ENOUGH OF ALL THIS TALK!! Who is going to be 2001 WDC???

[Tristan]

....cause I'll be honest, I have NO idea!!! This season's gonna be v tight...... (hooray!!)

[GURRYP]

Hate to say this but TGF, I'm afraid.

[marcus]

yep I would say Michael Schumacher will win back to back titles...and according to the poll results thats what most poll participants think as well.

M.Schumacher 42.5%
M.Hakkinen 27.5%
D.Coulthard 11.4%
Other 6.8% (wonder who that could be??)
G.Fisichella 5.7%
R.Barichello 3.4%
R.Schumacher 2.2%

[Bononi]

I'm afraid if TGF don't make it, Cranky Mika will...
no rest for the wicked.

[Ralf's Girl]

I think 2001 will be yet another red and silver year...and I think TGF can do it again. He's motivated enough, that's for sure (well, he should be, with all that money he gets paid).

[Holly]

Mika. End of.

[DNQ]

Who will win the WDC - Mika Hakkinen
Who I want to win the WDC - Fernando Alonso or Olvier Panis

[R]

TGF will probably do it again. Realistically speaking, the only opposition will once again come from McLaren.

[Bononi]

Honestly, at heart, my choice goes to H.H. Frentzen and if don't, Jarno Trulli. The third choice is J. Villeuneuve, the "big mouth".
That seems very far from reality... but Honda is working on it.
In a dream world Mr. Alesi will bring back those old days.
I did not give up on Williams, but still Ralfie and JPM have a long way to go. Not saying that Williams will not be a challenger but, in fact, I think they will, none of them made the grade... remember F1 is show, so both of them must be in the starring list first...
I dream of a team (maybe TOYOTA) and a driver who will blast them all, and change the balance of power, that only a light in the end of the tunnell, but still a hope !

[Valve Bounce]

This will be Frank's year. I see absolutely no reason why the Williams/BMW cannot be as good as or better than the Ferrari and McLaren. Frank is sandbagging whe he insists he is fighting for number 3 spot. Frank is not only a fighter, he is a winner. I think Ralf will win the WDC but this is no certainty because I don't know how good JPM will perform in the F1 car. Michelin will get Franks cars onto the front of the grid in quite a few races, and when they don't, BAR will split a lot of points with Ferrari and McLaren. Summing up: Whenever the tracks suit Michelin, Sir Franks cars will win. I wish Liz would save this post, so that she can post it after the season for me.

[Orange]

Personally, these days I couldn't care less who wins the WDC, but here's how its gonna be... (brace yourself)
TGF if nothing unexpected happens, and if not Mika.
*yawn*
BAR, Renault and Williams still arent quite there yet equipment-wise (and we all know that the car is all that really matters), but in the next three years there will definately be at least one non Ferrari/Mclaren WDChampion!
er... I hope!

[Jay]

What does Vegas say?

[Airhead]

"I think Ralf will win the WDC but this is no certainty because I don't know how good JPM will perform in the F1 car."

Hey VB, the valve that''s bouncing must be the aortic! You have lost all blood supply to your head.

Ralf, excellent joke!

For sure it will be the third German, Hienz Harold what's his name.

[Mania]

No doubt about it. It'll be back to back titles for the Prancing Horse - Ferrari and Michael Schumacher are on a role. Mclaren will be close - with Mika Hakkinen snapping away at Schumy's heels - but it's going to be a two way fight b/w Michael and Mika and Michael's gonna come up on top. I think Barrichelo may pick up his game a bit but I feel that the star of the season may turn out to be Ralf Schumacher in the BMW Williams. If the Williams can stay close to the top two, then I think Ralf may pick up a couple of wins and although he wont be in the hunt for the title, this could be his make or break year. If Ralf does well, you could see him end up at Ferrari or Mclaren. If he doesent, then he may end up at Benetton.

But definately - 2001 WDC Michael Schumacher.

[Valve Bounce]

Could someone in admin please save my post above, and re-post it after the titles are settled at the end of the season. I am prepared to eat humble pie if I am proven wrong. Otherwise, AMoffat will shout the VB's.

[Airhead]

Yes VB's the nectar of the Gods.

We should have a good idea by the Gold Coast Indycar race Valve Bounce, so if the unbelievable does happen I'll buy them there. On second thoughts they were something like $4 a can!

[Valve Bounce]

Am, Let's make that an arrangement : we will arrange to meet at Surfers this year for the CART race, OK?? I have a huge Esky, and we will stock up with VB and Perrier. Agreed??

