Which team will have the strongest driver pairing in 2010?

[Brogan]

We still don't know the full driver lineup but all of the "big" names have been confirmed.

Current status can be seen in FB's table: 2010 - Summary

Which team though do you think is going to have the strongest driver pairing?
By that I mean one which will consistently finish on the podium or in the points with one driver coming out on top.

Are we going to see a repeat of 2007 with team mates fighting and taking points off each other?
Or is it going to be more like 2008/9 with 1 team member coming out on top and their team mate bringing home valuable WCC points (excluding Heikki...)?

There are a few variables which could mix things up a bit.
The lack of refuelling for one which means car designs will be different to accomodate larger fuel cells.
It will also mean heavier wear on tyres for the first half of a race.

Will Massa continue where he left off or is he going to be a shadow of his former self, allowing Alonso a clear run at the title?
Or will Alonso struggle to get to grips with what would appear to be a very difficult car to drive?

Will Hamilton be able to adapt his driving to minimise tyre wear and will Jenson hit the ground running in the new McLaren?

Or will Red Bull continue as they left off and easily take both titles bearing in mind they have an unchanged lineup?

If I was a betting man I would say Red Bull on paper probably have the best chance and could "do a Brawn" in the first few races.

 

[cider_and_toast]

In terms of pairing without considering final WDC position I think the potential partnership of Rosberg and Heidfeld has all the right balance for a really strong season.

The Red Bulls are strong but now that Webber has a chance to fully recover from his bike accident will he find that extra few tenths he needs or will Vettel pull further away leaving Mark a behind? Mark may get fed up not being able to challenge Vettel.

The Mclaren pair should be strong out of the box and Lewis will want to beat Button which could as you say Bro, cause some tyre issues for which Button with his 9/10ths driving style may be better suited. If the Mclaren starts as well as it finished this season then it should see a lot of Podiums for Hamilton and Button.

The biggest question mark of all will be the Ferrari's. I can't even begin to speculate how that's going to end up. Could be a Prost/Senna, Mansell/Piquet and Alonso/Hamilton all over again. One things for sure, Alonso has a lot to prove after a couple of years in the headlines for all the wrong reasons and Massa will be coming back more determined than ever to finally get his hands on the title. Against Alonso is that he still has to find his feet in a new team and against Massa is the unknown effect of his injury plus the loss of his mentor in Schuey. I'd say that Ferrari potentially have the strongest drivers but as a pair I think they will pinch enough points off each other to give the title to one of the others.

Also of note further down the field is Hulkenberg and Rubens. Youth and experience.

 

[teabagyokel]

I'd say that Ferrari potentially have the strongest drivers

Ferrari have potentially the stongest drivers. They also have potentially the weakest drivers. Thats what makes them intriguing.

If Alonso is ahead of Massa, fine.
If Massa is miles ahead of Alonso, then the implosion of Alonso will cause little damage.

If Alonso and Massa are about equal, then who the hell knows?

In all probability, Alonso is going to spend another season in a crap car!

 

[snowy]

The Hamilton/Button, Massa/Alonso, Vettel/Webber pairings are so strong that it is almost impossible to predict which will be most successful is it not?

We can safely say there won't be any internal fireworks at Red Bull which may just give them the edge.

Lewis and Jenson could potentially push each other into another dimension of consistency! Both have shown in the past that they can string those podiums together even if the car is not an outright race winner. This could pay dividends if the season is as tight and competitive as it promises to be.

Fenando and Felipe should be a passionate battle. There is no way either of them is going to let the other steal the affections of the Tifosi. I can't believe Fernando will repeat the mistakes he made at McLaren, he must be older and wiser now. And he should be able to use the competition from his teammate feed his own performance.

Rosberg/Schumacher would be the ultimate combination wouldn't it?

 

[teabagyokel]

Rosberg/Schumacher would be the ultimate combination wouldn't it?

If that happens, it will not be an acceptable answer for the World Champions Together Quiz!

Anyway, that would be a brilliant partnership, particularly from a Deutschlander point of view!

If we had to sort recent/potential F1 drivers into 2 man A1GP teams, who would we have?

DEU - ROS/VET

GBR - HAM/BUT

ESP - ALO/DLR

BRZ - BAR/MAS

FIN - RAI/KOV

ITA - TRU/FIS

JAP - KOB/SAT...

I've even not counted Schumi for Germany! (Note the Japanese team, it is a dream!)

 

[Brogan]

Rosberg/Schumacher would be the ultimate combination wouldn't it?

I was just reading some old posts and saw this.

Well predicted snowy

 

[snowy]

That seems like so long ago now...

 

[Speshal]

The Red Bulls are strong but now that Webber has a chance to fully recover from his bike accident will he find that extra few tenths he needs or will Vettel pull further away leaving Mark a behind? Mark may get fed up not being able to challenge Vettel.

Or not so strong now as they have announced they will be missing the first test, is this indicative that they seem to have a problem with their car (which I find hard to believe with Adrian Newey at the helm) but it does seem to be a bit bizarre with only limited testing?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80809

 

[snowy]

And we all know how fickle wind tunnels and the data they produce are.

You'd have thought the sooner they got out there and confirmed what their wind tunnel was telling them the better.

I doubt they have a problem, unless they are going broke...

 

[cider_and_toast]

I agree with you Snowy, It's a brave move to place more faith on wind tunnel data than actual real test data.

There have been a number of times in the past where a team has relied on mis-leading wind tunnel data to get out on the track and find that the car is a total lemon.