Who will come out on top in the closest championship battle in years?

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McLaren have momentum but their rivals aren't far behind

You have to go back a long way to find a championship as closely-fought as this one. Five different drivers have led the championship so far – and one of five different drivers’ could be leading it after the next round.

It’s a far cry from this time last year, when Jenson Button could have taken two weekends off and still come back leading the world championship.

But what matters most is who’s ahead on the evening of Sunday 14th of November. Who will it be?

At least five drivers in the running

The new points system is not responsible for the closely-fought championship we are enjoying.

The reason the title fight is so close is because in eight races, no-one has won more than two. Whereas eight races into last year, Button had won six times.

Here’s how the top five would look under last year’s points system:

DriverActual pointsUnder ’03-’09 points
Lewis Hamilton10944
Jenson Button10643
Mark Webber10340
Fernando Alonso9438
Sebastian Vettel9037

Having five drivers within a win of the championship lead at this stage in the season is extremely unusual.

And although Felipe Massa may be down in eighth place at the moment, it’s too soon to rule him out. However I expect Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica won’t ultimately be in contention for the title as their cars don’t seem to be quick enough, often enough.

Two years ago Massa, Kubica, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton were covered by ten points after eight races. But this year it’s even closer, with five drivers covered by seven points in ‘old money’.

In most championships over the last decade, the eventual championship leader was usually ahead at this stage, typically with a two-win points advantage over his nearest rival.

This year’s title race is already looking like one to savour. But who will prevail?

The run to the title

How much the top three teams can improve their cars will decide whether they remain championship contenders.

Ferrari have promised a major upgrade for the next race on the calendar, with rumours suggesting they are to adopt Red Bull’s exhaust-driven diffuser configuration. Of the three teams at the sharp end of the championship, they are the ones that most urgently need a step forward.

As we’ve seen in recent seasons, McLaren can be expected to make rapid progress developing their car and they have the momentum after consecutive one-two finishes.

Red Bull developed their RB5 well last year, ending the championship with what was clearly the fastest car. They’ve made a lot of progress this year too, but have been stymied by some rule ‘clarifications’, the last of which – concerning their suspension – appears to have hit them hardest.

How will the teams’ cars perform over the remaining races? Based on what we’ve seen so far we can draw some broad conclusions:

Valencia Street Circuit – Likely to be a McLaren benefit but Ferrari may benefit from softer tyre mix
Silverstone – A Red Bull defeat would be a surprise
Hockenheimring – A close call, tyre options could prove decisive
Hungaroring – Not much use for an F-duct around here…
Spa-Francorchamps – Red Bull’s speed through the corners should keep them safe on the straights
Monza – Long straights and few fast corners – look to McLaren, and Ferrari who should go well at home
Singapore – Should suit McLaren best
Suzuka – Expect Red Bull to be strong
Korea International Circuit – On paper it looks like a good track for Red Bull
Interlagos – At the moment McLaren will like the long straight but not the bumps, Red Bull look good on the infield
Yas Island – Smooth surface, long straights, slow corners – should suit McLaren

These assumptions will change as the teams improve their cars, remedying their weaknesses and enhancing their strengths.

Bridgestone’s choice of tyres for the remaining races will also be important. Particularly for Ferrari, who’ve generally fared better at races where the super-soft and medium tyres were supplied (Bahrain, Monaco, Canada) than the soft and hard.

After that it’s mostly down to what the drivers can do with the cards they’ve been dealt. Every qualifying lap, every pit stop, every overtaking move, every tyre gamble on a rainy day will be crucial.

Who come out on top? Have your say in the comments.

The battle for the drivers' championship (click to enlarge)

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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152 comments on “Who will come out on top in the closest championship battle in years?”

  1. judging by both McLaren’s development last year and your list, I’l be betting on McLaren

    1. Judging by the same developments you mention i wont rule out RedBull. The last races of 2009 was a straight fight between them and McLaren.

      My money goes on Hamilton, Webber and Alonso in that order

      1. I think the McLaren drivers/team/car have an advantage due to consistency. The RedBull and Ferrari have reliability issues and the Ferrari is questionable on development. The RedBull drivers are a bit inconsistent as well. If I was betting on it, I’d say McLaren. If so, it will be interesting to see who prevails at McLaren. You can never underestimate Ferrari’s development and Alonso has what it takes, so he would be my next bet.

    2. Agreed! Looks like the lads have got it together…

    3. Me too, I think Button will end up winning.

      Ferrari could play more into it soon though, Alonso’s done well to keep with the Mclarens and Red Bulls while the Ferraris been off the pace.

  2. My money is on Hamilton and McLaren. If he has bad days he finishes 6th, while one the others…
    Jenson looks now tagging along and you can’t rely whole season on correct pit calls on rainy days, can you?
    Red Bull are too fragile and too opportunistic. Both Mark and Seb have been making mistakes and making contacts.
    Ferrari (or Fernando) is taking most out of the car but has overdone it too many this year and if the next (Big) update doesn’t eliminate the need to jump over the shadow then i am afraid that this years train is gone for him.

    1. Making contacts? Turkey was one race and some people seem to now think Red Bull have crashed into eachother in every single race. I don’t get…

      1. Well Webber did crash into Hamilton as well (in OZ)

  3. If McLaren are almost matching RBR without an exhaust driven diffuser, they have to be favourites once they get it? Don’t think it’ll be that simple though.

    It’s shaping up to be a cracking season – if the top five are all in contention by the time we get to Interlagos, the Brazil GP should be a classic. Can’t wait.

    1. And then the real finisher will be in Abu Dhabi!

      1. Pfft don’t make up fake final races, we all know the championship finishes at Interlagos ;)

  4. With the Ferrari upgrade I don’t know how the cars will go. They should all really be in it from on esp with the rate of development. I don’t think it will swing as wildly as it did last year with Brawn winning and then midfield beacuse everyone is still moving forward.

    I think Massa’s campaign will trundle on for a little longer but he needs to push Alo further and have some more luck. Valencia could be a key point for him with the Ferrari upgrade and it’s a track where he dominated in 08 although it is Alonso’s home.

    JB has never put a foot wrong (maybe Bahrain quali) but he’s lacking a little on pace. Hamilton and Webber are the ones who really look like champion material thsi year but Webber had his carnage at Aus and Hamilton showed he still relies heavily on the team that race too so they’ve had their issues. Vettel seems just to have faded he’s either beaten by Webber or driving into him. He ended up ahead on Sunday but Webber still made more of an impression after that grid penalty. Alo will just be counting up all the lost points but he’s the best out there in my opinion but mistakes as frequently don’t often deliver the title.

