I’m sitting in a hotel lobby Starbucks in Vancouver, drinking not so great coffee, staring at the rain coming down outside and figured now was a good time to do some musing. We’re up in the PacNW celebrating my wife’s birthday, but while she’s sleeping, I’ve got some thoughts!
As I write, Liverpool are about to kick It off against Chelsea for the Carabao Cup (the second tier English Football Trophy). Fingers crossed they win and give Klopp the first of a few trophies in his final year as Manager of the mighty Reds.
Another TV recommendation, geared towards car lovers, but really anyone that loves a good sports docu-series should be watching Drive to Survive on Netflix. For the uninitiated this show, now in its sixth season follows all of the different Formula One teams during the race season. Each show focused on one particular team while also giving general ideas of the big storylines for different races. It’s always a fantastic look at things that are going on behind the scenes and has been tremendous in educating a largely ignorant US public on this type of racing. I’ve been following F1 for 15 or 16 years at this point, but the number of friends that have gotten into F1 because of this show is unbelievable. It’s the prime reason we have 3 races in the US now. The videography is tremendous as are the sit-down interviews with the drivers and the team principals (the individuals that run each F1 team). The latest season is now out, and I’ve already watched about half of the series. So many things I had forgotten that happened at the beginning of the season, nice to be reminded of what happened during Formula Ones previous season. A must watch before the first race of the newest F1 season next week.
Speaking of the upcoming F1 season I figured I would put down my predictions for where the teams will finish in the constructor cup. There are some obvious predictions, and maybe some not so obvious ones. Without further ado:
1. Red Bull Racing - Like it or not this is the obvious choice and one of two on this list that I am sure will end up where they are ranked. Preseason testing shows they are starting where they left off last year as the dominant team in F1. The question is, will anyone step up and be close to them…
2. McLaren – Full disclosure, this is my team, the one that I have been following since 2008 or so. They have been struggling the last few years and seemed to aways be 2 years away. However, the last half of last season they were the 2nd best team in the paddock, and I think that continues into this season. Norris will get his first race win as well as he leads team papaya back to near the top of the constructor’s cup.
3. Ferrari – I’ll be honest here, as much as I think McLaren will be at number 2, I could see a flip flop here with Ferrari making it to number 2. They have 2 great drivers that should be closer to the top than they should be. However, even with a change in principal last year they were still plagued by unreliable cars and poor track strategy. What will Ferrari do before Hamilton joins them next year? Let’s see.
4. Aston Martin Mercedes – I can’t ever quite put my finger on it, but I’ve never been a fan of the Stroll’s (father or son), but there is no denying what Daddy Stroll has done for Aston Martin. He has turned around this team in spectacularly quick fashion and brought in one of my favorites all time drivers in Fernando Alonso to lead the team to victory. Yes, Alonso is the lead driver of the team not Stroll the younger. Near the end of this season expect chatter about Alonso leaving to maybe replace Hamilton. I think this unlikely, as I expect him to finish his career at Aston.
5. Mercedes -I expect Hamilton’s last year for the team he made so dominant to be a frustrating one. Mercedes is no longer top of the pack and many of the formerly also rans have made some huge strides where they have stayed stagnant. Hamilton will go another year without a win, which will beg the question of why does Ferrari want someone at this stage of his career? In the modern era drivers at his age don’t win many races let alone championships.
6. Williams – Have this iconic British racing team turned the corner? Formally one of the top teams in F1 they have been near or at the bottom for many years, including years of not scoring an entire point all season. They made a huge leap last year finishing 7th with new team principal James Vowles (formally of Mercedes under Toto Wolf). He was able to make some significant midseason updates to the car last year they helped them score some much-needed points. My bet is that with a full off season he can more strides and move up an additional slot.
7. RB Racing – Red Bull racings younger less important sibling also features another one of my favorite drivers Daniel Ricciardo. They also have one of the worst names in F1: Visa CashApp RB Racing. Absolutely horrid. But who doesn’t love Daniel and his giant genuine smile. As much as it pains me, I am just not sure he has the ability to drive this team higher up the standings, especially considering how the other teams have improved over the off season.
8. Alpine – Just not a whole lot to say here. A team that I used to have high hopes would make a strong mid-tier run just can’t get it together, their drivers don’t seem to be in sync, competing and crashing into each other more than anything else.
9. Kick Sauber – I was really hoping that Bottas would leave Mercedes and make an impact somewhere else. Alas the only thing that is making an impact is his hair choices and his calendar. The team is not good, and the drivers aren’t good enough to take a poor car and do anything with it.
10. Haas – The other choice I am confident is that Haas will finish dead last. The lone American team (as it will be in the future unfortunately thanks to F1 for not accepting Andrade’s bid) run by someone that has no desire to spend any money on his F1 team. He can just pocket it and his company continues to make a profit. And Mr. Haas fired one of the stars of Drive to Survive Guenter Steiner, now former team principalof Haas. While Guenther may not have always done the best job, he was not the prime reason Haas has been in the doldrums and firing him will not improve where Haas finishes the season.
That’s it for the team predictions. I’ll get my top 10 individual drivers’ predictions out before next Sunday’s race. What are your predictions for the Formula 1 season?
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