championship. And if they win it will be Massa not Kimi winning the title.
Then you have drivers such as: Alonso, Button and my personal favourite Kubica. If BMW continue devoloping the car like they did this season we can expect something from them too (maybe not the title but...)
hahahahha..the season just ended guys..and we are already predicting for next season..hahahahhaa..someone should smack all of us..haha.. ..but honestly i agree with dave.god knows wats gonna happen. and by the way the final derivation merc engine is not to bad, its just they have a crummy chasiss and for some funny reason mac is picking wrong tires for thier weekends. but yeah..next year there is gonna be so much change..so no one really knows whos gonna do wat..yup i'm a kimi and a mclaren fan..so u can imagine how sad i am he is going to ferrari..oh well..over the past 2 years i've grown to like alonso..he is really reminding me of the young schu who was in benneton. he has the leadership qualities and technical prowess..maybe he might bring that to mclaren. mclaren hasn't had a leader driver since i think Mika. so it will be good. mclaren should be there n there abouts..but maybe they won't gun for the tittle just yet in 2007..ferrari too will be in the same fix..2 very influencial figures are leaving..schu and brawn..thats a very very big hole. just look wat happen to mclaren when newey left.
its the other teams that are gonna be real interesting..wat will happen with reanult..their technical staff is still there..but i'm just wondering about thier drivers..honda is in good seat..RBR should improve..toro roso will benifit from the boost in RBR..gosh..next season is gonna be darn exciting..i can't pick a winner excapt for the fans..
McLaren and Williams have had their worst season in a long time so I expect them to come out fighting next season, although McLaren has a stronger driver line up.
Redbull will be very hungry but I think a lot will depend on the engine that is stuck behind the drivers. A lot will also depend on a certain A Newie and how much Redbull have lost by choosing not to continue the RB2 season development. Both drivers are proven racers so if all goes well they could definately be in with a shout.
BMW and Honda will be further up there than this year both are carrying some good development momentum into the off season and both are very hungry.
Renault and Ferrari are not so easy to predict. Will Fisy do better now that he is out of Alonso's shadow and take on the leadership of the team or will Heke K blow him away? Unfortunately probably the latter. Kimi and Massa will be strong as will the Ferrari package but I am not sure whether the leadership and inspiration provided by the Schumi / Brawn relationship for the team can be replicated. Also I am still uncertain that Kimi can provide the necessary feedback to develop a car in the same Schumi could. Also Massa has developed massively this season and his confidence must be huge, so maybe we will see some infighting in the Ferrari team for the first time in many years.
All I can say is that nothing is predictable for next season and it looks like it could be very open and very exciting. Another vintage year ? I hope so.
Oh I nearly forgot Toyota, but then doesn't everyone after the first round of pit stops. Sorry guys I just don't see enough hunger in that team particularly in the drivers.
Renault aren't crazy, if they have to start new area, they'll purpose fisi another job than pilot!
Evrybody's talk about Ferrari and mclaren, but as a renault fan, the biggest treat will comes from BMW, i rate them the best engines developper in germany and as renault they have a serius long term plan to win...
the new rules could advantage big torque engines, and only renault and BMW have one!
to interlagos, Alonso engine never passed 19000rpms when ferrari one was toping 21000rpm..
in 2007 BS will throw same tyres to everyone, only 2 compounds, so BS or Michelin advantages will be zero, in aero parts, no one have renault top speed per rpms rate!
renault big challenge will be to works news pilot into thier wining matrix, and it was successfull with alonso!
Kimi has been known to actually give good feedback on his car, even if he doesn't appear to say anything whenever interviewed. However, with news that Todt is supposedly concentrating on running the company as a whole, and Ross Brawn maybe taking a break, things may not run as smoothly as before. At least for the first year.
I don't see Williams even competing in the top 5. Their problem to me didn't really concern the engine. It's quite sad they fell from grace ever since 2003. Leave Honda, BMW, and possibly Toyota to surpass them. RBR might even come up in the mix.
I don't expect Spyker or Aguri to make a big impression next year. They'll be faster than this year but so will everybody else.
Bring back wider rear wings, V10s, and tobacco advertisements
that was the point, to make us laugh right?
..but honestly i agree with dave.god knows wats gonna happen. and by the way the final derivation merc engine is not to bad, its just they have a crummy chasiss and for some funny reason mac is picking wrong tires for thier weekends. but yeah..next year there is gonna be so much change..so no one really knows whos gonna do wat..yup i'm a kimi and a mclaren fan..so u can imagine how sad i am he is going to ferrari..oh well..over the past 2 years i've grown to like alonso..he is really reminding me of the young schu who was in benneton. he has the leadership qualities and technical prowess..maybe he might bring that to mclaren. mclaren hasn't had a leader driver since i think Mika. so it will be good. mclaren should be there n there abouts..but maybe they won't gun for the tittle just yet in 2007..ferrari too will be in the same fix..2 very influencial figures are leaving..schu and brawn..thats a very very big hole. just look wat happen to mclaren when newey left.