    In the end I’d say Hamilton, Alonso, Webber and possibly Vettel if he can get in the game and Button waiting on the outskirts. I’m watching Ham, Alo and Web though and expet one of them to take the crown and right now the momentum seems to have moved from Webber to Hamilton. This season changes quickly.

    1. I hope that update works for Ferrari – I highly doubt rumours of 0.7 seconds, but 0.4s would be much needed to be able to compete more consistently and keep Alonso from having to overdrive the team and car to stay in the fight. I want this to go to the last race.

      Agree with those three, and outsiders Vettel/Button being the players. But above all, it is great to not be able to be sure about that yet!

    2. In fact there is a major upgrade coming for Valencia, but they are planning another improvements for Silverstone and Hockenheimring.

      I don’t write off Ferrari at this moment, but we will see soon if they have cut the advantage of RBR and McLaren… or not

    3. I wonder how much of the development has focused on the f-duct, what kind resources have been diverted towards that? I hope the update brings them back up to the level of Mclaren and RBR. A battle between ham, button, webber, and alonso for the championship. Not convinced about vettel for the championship at the moment.

      But yes, when the updates come out, it will be interesting to see where they have spent their resources.

    4. “Filming at Fiorano” on 18 June 2010 sees Alonso driving the updated car:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOZeeMZ6W4

      … at least it looks sleek and well integrated, and not too adventurous, so unlikely to be a negative at first use, as F-duct proved to be.

      I really like how it makes the sides look!

  5. Mark and Lewis have come a long way. How incredible this is shaping up to be. two or three races ago, it was Vettel for the win and Red Bull in cruise mode. Now Lewis and Jenson are the best drivers pair in the world. What next? Just can’t wait ! (let’s see, Kubica in the mix? Mercedes are back? Massa wins back to back races?)

    1. Anything’s possible still at this point, but I think it highly unlikely that anyone other than the current top 5 make it to the final battle at Yas Island.

  6. Before the season, before testing even, I felt Alonso was favourite – based on historical factors like reliability, this year’s team-mates, likely development speed, driver ability etc. I still felt he was favourite till a race or two ago and couldn’t believe he was then 9-1 at the bookies. I don’t bet but was sorely tempted. Sadly he’s now 6-1 so opportunity gone.

    Now I think Hamilton has to be favourite, but I really think it’s still between him and Alonso. For Alonso to be so close, with a notably poorer car still expecting its first major upgrade, and after he’s already got his season’s worth of mistakes ‘out of the way’, he’s surely still the main contender after Hamilton.

    Like last year, Red Bull are suffering from regulations (Double diffusers/ F-duct allowed, but questions about their suspension etc.) and they’re self destructing. And they just can’t seem to get their strategies right. Webber’s face after Canada where he was told to hold station spoke volumes. Not a happy team, I expect them to finish 3/4 or even 4/5 after the Mclarens and Alonso

  7. Cant rule out Ferrari at some of those tracks. It seems to be an all rounder car, just an average one at that. I reckon the ones that Mclaren run well at are those that Mercedes should be pretty good at too, although it will be very unlikely that they’ll be challenging for victories.

  8. Mclaren are also getting red bulls exhaust system for silverstone whick could throw ups surprise. I’d say mclaren for the championship

    1. Question is, will it work from the start and will they be able to find a good setup with it to make the most from the tyres.

      That’s where Ferrari will have a little advantage, as they can test everything in Valencia and have more time to find the optimum. That said, McLaren has the faster car at the moment and i expect them to encounter less trouble in finding the sweetspot in setup.

      1. Well seeing as McLaren were the last team to run an exhaust fed diffuser (while Newey was still with the team and before the Ferrari “exhaust exits on the top of the side pods” style became the thing to have) I’d say they would be able to get it right pretty quickly.

        1. It is interesting to think that after being the last to abandon exhaust feeding into diffuser, Newey might have been the 1st to pick it up again now that exhausts cannot be used as a vane on top of the sidepod anymore. Could they be moving back to a more traditional position: low at the back of the car?

          Well, until some other changes happen to make another set up preferred, of course.

        2. Mclaren spent two years perfecting the f-duct and they said they wouldn’t run it until they knew it would work. Maybe after seeing what it was like to run the exhaust system before they know it works effectiveley and they are choosing to use it.

  9. Hi Keith.

    Hungary isn’t on your circuit list. Given that RBR did well at Monaco, are they the favorites there? Then again, McLaren won there last year with a worse car than this year.

    FWIW, I think that in this tight a title battle, whoever will manage to be his team’s clear #1 first will prevail (see Kimi in 07 and Lewis in 08). Although that should be Alonso, his car may not prove quick enough over the 2nd half of the season. So it may boil down to whoever can subjugate his teammate first at RBR or McLaren.

    1. hasn’t webber already done that too? oh i’m so cruel…

    2. Oops – added it in, thanks Journeyer.

      1. Nice comment next to the Hungaroring listing, Keith :-D

        I think the Hungaroring will be between both Red Bull cars maybe with Alonso and Kubica bothering them together with both McLarens not far off.
        But we might be lucky this year and find out its raining there somewhere during the race weekend or the tyres somehow fluke!

    3. I agree, and I think Jenson, being a nice chap and easy going person will be happy to back lewis if he is in a better position (:

      1. He didn’t do that in Turkey.

        1. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
          17th June 2010, 6:55

          Thats because it was a race win, in this case I think johnno is reffering to when it comes down to a title race, the drivers would have to be daft/blackmailed to sacrifice points to their team-mate when they are still in with a shot to win the championship

  10. I think Ferrari can be the team right behind at least in Valencia and in Singapore (Both Massa and Alonso had some good driving here) and on other tracks as well if they get the Valencia update right. Massa will be hard done to be into the title race, though i don’t count Alonso out if he has the tools to avoid being over the edge (and the luck he seems to have when on the road to the championship).

    For McLaren they have to work hard to be really in the mix at Silverstone as well. That would turn the cards on the form book. I think Hamilton might keep Button in check, but i expect Button to have some good drives and fortunat strategy calls to win and stay in the hunt right to the end.

