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McLaren and Red Bull improving on their concepts vs Ferrari and Mercedes overhauling major parts of their car make it interesting. I'm expecting the Ferrari to be behind the McLaren and Red Bull on pace until the major updates at the European circuits, same goes for Mercedes if they're not held back by any suspension issues.
Top 4 in WCC:
1. McLaren
2. Ferrari
3. Red Bull
4. Mercedes
Top 4 in WDC: No specific order but the drivers are Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton.
I think we'll continue to see Red Bull sliding back in the competitive order. I expect them to be just in front of Mercedes in terms of car performance like +.25 compared to the 2nd fastest car on average. I think we will see Ferrari and McLaren as the two fastest cars, and very close to each other in terms of performance. I think Ferrari will have teething problems in the very beginning of their season due to their new front suspension setup and be a little bit behind in the beginning, but then catch up fairly quickly. I expect this Ferrari to finally strike a better balance of quali pace and race pace, albeit still with a slight race pace bias.
I expect Norris to be completely exposed by Leclerc and Hamilton, with Piastri being very close to Norris due to greater consistency but worse overall pace. Verstappen will beat both McLarens in a much worse car.
WCC:
1. Ferrari, about 710 pts
2. McLaren, about 600 pts
3. Red Bull, about 500 pts
4. Mercedes, about 450 pts.
5. Aston Martin, about 150 pts
WDC:
1. Leclerc
2. Hamilton
3. Verstappen
4. Norris
5. Piastri
6. Russell
7. Lawson/Antonelli
8. Lawson/Antonelli
9. Alonso
Average car pace:
McLaren +0.000
Ferrari +0.05
Red Bull +0.2
Mercedes +0.225
Aston +0.45
I think it will start off very competitive but by the end red bull/max will run away with it by dumping more resources into the 2025 car. They know the 2026 engine will suck, they don't/won't have newey for the new regs, and max will be gone before they're competitive again. It's 2013 part 2.
McLaren will still win races but be disappointing and finish a weak third or a strong fourth in the constructor's championship.
Leclerc will beat hamilton by 25 - 50 points and antonelli will be close enough to tank george's stock.
Sainz will end Albon's career.
Danica Patrick will befriend a reptilian and advocate galactic peace.
Mclaren will likely the favorite to win WCC again this year due to stability within the team.
Ferrari will be distracted with LH and making adjustment to suit his driving style and preference.
Merc will be burden by rookie mistakes
RBR will benefit from Liam to fight for WCC, while Max will once again be challenging the WDC
WDC = Lando, Oscar, Charles and Max
WCC = Mclaren, Ferrari and Redbull
Will be interesting to see who is the best rookie for 2025 season and among them there is likely to be future WDC.
I think it'll be an interesting year - has been a decnet amount of driver movement and fresh blood too.
McLaren - I think Lando will beat Oscar over the season by consistency but Oscar will win more races.
Ferrari - I am just fascinated to see how Lewis goes in this season. Charles likely to score higher and win races, but Lewis might grab one..he is a crafty devil!
Red Bull - If the car is at a level with the others then Max will win some races, Liam will do well to be top 6 and that would be decent
Mercedes - George under pressure but I think he will have less success than this year just gone. Kimi, I hope will be fast, but will crash a bit..
Aston Martin - The car needs to be better or Alonso will lose it. Stroll still anonymous and has peaked. Waste of a seat
Alpine - Jack Doohan needs to impress or he'll not make it to the 4th race. Pierre will dominate and there'll be occasional podium chances
Haas - Ocon must beat Bearman so this is interesting to see. If the car is decent then it should be a good inter team battle. Many crashes for Bearman
RB - Yuki needs to keep on improving and find a way out by giving Hadjar a through lesson. Isaac is going to crash his brains out.
Williams - Really interesting for both drivers - neither can afford to lose, or be seen to be beaten, by the other or it is game over. Hoping to see the drivers carrying the car higher up the grid.
Sauber/Audi - Another wasted year and unless Bortoletto can have parity with Nico in qually he will be a Stoffel Vandoorne rather than a Charles Leclerc
I think we'll continue to see Red Bull sliding back in the competitive order. I expect them to be just in front of Mercedes in terms of car performance like +.25 compared to the 2nd fastest car on average. I think we will see Ferrari and McLaren as the two fastest cars, and very close to each other in terms of performance. I think Ferrari will have teething problems in the very beginning of their season due to their new front suspension setup and be a little bit behind in the beginning, but then catch up fairly quickly. I expect this Ferrari to finally strike a better balance of quali pace and race pace, albeit still with a slight race pace bias.
I expect Norris to be completely exposed by Leclerc and Hamilton, with Piastri being very close to Norris due to greater consistency but worse overall pace. Verstappen will beat both McLarens in a much worse car.
WCC:
1. Ferrari, about 710 pts
2. McLaren, about 600 pts
3. Red Bull, about 500 pts
4. Mercedes, about 450 pts.
5. Aston Martin, about 150 pts
WDC:
1. Leclerc
2. Hamilton
3. Verstappen
4. Norris
5. Piastri
6. Russell
7. Lawson/Antonelli
8. Lawson/Antonelli
9. Alonso
Average car pace:
McLaren +0.000
Ferrari +0.05
Red Bull +0.2
Mercedes +0.225
Aston +0.45
I am really interested to see how the rookies live up to the challenge. Even before the season starts, Doohan seems to be on the backfoot due to dislike from Briatore.