[SHUSIATULSE]

All teams except HRT have confirmed their driver line-ups for 2012, so it is good time to start discussing them. As the saying goes - the driver you shall first and foremost beat, is your own team-mate. So who is going to come out on top in each pairing and by how big margin?

The line-ups of the Top4 teams have remained the same, but midfield has changed a lot. I find it very intriguing that in teams from 5th (Lotus) to 9th (Williams) the most experienced driver with the exception of Räikkönen has had just a bit more than 2 years of racing in F1 (Kobayashi).

1) Vettel v Webber
2) Button v Hamilton
3) Alonso v Massa
4) Rosberg v Schumacher
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg
7) Kobayashi v Pérez
8) Ricciardo v Vergne
9) Maldonado v Senna
10) Kovalainen v Trulli
11) Glock v Pic
12) de la Rosa v ?

In addition you can make some general guesses about driver performances this year.

Who is going to be the revelation of the season? Driver, who is forcing everyone to talk about him much more than ever before and take real notice.

Alternatively, who is going to be the disappointment of the season? Specifically compared to expectations. As usual, underperformance would lead everyone to debate that "he isn't really as good as we thought"...

But every year we have performances fluctuations, someone performs above and someone below expected level. So you can guess.

Over to you.

[PVaQlNaP]

Can I let you know in November?

[esanamaserrn]

1) Vettel v Webber
2) Button v Hamilton
3) Alonso v Massa
4) Rosberg v Schumacher
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg
7) Kobayashi v Pérez
8) Ricciardo v Vergne
9) Maldonado v Senna
10) Kovalainen v Trulli
11) Glock v Pic
12) de la Rosa v TBD

[Filling25]

Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg, Kimi, di Resta, Pérez, Ricciardo, Maldonado, Kovalainen, Glock and de la Rosa are my picks.

[LClan439]

1) Vettel v Webber
2) Button v Hamilton
3) Alonso v Massa (you see it in motogp when their contract is up they go better)
4) Rosberg v Schumacher
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg
7) Kobayashi v Pérez
8) Ricciardo v Vergne (hard to call)
9) Maldonado v Senna
10) Kovalainen v Trulli (Trulli may be replaced with Vitaly Petrov)
11) Glock v Pic
12) de la Rosa v ?

Vettel v Webber redbull may have to win each race

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Vettel to be 'stronger than ever' for F1 2012?

[NiliSpuppypax]

1) Vettel v Webber: Vettel challenges for a third title while Webber slides further away from the race win contenders.
2) Button v Hamilton: Both challenge for the title but Button to be more consistent on points.
3) Alonso v Massa: Alonso to stay as clear number 1 but I do expect an improvement in Massa's form.
4) Rosberg v Schumacher: Rosberg possibly to challenge for a race win this year if car is good. Schumacher might make podiums in same situation but I don't expect him to ahead of Rosberg regularly.
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean: Raikkonen to out-drive car. Grosjean to score regular points and show promises of quality speed.
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg: Di Resta building on last year's form. Hulkenberg to settle in during first few races and equal Di Resta by second half of year.
7) Kobayashi v Pérez: Equal matches.
8) Ricciardo v Vergne: No comment.
9) Maldonado v Senna: Equal matches.
10) Kovalainen v Trulli: Much like last year.
11) Glock v Pic: No comment.
12) de la Rosa v TBD: No comment.

[Buhoutsoupfap]

1) Vettel v Webber
2) Button v Hamilton
3) Alonso v Massa
4) Rosberg v Schumacher
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg
7) Kobayashi v Pérez
8) Ricciardo v Vergne
9) Maldonado v Senna
10) Kovalainen v Trulli
11) Glock v Pic
12) de la Rosa v ?