    I think Red Bull is still having to learn being at the top. The stragegy in Australia, team stragegy-blow up in Turkey and uncertainty and hesitation in Canada (they might have got Webber right behind Button/Alonso). All of this, paired with tech-gremlins make it hard now they failed to cash in on their advantages from the start.
    Also, while they have the team and resources to improve, i have a feeling their car is so good it will be hard to find as much improvement as other teams can. If they can get the upper hand in speed, expect Vettel to come back and be at the front, when they do not get the best speed, but mix it at the front i expect Webber to rake in points and maybe get another win or 2.

  11. “Every qualifying lap, every pit stop, every overtaking move, every tyre gamble on a rainy day will be crucial.”

    Absolutely right Keith. I think anyone of those 5 drivers can be WC. Nothing against Massa but it seems like he just don’t have the pace when it matters to fight with his team mate.We can almost forget Mercedes from here as they don’t have the pace to be there, even I will be surprise if they go on to win a race but will be happy if they does with Schumacher may be somewhere in Silverstone or Spa.They will be fighting with Renault with the 4th place in the championship.

    For the time being it looks like it’s up to Hamilton & Alonso to take the WC trophy from the Red Bulls.

    1. I just realize that Keith you have missed Hungary.I think Red Bull will be good there as that track demands huge amount of downforce.

      1. But Ferrari might also be there, they shown in Monaco, that they were fast.
        And who knows, maybe we will see another driver winning (Kubica, Rosberg) if the race goes 2006 or something.

  12. As for the Battle between Renault and Mercedes, i can still see Renault winning a race this year (Singapore anyone? ;-D), with the right circumstances and some of the top making mistakes or having dnfs.
    And i would not count Brawn out to make the car get to the top step of the podium. Weather the old Gladiator will battle it out there, i am not sure, as i think Rosberg has regained his stride and i see him back on the podium, maybe even on top with some luck.

  13. I’m loathe to guesstimate at this stage but I think it’s gonna be between Red Bull and McLaren with one stipulation – if Red Bull and McLaren develop at exactly the same rate then I think Red Bull will take the title due to it being and inherently faster design than the McLaren. McLaren MUST develop more aggressively and ingeniously than Red Bull if they are to take it.

    I really hope I’m wrong and Ferrari’s upgrade for Valencia (and subsequent upgrades)is gonna put them on top – or on par with whomever is on top and Alonso take the championship by storm. That’s what the heart wants but my brain says the former…

    1. I understand that feeling. I would like Ferrari with Alonso to do it, but somehow i have trouble really believing their uptdat will be enough.

  14. I think McLaren desperately want to win Silverstone and are bringing a package specifically aimed at achieving that. Keith did you take into account the new infield part of the circuit? Does it play to Redbull too?

    Thanks for the circuit low down on current car characteristics. If no cars changed it would be interesting but who knows how each car will be in the next coming months.

    1. By the way, what a great photo.

      1. Well I don’t think Silverstone is a particularly a typical circuit mix of fast an slow corners were time can be made up. Developing a car that wins at Silverstone won’t put you in bad stead for the championship.

        If your car wins at Silverstone, Malaysia, Spain and Turkey the championships almost certainly yours.

  15. To me it is too difficult to judge at this stage. Anything can happen and there are to many factors that can change things around. I just think there is no single team now with optimum form. It is very close between them and that is what I find the most exiting. I hope I am not to optimistic here. So far the races were to boring (except Canada of course) and I hope it will not switch itself ones more in that direction. When next races will proof themselves as good as last one then we can take deep breath sit back and enjoy – as real fans normally did during past years. Who knows maybe the view will clarify it self soon?

  16. I just had a look at my pre season predictions. So far the only thing where i will probably be proven wrong was Vettel beating Webber.

    The rest is still very much possible – Alonso winning WDC and McLaren winning the WCC with Hamilton narrowly beating Button seems realistic. Ok the single Schumi win looks unlikely, as does the win for Rosberg, but you never know.

    I would love to have a late season surge by STR, FI or Renault or Mercedes though, like FI did last year.
    This is a great season all together and i hope there are more of those to come.

    1. This is one of the best seasons I have ever seen. It would be great if the WDC could goto the last race with Alonso, Hamilton, Webber and Vettel in the hunt.

      Its great to see Fernando battling for the WDC this year, for some reason the season is always exciting when he is in the hunt.

  17. Especially after comparing Bahrain and Canada, i am wondering, how much the tyres will be what matters.

    Ferrari will be better on the Medium/ss sets, i don’t think they will be able to completely get rid of their problems with the Hard/soft combination. But i have the feeling Kubica and Renault tend to do better on the harder tyres.

    So what will the tyres brought by bridgestone be like in the next races?

    1. I think a lot will depend on the temperature – at the moment it is not so very hot in Valencia, and rain is not very far away, actually. The cold does not seem to help Ferrari. (But Merc. are worse, having problems when it is cold, or hot, or slippery, or very grippy)

  18. i reckon webber, alonso or button. the experienced heads keeping it together under pressure. but hey, long way to go, i don’t want to predict anything til the final lap in abu dhabi…

    1. Hamilton? He does after all have the experiance of winning a championship, which isn’t bad for his chances.

  19. are you implying something with your choice of photo keith? vettel out of the race already…
    haha

  20. It is going to be a four way fight between the two McLarens and the two Red Bulls. Based on current form it would end up with Hamilton on top with Webber a close second.

    McLaren have a lot of momentum and are developing the MP4-25 at a furious rate, and they don’t look like easing off anytime soon (as we saw with the horrid MP4-24). The car has had solid race pace all season, its incredibly quick in a straight line, its got a great engine and it is starting to look seriously quick over one lap in qualifying. Hamilton is in inspired form and Button is hanging in there well. Its starting to look good for the men in Silver and Rocket Red.

    But I’m expecting Red Bull to fight back in a big way. They have the design genius of Adrian Newey and a car which is still the quickest thing out there. If they would just stop shooting themeselves in the foot with poor reliability and the drivers occasional brain fade moments, they should be the favourites. It’s theirs to loose in all honesty.

    I’m not expecting much from Ferrari’s upgrade at Valencia. The result in Canada was more down to Alonso’s driving abilities than the cars pace in my book.

  21. it depends if the exhaust blown diffuser is the reason the RB is so good in high speed corners. If it is, it could be much like last season with the double diffuser, everyone scrabbling to get one, it has just taken alot longer for teams to realise that is the reason. It appears ferrai think that this is the answer to there problems.

    if mclaren can get a version to work even half aswell as the RB version, then i think they are going to be very hard to beat, as i think the existing package is getting closer to rthe RB.

