The Crystal Ball: Future World champions

[EERO]

This year is still a big question mark, and though the momentum has shifted to Hakinnen, I think that the Crown is still Schumacher's to lose.

Let's take this opportunity to gaze into the future and predict the next 5-10 World Champions.

2000 TGF, (Herbert out)
2001 Coultard (Hakinnen, Alesi retire)
2002 Ralfie (TGF, Barrichello, Irvine retire)
2003 Montoya (DC Retires)
2004 Villeneuve, rejuevenated
2005 Ralf
2006 Button(JV Retires)
2007 De la Rosa

Drivers who will never see the crown: Frentzen, Fisi, Trulli, Barrichello

Drivers who might yet: Heidfeld, Zonta


I fully expect to be reamed for my choices. Fire away.

Oh, and Mfan, nominating Gene 10 times is hardly a prediction.

[Liz]

Ooh, tough one!

I agree about Zonta and think he will win before de la Rosa does (although it depends a lot on which cars they land in). Ralf won't win unless they fix it for him, which is not impossible given the current state of affairs.

And I think Jacques (assuming he gets married) will retire within two years. If he does not get married and if he stays at BAR, he will never win again. Not even one race. Ever. He will just hang around and haunt us.

[Ed-f1]

I like those predictions (which probably means they'll turn out completely wrong ) although I'd say Hakkinen instead of Coulthard in 2001. For the latter half of the decade how about Pizzonia and Tomas Scheckter.?

[EERO]

Liz, I agree that JV will be winless at BAR, rejeuvenation will come when he leaves boarding school behind and enrolls in college, say McLaren University.

[Valve Bounce]

I must be missing something here EERO, the crown is being held by Mika until he loses it when someone else wins it. In all honesty, I cannot see TGF winning it back this year, simply because the two MACS hAVE WORKED OUT A PLAN TO GANG UP ON HIM AT THE STARTS. Sorry for caps. I'd like to see Trulli in there somewhere.

[Marshal]

A couple of names to add to the list, as people who will be competetive, if not World Champs.

Takuma Sato, increasingly quick in F3 this year, and Japanese. Must assure him of a ride in a BAR, Jordan or Toyota in the not too distant future.

Lewis Hamilton. As the original post goes to 2007, Lewis will be 22 and just starting to make his mark in F1, his passage to the top having been eased by his McLaren connections.

Of the current crop, Ralfie, JB, Montoya, Zonta and Trulli all have it within them.

[EERO]

What I meant, Valve Bounce, is that in my opinion, Schumacher is STILL the favborite to win the WDC this season. When I say "Its his to lose", I mean it as if he had already claimed it.

Not neccessarily accurate, but a hedging of bets.

[angst]

I wouldn't even begin to predict future world champions.....some of them end up looking just stupid. Remember how highly Bruno Giacomelli was thought of? And Ivan Capelli, Stefano Modena, Erik Comas, Riccardo Patrese, JJ Lehto, Thierry Boutsen, Jean Alesi etc. etc. All of them very impressive drivers but for whatever reason it never really happened for them. I'd go along and say that any of those drivers named(including Trulli, Frentzen, Fisi and Barrichello), given the right break at the right time, could win world championships.

[kuchi]

I can´t see tgf winning this year, i mean come on, dc and mika are doing anything to stop him, ANYTHING, even some shumi moves on the starts. And looking into the future, well i think ralphi has big chances, but if he´s montoya´s teammate, would´nt it be the same story of DC vs. MIKA?. Well we soon will find out.

[ireshad]

While I agree about Frentzen (reluctantly) and Barrichello, I do think that Trulli and to an extent Fisi, have the capability to be WDC

On a similar topic, anyone else think Jordan will be WCC before 2007?

[EERO]

Good point, angst. But I did say I was going out on the limb fully expecting to have it sawed off behind me.

Believe me ireshad, I'd love to see Frenzy take the crown ten years running, but I'm just as reluctly making this prediction as you.

[Roy2]

Villenueve retiring within two years sounds like wishful thinking to me. He will haunt you but he won't be hanging around. He'll be going flat-out in his BAR Honda, intimidating your lightweight Brazilian pin-up boys, and winning races in the process.

