The Formula 1 season is about to kick off. Here’s what a few members of our team have to say…
Sudhir Matai – Hamilton fan and associate editor
It’s going to be another fascinating F1 season. The new rules may upset the pecking order, but only behind Mercedes. The Silver Arrows, again, pounded more laps in testing that any of its rivals, and they were quick while doing so. Hamilton, hard done by last year, will come back with a vengeance and claim his fourth title, of that I am sure.
As for the rest, I think Bottas will find out exactly how much pressure Rosberg was under partnering the quickest driver on the grid. The Ferraris looked quick in testing, as they have before in pre-season sessions. If they have gained performance, it’ll be to challenge the Red Bulls. My pick from the red-suited drivers is Raikkonen. With a grippier car underneath him, I sense a return to form for the “Iceman”. The driver interaction at RBR is going to be explosive; I suspect Danny Ricciardo will come out ahead of his precocious team-mate.
The remaining teams will be lucky to steal a podium when circumstance allows; the quickest of the rest will probably be Force India followed by Williams and I’ll stick my neck out and say Sauber.
- Lewis Hamilton
- Kimi Raikkonen
- Daniel Ricciardo
Nicol Louw – Tifosi, two-wheeler and technical editor
New season, new car design, but probably the same result concerning the manufacturer’s title this year. Mercedes AMG appeared unstoppable during testing and no doubt held back on ultimate pace to keep the opposition guessing.
Scuderia Ferrari impressed (my heart yearns for this team to bounce back) and so did Red Bull Racing, but I expect they were running flat-out on super soft rubber with barely any fuel on board to achieve competitive lap times.
Regarding the driver’s championship, it is Lewis’ to lose. My prediction is, however, that he may be his own worst enemy and try too hard. This can lead to mistakes and play into the hands of new teammate, Bottas. Therefore, I am going to predict a left-field top three with Lewis losing out again…
- Valtteri Bottas
- Lewis Hamilton
- Sebastian Vettel
Steve Smith – resident lycran and editor
People are talking up Red Bull and Ferrari … but my money remains firmly on Mercedes. Red Bull: yes, the new regulations play into aero-guru Adrian Newey’s hands and Renault looks like it has been able to extract more horses from the powertrain. And Ferrari? It’s certainly a more competitive car than last year’s dismal effort and times posted at testing in Barcelona look promising.
Unfortunately – and I say that because I would dearly like to see another marque end the Mercedes dominance – this will mean nothing as I’ve no doubt the Mercedes-AMG outfit was sand-bagging in Barcelona. The German powertrain remains the pick of the bunch and they know they have the speed. The team’s focus during testing was on reliability and they racked up more miles than anyone else.
They will face a closer challenge from Red Bull and Ferrari, but Mercedes will win both titles again in 2017. And Hamilton, stung by his runners-up disappointment last year, will disappear off into the distance.
- Lewis Hamilton
- Valtteri Bottas
- Daniel Ricciardo
Nikesh Koverjee – EDM expert and journalist
The 2017 season starts with a promise that we’ll be seeing speeds reminiscent of the V10 era, but with the momentum that Mercedes has gained over the past few years, it’s hard to believe that its reign will come to an end anytime soon.
The fight for second, however, should be an interesting one in which we will see if Ferrari’s experience as a team (and individual drivers) will be enough to challenge Red Bull. RBR’s new aerodynamic advantage (thanks to Adrian Newey) and the evident hunger to the win shown by both Ricciardo and Verstappen should keep the red cars at bay.
New entries such as Ocon, Stroll and Wehrlein also make for interesting inclusions to the championship. Their respective teams may not be competitive enough to win, but if the hype of these new “to the limit” cars is true, they will be pushing hard to prove themselves worthy of earning a seat in top tier teams in years to come.
- Lewis Hamilton
- Valtteri Bottas
- Max Verstappen