    1. You are very right, and if Ferrari are right, and get it right, they might be ahead until McLaren get the system too.

      But those claims of it being .7 of a second etc., they worry me – Sure, F-duct never promised that much, but early in the year (when they still thought they could beat RBR on cornering) they were very sure that once they had that f-duct, they would be on top. And then it proved to be more difficult, and less and less interesting.

      I want Ferrari to be a contender for fastest car in the field, but until I see them do it, I will remain skeptical that this is the grail they seek.

      But if it is, then Red Bull might have to work hard on a good F-duct to keep up with the rest of the field at the end of the yera.

  22. We know that Valencia will be with softer options and Silverstone with harder. After that I would say

    Hockenheim: Soft
    Hungaroring: Soft
    Spa: Hard
    Monza: Hard
    Singapore: Soft
    Suzuka: Hard
    Yeongam: Hard
    Interlagos: Soft
    Yas Marina: Soft

    With soft meaning supersoft and medium, hard means soft and hard.

  23. It doesn’t stop this year – in 2011 we will have the same drivers at the top four teams, Mercedes hopefully up to speed, no double diffusers (although I don’t think this alone will increase the spectacle), new tyres to add to the unpredictability and possibly even KERS/push to pass. 2011 could be even better.

    1. oh for sure. Did i read right somewhere that because of their affiliation, and previous close relationship, that mercades could use mclaren’s ker system?

      Hopefully, hopefully… you are right TBone. It would be brilliant if those four teams are super close next year, although that is easier said then done. If you throw in a tyre war, then the gap between teams could appear larger than it actually is.

  24. supernicebob
    16th June 2010, 11:39

    What chance of Force India repeating their form at Spa and Monza this year? They seem to be more competitive on the regular circuits, or does this indicate that they won’t go as well in Belgium and Italy this time round?

    Anyway, I can see it coming down to McLaren vs Ferrari as they have the most obvious and biggest gains to make with their cars. Red Bull may develop well, but I don’t think it will be good enough.

    McLaren will have an additional boost from having the F-duct fully integrated into the original design of the car rather than having it added on later which seems to have caused problems for the other teams.

    With the way he drove in Canada, I expect Hamilton to win, but it will certainly be close.

    1. I think they will do well, but their problem this year is that to be at the front, they have to do better than well this year as the pool of competitors near the front is bigger and better as well.

  25. ‘Singapore – Should suit McLaren best’, but judging by their monaco performance I would have to disagree.
    and as you say later in the the article-
    ‘Interlagos – At the moment McLaren will like the long straight but not the bumps’
    well singapore is very bumpy right?

    1. I agree, judging by Monaco, Singapore and Hungary are going to suit Red Bull the best with Ferrari up there with them. So its by no means a done deal for McLaren yet.

      1. In Singapore, the Drivers tend to make all the difference more than the cars.

        Hamilton and Alonso are the only 2 persons to finish on the podium in both races, so I m guessing either of them will win the Singapore GP 2010.

        And I am not ruling out Massa – no refueling means no more c*ck-up ala 2008! :D

        1. By that logic Glock will be close too – he was 2nd and 4th in the two races :)

          1. and yes Glock! thanks for reminding! so it should be something like 1. HAM 2. ALO 3. GLO in a crashfest :D

    2. I reckon Intergalos will be a McLaren track, because it requires a damn good front end for the mid feild section the two straights are naturally good areas for overtaking, their intergrated F-Duct will be an increased advantage when the engines loose horse power an shedding more drag will be of an increased benefit on the hill climb.

      An while it is rather bumpy the McLarens handled the rather bumpy Canadian and Turkish tracks very well indeed despite their stiff set ups.

  26. such a fickle world the one surrounding F1, had the Red Bulls not collected each other at Hungary It would be a completely different story. They made some bad tyre choices at the last GP but they still had great speed, considering their lack of top speed it would seem that they did some fairly good damage control at a circuit that wasn’t ever going to suit the high downforce nature of the rb6. Red Bull have given away a load of points this year, a huge amount, but still they are 2nd in the constructers and only 6 points off the drivers championship, with 11 races to go many of which I believe many will be dominated by the RB6 there is still a long way to go. Red Bull are still a young team, and while they have the equipment and the talent they are still just teens compared to Mclaren and Ferrari, they are doing an amazing job and i expect to see them back on the podium very shortly. Glad that is an fiercely contested battle this year! Red Bull and Webber to be standing on the top of the podium at the end of the year!

    1. i agree with 95% of what you have written, except the last sentance.

      i see RB in the Brawn role from last year, with mclaren in the RB role. The difference being that RB have not amassed the points that Brawn did. My feeling is that they are going to get ovetaken in the development race and ultimately will not have taken advantage of there early dominance (a la Brawn).

      1. You are ok with Hungary, or are both of you able to see into the future? :-)

  27. About this exhaust powered diffuser. Everybody is talking (correctly in my opinion) about its ability to enhance diffuser function and so produce downforce. But the age-old question of the exhaust also heating the tyres is not to be forgotten. Maybe this is why RBR have been soo good at getting their tyres up to temperature in qualifying? Maybe that also explains their apparent loss of form on/in tracks/situations where tyre-wear is a problem (in Montreal and in aus/china on intermediate wets).

    Its true that this applies only to the rear tyres but I wonder if Ferrari are about to upset their comfort on the softer-tyre/race-pace mixture.

    1. maybe they hope to gain some competetiveness on the harder tyres instead.

      1. Agreed, but if thats the trade-off then I see it as only exchanging one problem for another, esp since all of the cooler weather GPs are out of the way… I guess we’ll see how it turns out for them… :)

  28. I do wonder if the Red Bull exhaust system is going to end up being like the F-duct is for teams other than McLaren – in theory a performance boost, but in practice causing all sorts of issues due to the the existing packaging not being designed around the system. While chassis homologation won’t be an issue as it is with the F-duct, you do have to wonder how the new exhausts will work with cars using push-rod suspension systems, as opposed to Red Bull’s pull-rod one.

    As for championship contenders, I imagine that we will have 2 or 3 left by the championship-deciding race, and after the next few races I think we will have a clearer picture as to who is in contention. The Valencia update is going to be pivotal for Ferrari, as they need to both close the gap to McLaren and Red Bull, and try and sort the massive discrepancies in performance between tracks. If they manage this, I believe Alonso can fight for the championship, though sadly not Massa on current form. An advantage Alonso will have is that his team mate isn’t taking many points off him.