I think the most watched will be the McLaren duo this season. I think Lewis got a wake up call and having seen how he bounces back from situation like this in the past, I think he'll be eager to put down his mark early on. I expect to see an improvement at Red Bull this year with Webber running Vettel alot closer than last year. I think Vettel will struggle this year with the absense of the EBD and this may bring the gap closer. I don't expect to see much of a change at Ferrari as Alonso is clearly a far superior driver than Massa and has the emotional support of the team behind him. I think its going to be a good season and I hope its alot more exciting than what I considered a bland 2011. Bring it on.

[RealCHEAPsoftDOWNLOAD]

1) Vettel v Webber = RB wont be as dominant this year (my hope), but Vettel will still out perform Webber.
2) Button v Hamilton = Hamilton to start well, but errors creep in again and a similar season to 2011.
3) Alonso v Massa = ALonso will again pummle Massa although the Brazilian will improve and get a podium at least.
4) Rosberg v Schumacher = Another even season, but Schumacher will make the most of the breaks and secure a few podiums.
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean = Raikkonen may struggle initiially, but will end the season ahead of Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg = Di Resta will make his previous season count and beat Nico.
7) Kobayashi v Pérez = Kobayashi will make errors and allow Perez to outperform him.
8) Ricciardo v Vergne = Hard to call but I think Ricciardo may just finish ahead. Could rely on one wet or crazy race and one gets a big haul of points.
9) Maldonado v Senna = I think these two will each beat each other on regular occasions, but I think Bruno will just edge it.
10) Kovalainen v Trulli = Same as the last 2 seasons.
11) Glock v Pic = I think Pic will challenge Glock more than Di Grassi & Ambrosio put together, but Glock will just finish ahead.
12) de la Rosa v ? = De La Rosa will start the season better but then ? will start out performing the old man.

[textarchive]

Hmm, I'd add my thoughts as well.

RBR: I don't expect a notable change here. Gap will be around what it was in 2011 in favour of Vettel. The gap in 09-10 was smaller, but the regulations from 2011 (esp tyres) seem to suit Vettel perfectly. In addition to this he has matured well and is more consistent than a few years ago.

McL: This is an interesting one. Tyres were the major game changer in 2011 and this is where Button decisively came out on top. As we know, we are still going to have fragile Pirelli tyres in 2012, so Button shall have a good chance. Hamilton can come out on top if he can finally have an ultra-consistent season, but based on his career it can be a big ask... We'll see.

FER: Most one-sided team-mate battle. In 2010 Massa complained that the tyres were hard to get up to temperature. His races were a bit better, but not enough to match Alonso. So for 2011 he got tyres that he wanted and had some pretty good qualifying throughout the season, but started falling backwards in races instead. So different problems each time and nothing has helped Massa to bring him closer to Alonso and don't see any change here. Maybe 07-08 Bridgestones would help, but that ain't happen...

MER: Schumacher had a bit of an awakening last season, gave Rosberg a run for his money and even beat him on many occasions. But his qualifying was still horrible and Mercedes being in no-mans-land in 4th helped him to avoid getting a big handicap for the race. If Mercedes starts mixing it more with other teams, Rosberg's Q advantage will be more significant. Another issue was that MB'11 was hard on tyres and particularly Rosberg suffered from it. Depends on car design philosophy, but somehow I expect the gap to increase in Nico's favour.

LOT: A bit like Rosberg-Schumacher 2010 or Villeneuve-Massa 2005 situation. A retired former champion comes back against a young charger. I don't expect Kimi's comeback season to be very smooth, even though it can be filled with moments of previous genius. Meanwhile Grosjean is a complete unknown. Somehow I expect Grosjean to be faster in qualis, but it is open, what to expect in race trim.

FOR: Too close to call. Seriously. I think it can be said that on the whole di Resta's rookie season (2011) left a stronger impression than Hülkenberg's (2010). But Hulk is now in a new environment and perhaps one he would thrive in. Both have already proved to be fast qualifiers, so it will come down to consistency in race trim.

SAU: Should be close as well. In 2011 Kobayashi scored more points, but Pérez showed an improved form in the second half of the season. On average Pérez seems a bit better in qualifying, while both can do well in races. Perhaps it will come down to who can adapt to the car better.

