2007 Formula 1 Season

**CVT** · October 24th, 2006 01:36 PM

Renault?- Flavio may pull out some tricks under his armpits!

:starwars:

**squatt3r** · October 24th, 2006 06:49 PM

go Kimi ! Hope he doesn't over stress the Ferrari engines.

**squala** · November 1st, 2006 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by CVT

Renault?- Flavio may pull out some tricks under his armpits!

:starwars:

Not with a newbie and an overly tamed driver, he ain't.

**BoyFerrari** · November 2nd, 2006 01:53 AM

Originally Posted by squala

Not with a newbie and an overly tamed driver, he ain't.

Well, lawnmower man Fisichella has proven his grass cutting skills. But Kovalainen is a wild card. So we really can't judge what he's got to offer on the grid. In fact, Kovalainen has more miles logged than Hamilton on an F1 car. So Alonso "could" be in a more disadvantage teammate situation.

But it's hard to predict wildcards like what happened to Kubica versus Speed.

**artpogi** · November 3rd, 2006 04:43 PM

2007 F1 season

tires - It's good for F1 to have only one tire manufacturer, it eliminates the manufacturer as a factor in determining the race outcome since all teams will be getting the same spec tires. I'd rather have driver skills and team engineering decide race outcomes than tire technicians. Whatever advantage 2006 Bridgestone runners will have will be very very minimal, close to negligible.

Ferrari - Kimi is fast no doubt, but that's about it. I believe part of the reason why Schumi is a great driver is because he can relay to the engineers exactly what he wants done to his car.

Renault - They will not be a contender unless Fisico will up his level of driving.

McLaren - I believe they will spend this rest period solving the reliability issue of their car. The pace is there, maybe just a little more oomph to the engine, but the reliability isn't. If they will be able to solve their engine reliability problem, there's a good chance Alonso will win a third consecutive WDC.

Schumi - he's gone. He will not drive in F1 anymore

Honda/Toyota - unless some kind of miracle happens, they're not going to be contenders next year.

Driver(s) to watch out for - Kubica and Rosberg

**mazdamazda** · November 3rd, 2006 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by artpogi

2007 F1 season

tires - It's good for F1 to have only one tire manufacturer, it eliminates the manufacturer as a factor in determining the race outcome since all teams will be getting the same spec tires. I'd rather have driver skills and team engineering decide race outcomes than tire technicians. Whatever advantage 2006 Bridgestone runners will have will be very very minimal, close to negligible.

Ummm... I would disagree with this.

The tires being used even by the teams using the same manufacturer (Bridgestone or Michelin) still have different compounds.

For example... a team with a good aero package can opt for a harder rubber compound tire.

Tire compound behaviour also varies from track to track (too many factors to consider... heat, dust, humidity, track, etc.). Teams that are using Bridgestones for the last few years would have already known which specific compound to use for this particular race. A clear example of this would be the Indy 2005 GP - Bridgestone was able to develop a tire that can withstand the "leaning" force for this track while Michelin wasn't able to.

**niky** · November 3rd, 2006 05:49 PM

Yup... the advantage of the Bridgestone runners, who have experience with the tires, and whose data logs are already on file with Bridgestone... will be huge for the first part of the season.

But I expect the ex-Michelin runners to catch up after five or so races.

Kimi in red? No one doubts he has the pace, but dominance depends on him having the kind of crew Michael had. I'm hoping Michael, in his role in Ferrari, will help keep that team cohesiveness in place.

McLaren? Ever since Mika Hakkinen's last title, they've been going downhill. Their very first race of the following season has set the tone for McLaren for the past decade... a decade puctuated by pops, bangs, crunches and polished in crankcase and engine oil.

Can they solve the reliability issue now, when they've been struggling with it for a decade? Fat chance. Will Alonso be a contender, at least? Likely.

Renault - I'm very interested to see how Kovalein shapes up. May be an interesting year, even though they're not in the running. If he shows up Fisichella, that'd be another nail in the coffin of Giancarlo's career.

Honda - let's see... they got their act together in the last half of the season, maybe they'll make a couple of podiums this year.

Toyota - WTF. Same as ever. Blistering qualifying pace doesn't make you a great team... it just means you're running good fuel loads. Shape up, guys, sheesh.

**CVT** · November 3rd, 2006 08:29 PM

I agree, KR-FM-Ferrari surely will be favorites.

FA may be able to build a very good Mercedes team around him.

Still, I am not counting Renault out, especially with lover-boy Flavio around...

:starwars:

**artpogi** · November 4th, 2006 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by mazdamazda

Ummm... I would disagree with this.

The tires being used even by the teams using the same manufacturer (Bridgestone or Michelin) still have different compounds.

For example... a team with a good aero package can opt for a harder rubber compound tire.

Tire compound behaviour also varies from track to track (too many factors to consider... heat, dust, humidity, track, etc.). Teams that are using Bridgestones for the last few years would have already known which specific compound to use for this particular race. A clear example of this would be the Indy 2005 GP - Bridgestone was able to develop a tire that can withstand the "leaning" force for this track while Michelin wasn't able to.

I agree, but from what I understand the tyres that will be supplied by Bridgestone is a different spec tire altogether specified by the governing body.

It's not like Bridgestone will give the former Michelin runners what Bridgestone has been giving their runners for the last season.

So all teams, not just former Michelin runners, will adjust their car to the tyres and not the tyre manufacture to the team, hence, the very minimal advantage of the 2006 Bridgestone runners.

**slicker_boi** · November 7th, 2006 03:55 PM

What's also unfair with Bridgestone is that their tyres are designed around the Ferrari chassis ever since. Before, other teams only get ready-made rubber, unlike Michelin that collaborated with the teams they supplied tyres to. This season, teams like Williams and Toyota switched to Bridgestone, and although they're claiming they're already testing with these teams, their compounds are still better suited for Ferrari.

2007 will see everyone using Bridgestones, which makes Kimi the likely champion. About Massa's claims that he won't yield to the Finn, don't you believe it.