    Regardless of what happens with Ferrari, I believe by the end of the year there will be one Red Bull and one McLaren in contention for the title. Button has looked very strong in the races, but his qualifying has been for the most part frankly below par, and he has struggled to make Q3 more than one in the past few races. If he doesn’t sort this out, then I just can’t see him beating Hamilton, who for me looks like a clear WDC contender.

    There have been some doom-sayers about Red Bull after the past couple of races, but they proved last year than they can develop their car well last year so I don’t think it is a given that McLaren are going to jump them with their Silverstone update. As for Vettel and Webber, to be honest I think its anyone’s guess at the moment. Currently Webber looks like the stronger driver, but I thinks its too early to count out a Vettel comeback. This one is going to be fascinating to see unfold.

    One thing which is clear is that the intra-team battles are going to be absolutely crucial in the next few races, which is going to be great viewing for us regardless of what tracks we end up at.

    1. Erm….I didn’t realise I had written so much there! *blushes*

      1. But it does all make good sense, so don’t worry.

        At the start of the year we thought it would be nearly impossible to beat RBR on speed, but McLaren is very close to being there. But no, they are not lost yet, although if the exhaust/diffuser set up brings everyone 0.4 closer to them (or past!), they have a lot of work ahead to claw that back.

  29. Personally I don’t think anyone can predict who will finish on top at the moment. It’s right that it could be any one of the 5 top drivers.

    It’ll all depend on the development rate of the teams, and within the teams, who handles the pressure the most, and who gets the favoured strategies and support.

    All things being equal, it would be Hamilton, but as above, all things are not equal in F1.

    1. MacademiaNut
      16th June 2010, 17:28

      Isn’t that why it’s called “prediction”? :)

    2. Am with you there
      My money is on Hamilton

  30. I think it is all down to which team develops their car best and I couldn’t choose from McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari at this stage.

    Some say Ferrari have performed poorly so far this season but Alonso is still in the Championship race, the main worry would be if those early season engine failures cost him in the final races.

    If I had to pick the drivers most likely from each team I would say Hamilton, Webber and Alonso. Vettel should be close with Webber and Button maybe able to beat Hamilton over the course of the season if a few things go his way but I can’t see Massa beating Alonso in the Championship unless Alonso suffers some really bad luck.

  31. if ferrari is winning in valencia with alonso or massa…..iam sure they are the winners of this years fight…bcoz i still feel they have the best drivers and they know well to handle them.
    the same for drivers also…i feel alonso will get it if the car is perfect from valencia…but i will not rule out felipe baby as he is a tough fellow to beat although he is not looking like a contender due to some bad lucks this time

  32. I think it will be one of the McLarens…I just can’t see them losing it now that they’ve got some momentum…

    …as to which McLaren driver ends up on top…I really want to see Jenson win a second WDC, but I have to say that I think Lewis will just pip him to it…

  33. Close but McLaren, as they’re on an upward curve and already almost nosed in front. They could do a Brawn 2009 and design completely off the track, but unlikely. Red Bull’s reliability issues don’t seem to be solving themselves, so although they’ll compete fiercely with two great drivers, I just don’t see them achieving consistency under pressure. Ferrari, maybe. The car seems essentially better than the McLaren but underdeveloped. A few spot-on upgrades, though, could make Alonso a serious contender (sorry Felipe).

    So that leaves Hamilton or Button. Unless bad luck intervenes, I just can’t see Hamilton doing anything other than continue to improve this season.

  34. It’s so amazing that top 3 teams are good in 2 of 3 very important areas, each team lacking a different one.

    That’s by my understanding of the cars.

    McLaren has good top speed and dowforce, not very good traction.

    Ferrari has good top speed and traction, not very good downforce.

    Red Bull has good downforce and traction, not very good top speed.

    1. An Ferrari’s known update will improve the cars downforce. Redbull will be getting an F-Duct to improve that top speed presumably downforce updates comming to. McLaren have solved some of their traction problems with an incredibly sharp front end, an seem to be about to solve that rear stability problem with their Silverstone update.

      Awesome!

      In my opinion it’s swung McLarens way, if they keep up this rate of development, an all things seem to indicate that they can, I suspect it’ll propell Hamilton to the championship with Button maybe 2nd but most likley 3rd or 4th. Redbull can win it though, the jump they made in Spain was remarkable, an while it turned out illegal it’s possible they could make that kind of jump again if they don’t get too distracted by F-Ducts. I don’t however have a clue as to which Redbull driver will come out on top.

      Ferrari have been distracted by the F-Duct and have suffered and while this update is very important, whats more important is they make a few more big leaps, but also keep on adding a the tenths to the cars at every race. This is what McLaren does an it’s starting to look like McLarens year.

  35. Keith, srsly are you a Massa fan?

    No problem with that, just curious.

  36. Interesting stuff. I’ve been trying to compare the state of the championship now with the Championship in June 2008. The 2008 WDC was decided on the last corner of the last race . . . but how close was it half way through the year? I honestly cannot remember. Can anyone suggest where to look?

    1. After Silverstone 3 drivers were tied on 48, with fourth having scored 46 points.

      1. So it was marginally closer in 2008 than it is this year?

        1. It was very close at that point, but Massa and Hamilton made quite a gap to the others in the next races.

        2. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
          17th June 2010, 7:00

          At the top yes, but the top 5 are alot closer this year

  37. I think Hamilton’s having a great season but Button has really surprised me – it’s not scintillating watching him but he’s always there in the background and his experience is really starting to show.

    He said when he moved from Brawn that it was the challenge against Hamilton that he wanted and it really shows – miscommunications/conspiracy theories aside, fair play for taking Hamilton in Istanbul.

    Don’t really place too much weight on the arguments about driving style/tyre preservation but Button seems more content to make the big calls himself and get them right.

    McLaren have to cut out the mistakes though – bad strategy, bad pit stops should have cost them more.

    As for Alonso, I think he’ll be the only long term challenger for WDC but he also needs to cut out the mistakes. I remember him saying on the BBC last year that he wasn’t the fastest but was the most consistent – not quite being borne out by all the errors he’s had so far (although he’s still in the fight with only 1 win)

    Can’t see RBR still being in it at the end – more breakdowns, more in house fighting and I think they’ll reach a plateau with the development. In a way it’s fortunate for McLaren and Ferrari that they are able to reconfigure the exhausts to suit – RBR can’t do the same with the F-duct as the chassis is homologated.