STR: Frankly this is extremely difficult to predict as well. The difference is that while Ricciardo raced and impressed people at HRT; nobody knows, what Vergne can do, and hence the Frenchman is a bit under the radar at the moment. Well, nobody except RBR/STR engineer staff, who seem to rate him very highly indeed...

WIL: Maldonado had good qualifyings and outraced Barrichello on several occasions too. He shall be at least reasonably decent. Senna had some good qualifying sessions too, but his racing left much to be desired in late '11. If he wants to have a chance against Maldonado, he needs to improve in that department. But perhaps Senna is the driver, who can get a good result/points in a wet race...

CAT: Kovalainen has established himself as the natural favourite for the season. If Trulli can perform like at his prime, it would be interesting, but at the moment there is no indication he can do that. Qualifying of 2011 was embarrassing.

MAR: Pic seems to be a driver in the same caliber as di Grassi/d'Ambrosio, so I expect more of the same with Glock beating his rookie team-mate.

[medifastwoman]

Can I let you know in November?

[Kitdowstyhodo]

Surprise of the year: Pic will be quicker than Glock by the mid-season.
Hamilton will assert himself over Button
Massa will be better, but he's still out of Ferrari after this season.
Kova drives Trulli into retirement, and Vitaly takes over Jarno's ride at some point.
Webber, still a fantastic driver, will lose another tenth or two to Vettel.
Senna and Pastor: a draw.
Grosjean over Kimi.
Force India will go backwards with two sophomores

[Babposa]

Oh man, I can't wait until the 2012 season starts. As for teammate battles, can't wait to see the continuation of Button v Hamilton. Also Räikkönen v Grosjean, Maldonado v Senna, and Di Resta v Hülkenberg. The rest are kind of predictable (e.g. Vettel vs Webber) or just not very interesting to me (i.e. Rosberg v Schumacher)

[paydayus]

1) Vettel v Webber - Conspiracy?
2) Button v Hamilton - Button should take this one because he seems to be coping better with the tyres. But through and through Hamilton is faster, if he can keep his head in the game he might just beat Button.
3) Alonso v Massa - Massa is done, Alonso is superior in every way.
4) Rosberg v Schumacher - It will be close, Mike has been doing better than '10 - he is getting used to F1 again, but his age will begin to show this year, they may be fairly even at the beginning but Mike will be much slower towards the end of the season.
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean - Kimi will be faster, much faster.
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg - A year out will make the difference.
7) Kobayashi v Pérez - Perez will out qualify Koba, he'll be more consistent overall. But Koba will have a few higher position finishes.
8) Ricciardo v Vergne - Ricci, because of experience. However, both careers will be ruined because neither have enough experience to be in F1.
9) Maldonado v Senna - Senna will dominate, but if the car is very bad they will be fairly close.
10) Kovalainen v Trulli - Hekki will dominate. Regardless of who his team mate is, he will destroy them. If Caterham can get a car on part with '11 Williams, he will get a top 10 finish. And he will prove that Flavio was right about him. Trulli will not complete the season.
11) Glock v Pic - Glock, experience talks.
12) de la Rosa v ??? - If it's a newbie, it might be close, but by the end of the season, luck notwithstanding, Perdo will be beaten. If anyone with experience comes in Pedro will be destroyed from the first lap of the season.

In addition you can make some general guesses about driver performances this year.

Raikkonen might pull out a few podiums if the car is as close to the front as it was at the beginning of '11, maybe even a win at Spa with some luck (Hamilton takes out Webber, SC - Kimi has an epic re-start and passes Alonso and Vettel while they are busy with each other).

Who is going to be the revelation of the season? Driver, who is forcing everyone to talk about him much more than ever before and take real notice.

Senna and Grosjean will give us a few surprises.

