2008 Chinese Grand Prix predictions
Will Lewis Hamilton avenge his Chinese GP nightmare by winning this year?
Shanghai has been a Ferrari stronghold since it arrived on the F1 calendar four years ago.
With fairly cool but dry weather expected this weekend and Bridgestone bringing their harder compound tyres, I think we’ll see McLaren score their first win in China this weekend.
We’ve seen several times this year how tyre compounds and temperatures can have a profound influence on car and driver performance.
This weekend the track conditions and compounds seem to point towards McLaren having the upper hand: especially the fact Bridgestone are bringing their two hardest compounds of tyres.
We all remember Lewis Hamilton’s disastrous end to last year’s Chinese Grand Prix – but don’t forget how strongly he started the weekend. He put his McLaren on pole position and led comfortably at the start.
Ferrari, as ever, will be very close. But I’m getting an impression that Kimi Raikkonen has become the quicker of the two drivers once again. In a recent interview he said that at Spa he had gone back to an earlier setup configuration and it had improved his pace.
He was quicker than Massa at Spa (but crashed) and was very quick late in the race at Monza. At Singapore he was reeling in Massa and Hamilton when the safety car came out, then at Fuji he out-qualified Massa for the first time since the British Grand Prix.
Does Raikkonen now have the upper hand at Ferrari? If so, can Ferrari use him to get Massa ahead of Hamilton? Even if not, I’m sure come the end of the race they’ll have moved Raikkonen aside to elevate Massa:
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Felipe Massa
3. Kimi Raikkonen
Japanese Grand Prix prediction results
The only person to correctly name Fernando Alonso as the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix was Yosu!
What do you think will be the top three for the Chinese Grand Prix? Make your podium predictions below…
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Head says:
1. Hamilton
2. Raikkonen
3. Massa
Heart wants:
1. Massa
2. Kubica
3. Raikkonen
1. Massa
2. Raikkonen
3. Hamilton
I predict that either Hamilton or Massa will finish out of the points…
Hamilton
Kubica
Alonso
when i predict it’s only bad luck so i’ll skip prediction’s
1. Raikkonen
2. Kovalainen
3. Alonso
with Massa and Hamilton as DNFs or out of the points.
1. Ham
2. Rai
3. Kov
1 Hamilton (Every time he has been largely criticised, the following race has been perfect for him)
2,3,4,5 Kimi, Felipe, Kubica, Alonso in whatever order you can choose, but It doesn’t really matters.
1. Raikonnen
2. Kubica
3. Alonso
alonso
massa
kimi
i think hamilton will win this one, hes dominated in practice so far and he usually puts in a great drive after a load of criticism e.g. silverstone after mangy cours etc.
Having seen the videos of practice on itv.com he’s flying the back end sliding out all over the place but stil setting faster times.
i think ferrari will be a bit stronger than practice 2 would suggest but i think hamilton will take pole and if he gets a good start i dont think anyone will get near him this weekend, thats when hes at his best.
cant see kovaleinen helping much, hes been utter crap this year, so my prediciton is:
hamilton
massa
alonso
1. Hamilton
2. Raikkonen (finding form now he has nothing to lose)
3. Alonso
I think there’s a good chance that neither Lewis or Massa are going to win either of the last 2 races – they’re just not consistent enough. Tho one of them will win the championship.
That would mean that the champion hadn’t won a race for the last 5 races – does anyone know if that’s happened before in recent memory? Seems a bit lame to me.
Wet weather chaos
Piquet to win and give Flavio a serious headache!
very very long shot, but stranger things have happened this season so I’ll put it out there $:)
(weather link)
A sweet taste of irony:
1. LEWIS
2. ALONSO
3. MASSA
I´m with “THE SHOE GREAT EVER”. Lewis always has done a great job after a big wave of criticism. The hard compounds and the climate will suit his car anyway and I´m expecting some help from Alonso to Lewis increase his points advantage.
1)Massa
2)Raikkonen
2)Kubica
Prost didn’t own any of his last 6 races in 93. If Senna hadn’t retired 3 times in them he might have closed on Prost for the final races.
WDC winning very few races in the last rounds are actually very usual. For example Schumacher won only once in 2004 and that was one of his easiest titles. Then, we have Alonso amazing feat of being WDC in 2006, despite a single win in the second half of the season!
1-RAI
2-HAM
3-BOU
Kimi´s got the upper ands gonna show winning both races, Lewis’d be conservative , massa’s most likely to crash in such a ridiculous way the stewards just won’t be able to help him… and, yeah, i want Seb there.
1st – Raikkonen
2nd – Kubica
3rd – Hamilton
Massa – DNF
Hi Guys,
this is a long shot but i rekon,
Kubica, Massa, Alonso,
Raikko and Kovi in the points, Hamilton Out,
that would be great for the final race….