  38. Jhonnie Siggie
    16th June 2010, 14:13

    I pick Lewis. My reasoning as follows:
    1) In a straight fight between Lewis and Jenson, I have to go with Lewis as he has a couple of tenths over his teammate in qualification and is able to maintain it in the race.
    2) I think the red bulls have already squandered the one shot they had. They needed to convert their early advantage into a healthy lead and maintain it and they didn’t. In a straight fight between the likes of Mclaren or Ferrari, I’d have to say they lack the experience to pull it off.
    3) The biggest threat to Lewis is Fernando. He has the experience to pull it off in the right car. But Lewis already has a lead and Fernando my have to take penalties by the end of the season for using up his engine allotment.

  39. It seems to me that Lewis is enjoying the championship lead DESPITE several mistakes from his team/pit crew. Mclaren mistakes have affected so far much more him than his team mate.
    1-Lost position in pit stop to Vettel in Turkey
    2-The same to Alonso in Canada
    3-Wheel failure in Spain
    4-Miscommunication on fuel (and position!) saving in Turkey, and, on the other hand order to save the position in China. Both things gave advantage to Button.
    5-Wrong tyre strategy in Australia
    His driving performances have been very consistent and almost flawless. I can’t see Hamilton doing anything other but continue to improve this season and to increase the gap on Button.
    For the championship, I am afraid Red Bull is still in the strongest position: the difference in downforce is still huge. Did you guys see how Webber and Vettel drove turn 8 in Turkey? 6 gear, even in the slipstream of another car. Hamilton was forced to change down to 5
    gear. And there are so many races to go that will reward the aerodinamic downforce.

  40. If the exhaust-powered diffuser is as magic as it’s supposed to be and McLaren get one, I can’t see past them for both titles.

    1. I think you’ve called it exactly right.

  41. Martin Whitmarsh mentioned half a second upgrade at Silverstone… he was just speculating, but Mclaren is definitely the one to chase now!

    1. If that is due to exhaust driven diffuser, it does lead credence to the Ferrari people thinking of 0.3-0.4s, and up to even 0.7seconds suggested by some wind tunnel tests, since McLaren can be slightly more conservative in their estimates to fans/sponsors as they don’t need more to be fastest at the moment (and the .7s was rumor by a hopeful newspaper, right?)

  42. The generic assumptions about relative performance strengths among the cars and drivers have proven inexact. Given the ongoing development, and the closeness of the top 3 team in performance, the various discoveries and dead ends we have seen already with the F-Duct (e.g., Ferrari admitting they wasted their time on this), there is no way to say who will rock Hungary or Silverstone this year.

    With nothing between the cars I have to bet on organization. In this regard you have to choose VMM. They have the people, the resources, and management. Most importantly, they have the most mature and effective driver team right now. Hamilton is maturing nicely, and the theories about his lack of tire management, etc. have been debunked. Button makes few no mistakes, even when he is not on Hamilton’s raw pace, and he is not a prima donna or a complainer.

    At RBR, Vettel is showing signs of the “terrible twos” right now and Webber has yet to show a full season of top performance. And the keystone cops on RBR’s wall are still there. For Ferrari, right now Massa is out to lunch and and Stefano has never really got it together in my opinion. I’m not holding my breath for the Valencia package. Domenicali was saying yesterday that they wasted their time on the F-duct and fell behind. Why is trying to copy another feature of a leading car going to work out better for them? Right now, Alonso is carrying them on his back. If you look at what he did for Renault for two years, you have to think that the F10 is really a POS, especially considering that Massa is no Piquet Jr.

    The irony here is that on paper, Mercedes should be killing it right now. Even Keith was hypnotized. I makes you wonder if the problem with Mercedes not getting their WCC they wanted from McLaren is not the team but the hall-monitors from Stuttgart.

    1. Well, Merc. just did not gain a lot since a somewhat mediocre car at the end of 2009. Lack of money at that stage, probably, so maybe a recovery for next year.

      I agree that VMM look good, but with some exceptions.They keep making bad pitstops and their strategy calls are not always great either (best strategies were Button overriding them!).

      Ferrari at least have those pit stops nailed, and it seems unlikely Alonso will allow them to screw his strategy (even if Crashgate wants to suggests he did then). But they do need that Valencia update to work.

      RBR, well. They still have Newey, and Webber is going to fight for it.

      1. McLaren have now admitted there pitstops haven’t been great and are working on them. Even if they don’t I don’t see this loosing them the championship, however as Keith rightly says it very well could. They’ve gotten away with it so far, can’t remember any points it’s lost them, an they gained a place in Spain, so I would assume this weakness might clear up.

        The kind of racing this year means they’ll often be protected on strategy but it’s true this is a weakness, however Button does aliveate this somewhat an has picked up the points the teams calls have lost Lewis.

        McLaren seem to be able to develop their car the fastest, barring Newey Genius, a distinct possibility, and as DaveW they’re drivers seem to be performing both in tandem and as individuals the best at the moment.

  43. Up untill now Red Bull have had the fastest car, But, Unlike Brawn, they haven’t turned that into results, Much to my chagrin, I expect Hammy to win his second championship. Button I think will follow, Because I think car development is going to favour Mclaren, also, apart from the pit stops, There isn’t any niggling issues, Like Ferrari’s engines, or Red Bull’s errr…. car, which seems relatively unreliable.

    But here’s to hoping the Merc team can improve the car and Schumacher wins, Possibly followed by Chandok, Irvine can come third.

    1. What seat will Irvine usurp, will he replace a tired Trulli?

  44. Jenson will be champ as he will doubtless pick up 1 or 2 more wins and consistently be on the podium all year. In a season as close as this, mistakes are punished hard and he just doesn’t make any, can’t say the same for any other top team driver.

    1. Hamilton, the team have made his mistakes this year.

      1. Well in races Ham has been damn near flawless but he’s had blips in qualifying early on, got around Mas at Bahrain but outbraked himself and so nearly got punished for that weaving incident. I don’t think anyone’s been completely perfect

  45. whatever happened to boring old F1 eh? the fastest car always wins, the drivers are just passengers.

    Best crop of drivers since moss/hawthorn/fangio era and you genuinely cannot call it. Alonso looks menacing and i think, only think, he can get a higher position vs the cars ability than any other driver. Jenson could just pip everyone with his consistency and Lewis has moved onto a new level of brilliance. RBR look vulnerable now but only from where they were which was miles ahead, they are still a very strong unit though i would think Horner is under alot of scrutiny from Mr Bull.