[Airhead]

Absolutely VB - absolutely.

I'm a definite starter.

[Valve Bounce]

Right. I will arrange to meet you at a suitable time and place at Surfers for the race.

[EERO]

Bouncey, don't worry, I won't forget your outrageous claims either. Though I think Ralf is a potential WDC to Muffy's chagrin, and Montoya's even better, 2001 will NOT be Williams' year.

WDC 2001: TGF. (Drat)
I'm rooting for DC to take it this year, and I think he has a shot IF both Honda teams and Williams are able to challenge the big two.

[Valve Bounce]

Listen guys, I have been pleading with you - why do you think Williams cannot make it this year? Give me technical reasons, not just gut feeling opinions. The only uncertainty is the Michelin factor. AND they appear to be sandbagging. It is outraceous for any CEO to claim they are not good enough and will not succeed in any year.

[Dino IV]

Ok, mr. Bounce, my two cents on Williams and other than silver-red chances for this season. It's really hard to predict who will be strong or weak in the BMW, Honda, Renault attack. They all aim to at least come in third in the WCC.

Michelin vs Bridgestone
I am sure every fan hopes for a big surprise here, but I don't think Michelin will be able to close the gap in the first half of the season. The difference between the tires will all depend on the different behaviours on the various tracks and circumstances and above all the first courtroom judgement after Australia what exactly the ruling for tire-wear will be. If that obliges one of the manufacturers to substantially alter their compound we could see i.e. Bridgestone-dominance in Albert Park and Michelin taking over in the first 10 or so races after that. If that ruling won't change much or even nothing we could see Michelin have the edge i.e. wet or damp circumstances and Bridgestone on dry tarmac. Differences will minimise towards the end of the season, so developments in tires (and the weather) will be very important and play a decisive role in the chances of Wiliams or Benetton to be able to charge the front.

Benetton
Well Renault won't make that third WCC spot this year and they know it. Too much reliability problems can be expected. If they're not experiencing enough reliability problems this year their enigineering isn't seeking its limitations hard enough and they won't want to suffer from them next year. So Benetton will be pushing its limits this year in order to get further ahead in points next year. That's a sacrifice they deliberately make.

Jordan
Honda's charging and charging really hard. Don't be surprised if their engine turns out on top of the power output lists at the end of the year. Jordan is still not up to a flawless performance with his organization so there will be less, but still, reliability problems for them. However their car seems very well worked out for the new rules so they probably will be a major player at the high speed tracks.

BAR
BAR seems to be limping on two thoughts. Honda is kinda pulling them in piece by piece to become its own team after the BAT deal but inside BAR there's a lot of critcism and friction about that and other internal affairs, so they're pretty far off a solid, focussed WC effort. They played it too safe last year for increased reliability and are looking for performance again this year so they'll have a higher rate of failures I guess. On top of that their car seems more of an evolution of the last one instead of looking for new grounds as Jordan did, so I don't think they'll get ahead of Eddie's team by the end of the year.

Williams
Very powerful organization with an engine which will try to get on par with the Merc by the end of the year. The car seems a bit conservative and evolutionary on the outside and that's a pity. But on the inside they'll have probably the same amount of weight to play around with as the frontrunners so that's something only the really 'fancy' teams can achieve that quickly. On top of that they gambled rightfully on the tyre-war, convinced Michelin to enter F1 so they'll be the team the French will be designing the tires for custom-fit and that's an advantage for sure.

Looking at the drivers these four have: there are absolutely world class among them like Fisichella, Trulli, Villeneuve and Montoya, some proven powers like Frentzen and Panis and some for which this season will be the one to prove or lose it all: Button and Ralf.

So my prediction neglecting the boring four and not counting on miracles by Michelin:
Jordan, Williams, BAR, Benetton.

But don't worry, VB, two cents of more progress for the Michelins will probably change the first two around

[JeremySmith]

This is VERY simple.....Michael Schumacher=WDC2001

[RussianFriend]

This year is going to more competitive than last one, more racers will win Grand Prixes, therefore both Ferrari and McLaren should focus their efforts on the team leaders. (Bad news for RB and DC). I think Cranky's and TGF's chances are equal (I incline to TGF).

But WCC could be more interesting. If DC and RB aren't let to win races and become worst team treatment, any other team can collent their scores. I think it will Williams. Second place is not unreal target.

[downforce]

Whos challenging me on this one???

Michael Schumacher for 2001 AND 2002!!!!!

Sorry people, uve got a lot of "chin" comin your way!!