Alternatively, who is going to be the disappointment of the season? Specifically compared to expectations. As usual, underperformance would lead everyone to debate that "he isn't really as good as we thought"...

Torro Rosso boys. Both will fail big time, but we won't really be able to judge and will put it down to the cars. Same with Hulk.

[YTmWSOA5]

My picks in bold


1) Vettel v Webber
2) Button v Hamilton
3) Alonso v Massa
4) Rosberg v Schumacher
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg
7) Kobayashi v Pérez
8) Ricciardo v Vergne
9) Maldonado v Senna
10) Kovalainen v Trulli
11) Glock v Pic
12) de la Rosa v ?

[boanuatiguali]

1) Vettel v Webber
2) Button v Hamilton
3) Alonso v Massa
4) Rosberg v Schumacher
5) Räikkönen v Grosjean
6) Di Resta v Hülkenberg
7) Kobayashi v Pérez
8) Ricciardo v Vergne
9) Maldonado v Senna
10) Kovalainen v Trulli
11) Glock v Pic
12) de la Rosa v ?

I doubt very much that Button will be able to usurp Hamilton for a second season in a row, plus I feel that Hamilton will have grown as a result of last year and I think he will get himself back on track.

I've gone for Schumacher because there was a clear trend of improvement last year. This year I think he may, just may, end up ahead on points at the end of the season, but it will nonetheless be a close one.

The rest are pretty straight forward and obvious choices.

[dosyrotsbop]

Seb will beat Webber easily. Fernando will be number 1 driver in Ferrari. The intra-team battles in McLaren and Mercedes GP will be very close and Lotus is an enigma for me - I don't know is Kimi as fast as before and how much Romain has improved. The rest, I have to admit, are not that interesting to me, although I keep my fingers crossed for Bruno in a Williams.

[Goseciwx]

Narain Karthikeyan has been announced as HRT other driver, teammate to Pedro De La Rosa.

[ultimda horaf]

This will be oldest line-up on the grid. I think that Pedro will beat Karthikeyan.

[new-nickname-zanovo]

This will be oldest line-up on the grid. I think that Pedro will beat Karthikeyan.

Agreed.

--

Oh, and one more thing. About the revelation and disappointment part, which I didn't answer in my earlier post.

Revelation?
Well, I think it may be worth looking into that very tight midfield group. Several drivers have a chance of making a serious impression in F1. If the Toro Rosso car is good, both Ricciardo and Vergne can make the F1 world take notice. At the moment there is little to talk about them as their F1 careers have barely started, but this is the year, when it can change. Also Hülkenberg has a point to prove. If Nico can put that - by his high standards - disappointing debut season of 2010 behind and show more of the stuff we witnessed in feeder categories, he would put himself into contention for seats in top teams.

Disappointment? Perhaps here we can look at the midfield too. There are many drivers with high expectations, so you could say someone is bound to lose out. Or are we going to have a surprise and one of Vettel, Button or Alonso will have a bad year?

[d1Bc25UP]

Button / Hamilton
Vergne / Ricciardo
di Resta / Hulkenberg
Rosberg / Schumacher
Grosjean/ Raikkonen


No "Other" option for those missed due to the riches of 2012 competition being as high. Senna/ Maldonado or Webber /Vettel albeit for different reasons, Massa etc are less cutting edge. These battles will still be very interesting. But, the above five battles will go to make a possible vintage season. And dictate the drivers own future.

Interested to know what people think about the inter team battles... and the end result.


That end result means thoughts as below.....

Does Lewis arrive at MB after a poor Shumi year, di Resta arrive at Mclaren, Vergne to Red B, Ferrari is Alonso and.. Bianchi, Massa, why do they keep getting this wrong, Alonso and ... I would go for the Hulk or Grosjean, Pity it is not Glock but four years too late. Sorry Kovi. So number two at Ferrari is hot...Lotus probably stay the same, Kimi and Grosjean. Perez for Ferarri, obvious but I have a bad feeling.

Others ? !!