    1. Mr Bull should probably be enternally greatfull to Mr Horner, lets not forget, Newey may be the flash of genius, but the entire rest of the show, an Redbull has become an incredible unit in such a short time so many parts of the operation are the class of the paddock is thanks to Horner.

      With Horner in charge Redbull will almost undoubtably be champions sooner rather than later.

  46. I’m going to be biased and say it’ll be Lewis and McLaren. If you look at where they are now – at the top of both leaderboards, three one-twos, four wins, one pole position – and compare that to the Red Bulls who have a quicker car then I think it’s fair to say that McLaren are much more well rounded, consistent and reliable. Sure the Red Bulls will continue to develop but I don’t think they’ll develop as quickly as McLaren, even with Newey as their designer.

  47. The pressure will start getting to hamilton nere the end again, while button will start to lose it mid season but return for the end.

    Vettel will get better as the 2nd half of the season begins but this time their rivals don’t have a ton of points to keep them ahead and bugs should be ironed out of the car.

    Webber on the otherhand will probably get worse and more clumsy but still get a win or 2 just like last year.

    Alonso, Kubica and Rosberg will be there breathing down their necks and might pull ahead of the others, but this is a season too close to call.

  48. I hope either Button or Webber will take the title this year. I don’t think Vettel will take it at the moment, but give or take a win or 2 and I could be eating my words. I cannot stand the arrogant Hamilton or Alonso and hope they don’t win it.

  49. I was really struck by the total confidence and control that Hamilton displayed during the race. If Mclaren continues with upgrades as expected, and expecially if there is a major in the cards for Silverstone. My money would bo on Lewis for the 2010 World Driving Championship.

    1. malcom … you wouldn’t happen to be a witcher, would you? You sound like my distant cousin.

      I’m with ya on the McLarens. I see Hammy maturing. Speed … control and confidence.

      That the stuff that wins.

  50. Don’t write Button off as ‘tagging’ along. After a 70 lap race here (Canada) just like in Turkey he was literally seconds behind Hamilton and on his pace at the end of the race. This is a new team for Button and every race he’s improving his own race craft and the car. He’s matching LH for pace on track and had to work hard for P2 in Montreal and did it well. He’s lacking in qualifying for definite. But he’s still a real challenger.

    1. At the end of the race, Button was closing on Hamilton. Then Hamilton pulled out a fast lap just to send him a message.

      I’d say your point is entirely correct though.

  51. This is what the table would look like under the “classic” system (pre-2003)

    Button 34*
    Hamilton 34
    Webber 32
    Alonso 27
    Vettel 25
    Kubica 16
    Rosberg 15
    Massa 14

    *tied on wins, ahead by virtue of more 2nd places

    It’s definitely not the points.

    1. If anything the new system makes it feel less close, even if its simular in reality.

      1. It’s just because we are not used to it yet.

  52. If you look at the best drives and speed… Hamilton for sure. I’m biased ok.
    But when you watch with live timing you can tell he is the better driver this year.
    If he didn’t have the bad calls on tyres and the rim failure he would be leading with a good margin.

  53. I could actually see Alonso doing a “Prost” like in 1986 by just sneaking the title whilst the Red Bulls and McLaren’s are all busy battling each other.

    1. Yeah it would be great if that could happen. I have a feeling that if Alonso is within a few points of the leader going into Yas Marina, then he will pull out a win and take the title.

  54. Boy JB’s move is sure looking good now…#2 WDC here we come :)

  55. Lewis needs to be more careful during pit stops.

  56. I was thinking, it is irrelevant how each car would perform later in the season because the cars will have been developed and changed so much from now that there will be new favourites… maybe.

  57. It would be either HAM or ALO for me. I feel that Lewis has an advantage as MCL got a better package. Red Bull missed the oportunity to safe a good load of points when they were the best and now are lost in a civil war.

  58. Rob Gallagher
    16th June 2010, 20:35

    I think that many people seem to be forgetting that while Ferrari and McLaren are introducing exhaust-powered diffusers in either Valencia or Silverstone Red Bull will not stand still. They have shown that their development rate is nearly as good as McLarens and one could argue that they have had less performance to gain than McLaren. Also in Turkey Red Bull F-duct seemed to advance the RB6 but was not used because it is thought that the system reduces downforce.
    I suspect that even with McLaren’s and Ferrari’s update the RB6 will be the fastest car at silverstone simply due to the sheer amount of downforce that it has.
    However I don’t see see why people think that RB will walk Spa and other places, people said they would last year because they had good downforce then too but it was a low downforce car (Force India) and Kimi’s prowess around the circuit that most people remember for that race weekend.
    One thing that needs to be considered at this early stage is the pace of the cars next year. With McLaren losing it’s F-duct and all teams not being able to run double-diffusers on their cars one would really have to say that perhaps the rules favour Red Bull, however I did read an article (can’t find it) the other day about Stefano Domenicali saying that Ferrari would be running KERS next year and that Mercedes were assessing the situation aswell. I wonder if KERS was ran next year whether Mercedes would supply McLaren with it, I suspect not, as there has been scepticism about Mercedes not supplying RB with a Mercedes-Benz FO 108X this year because they had feared that their own works outfit would not match what would have been the RB6 with a Mercedes power plant in the back of it.

    1. Surely if Mercedes Benz are in a long term contract to supply Mclaren until 2013, then they would HAVE to at least offer the KERS package to Mclaren.

      1. Rob Gallagher
        16th June 2010, 20:48

        Would they? While we can only guess what it says in that contract, at the moment all we know is that Mercedes are obliged to sell engines to McLaren and nothing else.

    2. I understood it is the KERS they developed together, even to an extent where McLaren will “allow” them to race it on the Mercedes cars as well, if they are interested next year.
      Also we can take it as a “no way” for Mercedes to supply Red Bull next year, even if Red Bull would like it. Brawn has been very focal about that, with the supplies they have now, it is just about what they can manage.

    3. Spa last year was an odd one for Red Bull because they were miles faster in the race than they were in qualifying, I don’t know if they misjudged fuel loads or had a weird set-up or what. They clearly have the potential to do well there with S2, but of course McLaren will be strong too so it should be a close one.

  59. just thinking about it, the championship is so close because all the top drivers and teams have been pretty average so far at different round. hamilton’s had some really rubbish qualifying and mclaren some bad pitstops, vettel turkey, webber melbourne, red bull reliability and strategy as well as poor pitstops, button’s poor qualy on occasions, as well as monaco radiator stuff up, and alonso’s mistakes.

    it’s more a matter of which team can just nail some consistency. 3 weeks ago that’d be red bull with webber, now it’s hamilton and mclaren.