Massa
Alonso
Kubica
Ham and Kimi DNF…
Lewis
Kubica
Kimi
1. Kimi
2. Hamilton
3. Massa
Chinese gp is the fate for the world champion before sao paulo
predictions:
1.Felipe
2.Raikkonen
3.Heikki
4.sebastien
5.jarno
6.kubica
7.alonso(Not well in this gp my father said)
8.Timo(my father’s teammate)
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Kimi Raikkonen
3. Fernando Alonso
1.Ham
2.Alo
3.Rai
@24, Enzo Trulli – Fair possibility, out of interest, what do you think is happening to Hamilton in this?
I’m not going to predict who will finish where but from the times in free practice (both the fastest laps and the long stints) it’s apparent that Hamilton is absolutely on song here. If Heikki can get his act together I think Massa will be in trouble.
Raikkonen, Massa and Alonso to take each other out at the start. One thing F1 does show us, is that Karma is a real thing, and I’ve never seen “fate” or the Yin and Yang of the universe work so dramaticly as it does in F1. Just think of Murrays 100’s of “He’s in the lead, nothing can stop him now” moments, follwed seconds later by that driver flipping his car on to its roof.
IF Lewis wins, he can claim to be one of the very best. The FIA is aginst him, he’s been attacked by Spanish racists wearing monkey suits, and now the other drivers turn on him. Not to mention he is a trail blazer being the first Black driver in the old boys club of F1.
If he wins, it is against all the odds.
1.HAM
2.MAS
3.ALO
Has to be: -
Like Dorian points out from the heart.
1. Massa
2. Kimi
3. Alonso
4. Hamilton
However, there is a strong posibility that Hamstring will pull it off: -
1. Hamilton
2. Massa
3. Alonso
4. Kimi
Agree with you there Anonymouse.
Kubica
Raikkonen
Piquet
Kubica
Raikkonen
Piquet Jr.
1. Kubica
2. Alonso
3. Kimi
@Anonymouse
All these happened only to Hamilton. Well..Kubica also is in the title hunt, he is not attacked by all? Is everybody (except british fans and media, of course!) against him because he is Black?? Or to put things in other words, Hamilton has done (and said) everything perfect and simply ALL OTHERS dont want him to become WDC?
Kubica this weekend
2 massa
3 alonso
i have a bad feeling for lewis this weekend…..please be wrong
Nirupam, so by your reasoning, Lewis deserves the hatred and that no-one wants him to be champion. I would love to know what definitive reason(s) you would give for this. It is almost as if you have concrete justified reasons for agreeing with this, instead of realising just because some people think something, it doesn’t mean it is necessarily right. If a majority of people are in favour of capital punishment, it doesn’t mean it is right for example.
And you saying it is only the British and media who want him to win is saying you know about every single F1 fan/viewer in every single country in the world that watches F1. There is no way you could know this. Lewis has fans AND detractors in Britain, just as in all countries of the world. And I do think the antipathy is in a large part because he is black.
Unless some major error happens, I don’t see a reason why RAI will finish ahead of MAS.
My guess would be:
1. HAM
2. MAS
3. ALO
1. Lewis
2. Alonso
3. Kimi
Lewis and Alonso to have fair fight for the win with Lewis on a 3 stopper coming out just in front!!!!
(ps i’m not a Lewis fan)
I putting my money on Hamilton for the win. I don’t think either Ferrari driver will be able to match his pace, but Massa should be able to grab at least second. Third should be Alonso. But who knows, Bourdais and Kubica were going very well in practice, maybe they might be able to grab the final spot.
My podium is:
1. Hamilton
2. Massa.
3. Alonso
HAM
MAS
RAI
Ron brings in HAK to talk some sense into Lewis, gets him an acupuncture, and flies in a PussyCat Doll for good measure. Lewis chills out and brings it home.
Kimi will be very fast and will be forced to have a very slow pit stop to let Massa by
… then Massa buries the field the Brazil from lights-out. Lewis and Fred battle it out for 5th spot and the title is decided in a cloud of silver and orange carbon fiber, I mean, a brilliant outside pass in Turn One by Lewis (I can’t decide.)
Dam it – I want to change my mind after seeing the updated weather forecast for tomorrow (http://www.weathercity.com/cn/31/shanghai/)
1. Lewis
2. Alonso
3. Vettel
1. Massa
2. Barrichello
3. Piquet
A brazilian weekend at Shanghai!
1-lewis
2-massa
3-alonso
1. Kimi
2. Alonso
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. MASSA!!!!!!!!
Kubica
Raikkonen
Heidfeld
1. Kub
2. Alo
3. Hei
***
Massa fifth, Hamilton not classified.
1- Kubica
2- Piquet
3- Bourdais
with big crash on start with Raikkonen, Hamilton , Massa and Alonso …
Podium:
1. Alonso
2. Hamilton
3. Massa
Two days later:
1. Alonso
2. Mass
3. Ria
..
..
..
..
6. Hamiton
Just to spice things up I’d like to see:
1. Kub
2. Mas
3. Rai
DNF – Ham
…It’s not gonna happen!