Pre-Season 2020 Predictions for season ahead

[Ruslan]

a bit of both, Mercedes is suffering quite badly financially and what is happening in China will impact them quite heavily, there have also been a number of repuitable sources who hinted to the fact that Mercedes is looking for a way out of F1. If you add to that that I don't see how the other teams / PU manufacturers can accept another season dominated by Mercedes (who while doing a great job have also been responsible for writing the rules of the PU formula and had over one and a half year advantage over the other teams), enough is enough, Mercedes IMHO has 3 options after 2020 (I believe that they will close the current formula in style with the WDC and WCC): either retire in style or accept that it's now someone else's turn to take the silverware home or be responsible for the collapse of F1, I assume that they would take the first option, a bit like they did in 1955

Interesting. I do not think they will withdraw like they did in 1955. That did occur under extreme circumstances.

I suspect they are good to at least 2023-2024. They have a significant investment which they will still be reaping the benefits of in 2021 and 2022, even under the budget cap. They have the right team in place with the right driver at its peak. I suspect they will stay for a few more years.

Now I would not be surprised if at some point they do decide to withdraw, switch to being only an engine manufacturer and sell off the team, but I think there would much stronger vibes on that if it was going to happen in 2021.

 

[Andyoak]

Or red and yellow after Wolf Garten Tools.
Bottas could be sent lawnmower racing.

I declare an interest... living in Ross-on-Wye

The death of Ross businessman Roderich Wolf | rossgazette.com

Prominent Ross industrialist, Roderich Wolf, died at home on August 16th, surrounded by his wife and family, Mr Wolf was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend who settled in Ross in 1963.

www.rossgazette.com

 

[F1Brits_90]

lets have a look at how i did in January when we didnt realise what was about hit us over the next 12 months

The calendar to be ripped up & have mostly European 17 race calendar. racing in Imola, Nurburgring, Portimao & Turkey
Yes

2 British GPs & 3 italian GP's. Ferrari will have their 1000th race at Mugello Not Canada
Yes

Hamilton to struck down with mysterious illness & Russell robbed of a debut win through bad luck in same week
Yes

Gasly, Perez & Stroll to take the maiden wins & Poles in 2020
yes, i knew that trip to mystic meg was worth it, as they laughed at my outlandish predictions

____________________________________________________________________________________
Only Joking , this are the real predictions

Lewis Hamilton wins the world title & matches Micheal Schumacher once thought unreachable target
won his 7th comfortably & looks like he could win his 8th just as comfortable as well. he is the best driver in the best car

Leclerc 2nd & Verstappen 3rd. Leclerc losing out in either penultimate or final round of the world championship
i didnt see Ferrari worse season for 40 years coming in january & he lost out at opening round

Ferrari finally stop Self Harming & win the constructors
well they stop self harming, & instead blew themselves up instead & struggled to be best team in Italy

2020 final year of Hamilton & Bottas pairing, Hamilton either goes to Ferrari & Bottas stays. or Hamilton stays at Mercedes & Bottas goes after another poor year with Ocon & Russell in the wings
No Hamilton & bottas we are expecting to go into 2021 but to be fair it was the final year, as Russell was teammates with Bottas in 2020

Ocon to beat Riccardo
this was my worst prediction of the season, by a country mile

Russell to beat Latifi in races at least 18-3
that was stuffed before i started, in qualifying he beat latifi 16-0 & races was 10-6 but that kind of latifi because he only beat russell twice (monza & russia) when he's finished

the season opener will be & Bahrain will be better
season opener wasnt but racing in bahrain was better

Vietnam to be fantastic & zandvoort race to be boring but then look like a thriller compared to spain
well never know part 1 & to be fair zandvoort didnt happen & it still looked like a thriller compared to spain

Verstappen to win Dutch gp & lewis to win in britain
Verstappen is still unbeaten at the Dutch GP & Lewis won in Britain

Kimi gets a 12 month extension to his deal
yes he carries on

Robert Schwartzman wins the F2 title this season
Nope came 4th & Mick schumacher won

Toyota don't win Le Mans
they did & by 5 Laps

Mick Schumacher sets a pole time at Monaco. then accidently crashes at racasse so no other F2 driver can improve their time
F2 took avoiding action so much they never went to monaco

Kubica fills in for 1 race at alfa romeo, gets on the podium passing George Russell on the final lap & on slowdown lap gets on the radio says "I told you it was the 2019 car that was not me, so you can shove your drive, where the sun don't shine, Claire"
Can you believe i got nearly got this right but it was end of bahrain not austria & stroll not kubica

after current events, ill add another one to this. that F1 will keep up its long tradition plowing on pig headed with events that everyone sensible is advising them to rearrange or cancel, like japan 1976, imola 1994, bahrain 2012, japan 2014
In austraila they kept up the long tradition & Plowed on with the F1 season as it originally stood until 3 hours before FP1 was to take place. but then after they shocked everyone by being realistic & rearranged anything until it was safe in july & stayed mainly in europe

 

[cider_and_toast]

Let's see how I did:

1. Hamilton will probably win his 7th title because there's no change of engine or aero rules this year.

Well of course he did.

2. Ferrari will shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly when in a winning position.

Never in a winning position but did have an awful season

3. Vettel will announce he is leaving Ferrari.

Yes he did.

4. Max will drive well but RBR won't have the legs.

He didn't drive too badly but yes, the RBR wasn't good enough.

5. 21 races will make the season even more tedious.

Nope, Covid.

6. I will show less interest than last year which was almost no interest at all.

Would have been the case but for lock down and some new tracks.

7. McLaren will podium at least twice with one podium being a second.

Two podiums, One second place. I'll take a bow.

8. The Dutch GP will be very orange.

Would have been but for covid

9. The circuit changes will produce a dull as hell race.

Abu Dhabi but not because of changes.

10. Sky will talk F1 up as the best thing ever because they want to attract more subscribers.

As always

11. Nations will continue to subdivide in smaller and smaller independent groups until the former UK is made up of 15 Million independent dwellings all surrounded by hard borders and locked in decades of trade talks in order to be able to pop to the shops and buy bread and milk.

Brexit is over

12. Despite everyone being independent of something, nothing will change and nothing will be any better than it was before.

Brexit is done

13. The Government will do absolutely nothing to improve people's lives. People will let them do nothing.

2020 was shit.

14. I no longer care.

Turns out, occasionally I still do.

 

[F1Brits_90]

7. McLaren will podium at least twice with one podium being a second.

Two podiums, One second place. I'll take a bow.

looking through the predictions earlier. i think if there such a thing, radical got it in 2019. you take best prediction in 2020. espically as that 2nd was on merit in monza

 

[sobriety]

OT, but if you think Brexit is over and done you're going to be sorely disappointed by the next decade or so of back-and-forth bullshittery.

 

[RasputinLives]

I predict we shall hear constantly over and over again from the commentators and media about how this is Formula 1's 70th season and what a landmark that is like it actually means something.

Pretty sure I was right about this but probably not as much as they would have done if they didn't have Covid to talk about.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Pretty sure I was right about this but probably not as much as they would have done if they didn't have Covid to talk about.

& they made a huge deal about the 1000th gp. so much Ferrari paid liberty media (not for the 1st time i bet ) to race at mugello

 

[The Artist.....]

Pretty sure I was right about this but probably not as much as they would have done if they didn't have Covid to talk about.

However, this wasn't actually the 70th season - it was the 71st season... (in the same way that your 1st year of life is when you are 0 years old)