    1. I agree, consistency along with car development will determine the wcc and wdc. Mclaren, while having a excellent history of developing a car are doing a very bad job at race management this year. they have lost nearly thirty points since Spain due to shoddy pit work and questionable strategy. They have no room for error for the duration of this season.

  60. The WDC and WCC will both be sitting in McLarens trophy cabinet next season. They are about to have the fastest car. The thing is, they have proven they don’t need the fastest car to win it so when they do have it they will dominate the rest of the season.

    As for who out of Hammy and Button, I really can’t choose between them. They are the 2 best drivers on the grid in my opinion. They get on well and can both admit when the other has destroyed them. They have completely different driving styles and both get their max out of the cars in different ways, so I think it’ll be down to who suits each track the best. And as you all know I am Lewis’ biggest fan! The drop offs both Lewis and Jenson had in their championship years are unlikely to happen this year as the pressure is off now they have both won it. You can see at the end of the race how much fun they have and how small the pressure is.

    Red Bull will finish second in WCC with Webber being their top driver. He is on fire at the moment and I don’t see it fading soon. Especially as Vettel put some fuel in his fire in Turkey. As for Vettel, I think he is trying too hard at the moment and he needs to grow up or he could end up a lot further down the order than he expects.

    I expect Ferraris season to pick and they will get to 3rd in the WCC with of course Alonso being their top driver, he will nick 4th off Vettel towards the end of the season and stay there with his consistancy. I really can’t make a prediction for Massa as he is having a really Mediocre season. I hope he comes back better next season because he was great in 08 and did well in a poor car in 09.

    Next is Mercedes in WCC with both their drivers driving consistant races with a front-midfield car for the rest of the season.

    Next is Renault in WCC but Kubica will be above both Mercedes drivers with Petrov pulling them down.

    The rest of the WCC will be in order of:

    FI
    STR
    Williams
    Sauber
    LR
    VR
    HRT

    I hope at the end of the season I can boast about this post and how right I was!

  61. constructor’s title: mclaren or red bull
    driver’s title: hamilton or alonso

    1. Interesting you have Red Bull top in the constructor championship but none of the drivers from them in the driver’s championship.

  62. As I see Hammy adopting some of Jensen’s tire management skills, i see him maturing as a driver … just what he needs. I’ll put money on Hammy. He knows how to be quick and so does Seb. Mark is solid. Jensen up near the top too. Tough call. Great season … just as it promissed.

  63. My money is on McLaren, as always. However, this year there is a real vibe in the air. It actually FEELS like it’s McLaren’s year to win both Championships! For me, I’d like to see Hamilton win the drivers title, followed by Button (because he’s in a McLaren) or Alonso (other than Hamilton, he’s the other Mega-Talent of F1) or Webber (He’s an Australian, which practically makes him a New Zealander! :P)

    So yeah, that’s me. McLaren loyalist as always! :P

    1. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
      17th June 2010, 7:09

      Well according to Aussies we are part of Australisia so why not claim Webber as our own

  64. Keith you should make a mid-season poll. Who do you think will win the WDC and who will win the WCC? Maybe a few other questions as well like runners up, who will be dead last etc.

    Didn’t you make one before the beginning of the season? It’d be interesting to compare.

  65. And of course one right before the title fight, either at Brazil or Abu Dhabi. Or maybe even earlier.

  66. It will be very close and can only predict for now so i say Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso in that order.

  67. I think it will come down to a three horse race between Webber, Alonso and Hamilton. At this stage, any one of them is fully capable of taking the win.

  68. Jenson Button – double world champ…imagine that.

    As much as I like the guy if you said that to me 18 months ago I would have choked, then laughed, then tried to stop the choking.

  69. My $ are with Webber for the WDC

  70. if ferrari develops it will be hard to bet against alonso,

  71. Although I’m not a fan, particularly, I think Webber is going to surprise this year and win it. He seems to be absolutely on fire. He ain’t young and he probably knows it’s now or never. So I think he will win the drivers’ championship. I think McLaren will win the constructors’ championship.

    What do I want to happen? I want Button to win the drivers’ and Sauber to win the constructors’.

    :O)

    1. I forgot to say:

      Really great article, Keith!

  72. Seems like McLaren have the commitment and experience to pull off the upgrades and wins; especially because Ron Dennis is no longer botching strategy calls from the pit wall. I would say they have the edge in driver experience as well. I think Vettel and Webber are more susceptible to cracking under the pressure.

    The joker in the deck is Alonso and Ferrari. I attribute Alonso’s mistakes to his pushing an under performing car. If Ferrari can deliver a better car I woudn’t be surprised to see Fred climb back to the top of the charts.

    My bet would still be on Mac.

  73. Dean Yamasaki
    17th June 2010, 12:10

    HRT will make the biggest comeback in sports history and finish…11th!

    1. They already are 11th thanks to the problems Virgin have with actually finishing a race :D

  74. Juan Pablo Heidlfeld
    17th June 2010, 16:26

    IF, and only IF, Ferrari can keep up with the devolopment race, then I think Alonso will win. He’s smoothed over the mistakes and is a great driver, in my opinion the best.

  75. Alonso and Vettel have to score there second win this season. Somehow in the back of my head I see Alonso win this championship. Valencia will be crucial.
    After 25 july, Mercedes will be looking at 2011 only. I see no more competition from them after that race in Germany.

    So at the start of the season we had 8 candidates, now we have 5. Webber would be great. Alonso would be a suprise.

  76. well every prediction is just about covered, some will lose some will be close and some spot on…
    in the end someone has to win it…

    in the mean time i hope it stays as close as its been so far,
    with eleven races still in hand we don’t want a contender to be un-catch-able now do we???

    with Canada being the highlight so far it seams Bridgestone have decided to add some more mix to the tire issue, this could throw the strategists into whole new ball game…
    more races with more tire wear, who is this going to help?

    1. Webber in a Mclaren. No chance of that,so my money for World Champion is on Lewis Hamilton,with an outside chance of Alonso and Webber.Red Bull haven’t got the cutting edge like McLaren have and Ferrari MAY have it soon..

  77. I absolutely enjoyed this! I think that this is one of the best titles availabe currently. I hope they continue releasing this series for quite awhile, I’m hopelessly addicted to this !

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