If BAR and Honda can't deliver the goods, (and who can know for this for certain at this point in time?), then he'll be doing it with some other team. You completely misconceive this tough, fast Canuck and he will make your predictions look silly.

[Minardi fan]

Within the next decade, I'd say Frentzen, Trulli, Hakkinen, Ralf, De La Rosa and Fisichella could be WDC's. And yes, Jordan can become WCC's by 2007.

[Ralf's Girl]

You won't get any arguments from me about Ralf!

But there's something (completely unbiased, obviously!) that makes me think that Fisichella doesn't have what it takes. Yes, he has talent, but he has an off day too many, I think.

[Liz]

Jacques will never be back on top. He has shot his bolt and as long as he's afraid to come out from behind the slimy and ever present Pollock, he'll remain Mister Bluster.

You heard it here first.

And let us not forget that McLaren hold the rights to the Lovely and Talented HELIO CASTRONEVES, with or without the dash, who is looking mighty fast at the present in his Team Penske Marlboro car ... could there be a WDC for Brazil there too?

[gomick]

mark webber...2005 f1 world champion.

[downforce]

grrr......

2000 - Michael Schumacher [ferrari]
2001 - Michael Schumacher [ferrari]
2002 - Jacques Villenueve [Mclaren]
2003 - Giarncarlo Fisichella [Renault]
2004 - Ralf Schumacher [Mclaren]
2005 - Narain Karthikeyan [Jaguar]
2006 - Michael Schumacher [Renault]
2007 - Nick Heidfeld [Mclaren]

DC+HHF+RB(I dont mean "recycle bin"!!!)...No WDC at all.

ps : Narain thrashed the all-European opposition in Spa,2000 Belgium....F3!!!

[gomick]

nah, narain crashed in the belgium gp 2005, and mark webber won 7 gp to become the 2005 world champion...its as simple as that.

[Roy2]

There possibly could have been, but my crystal ball shows the Lovely and Talented Helio Castro...whatever not surviving his first F1 win. It seems that he will get a tad overexcited, and after climbing fences, somersaulting across the track, herniating himself jumping up and down, he will eventually perish from dehydration, crying himself to death actually.

[EERO]

Great list, downforce.

I honestly don't know enough about Karthekeyan, but I think continued success for him in Europe would open up a whole corner of the world to F1 where it has had no presence until know. It's an appealing prospect.

C'mon everyone else, take a crack at a list of your own.

[bella]

ooo. this is a toughie.
2001 - schuey (finally, also announces retirement)
2002 - villeneuve (the renault checque is too big, he jons and wins instantly. schuey decides enough is enough, and returns)
2003 - pedro de la rosa (in an arrows. *everyone splutters on their coffee*. yeah, well, i can dream..)
2004 - ricardo zonta (in a mclaren. helio castroneves in the second mclaren completes domination)
2005 - antonio pizzonia (after winning races consistently for 3 years, he finally wins the championship by virtue of everyone else falling off)
2006 - fisi (now a relative old man, at last he gets round to winning. and retires)
note - by 2006 f1 cars are different. they run on eco friendly methane (much to the engine suppliers disgust. all except mercedes, ford and honda, who bring in their cart engines). the chassis are still very much the same, if 20 cm thinner. all run on all weather tyres, which necessetates 4 stops a race. each driver has their own pitcrew.
2007 - jenson (finally gets round to it after 7 years of trying. he's still a young whippersnapper though, in vast contrast to jean alesi, his teammate at minardi, who is in his mid-40s. there is a drivers conference bout this, and all chicken out of telling him politely to retire. jean races on another 10 years before anything is done about it)
2008 - this is too far ahead. my crystal ball is all clouded over. and i've ran out of people young enough now to win later.

[Minardi fan]

*the Crystal Ball of Fortune is wheeled out*

2000: Mika Hakkinen - McLaren
2001: Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Jordan
2002: Jean Alesi - McLaren
2003: Ralf Schumacher - McLaren
2004: Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault
2005: Jarno Trulli - Williams
2006: Pedro De La Rosa - Jordan
2007: Bruno Junqueira - Jordan
2008: Marc Gene - Minardi
2009: Marc Gene - Minardi
2010: Marc Gene - Minardi

[EERO]

Oh, like I not gonna notice those last three.

[Jay]

2000: Coulthard (TGF and Hakkinen blow Malaysia)
2001:TGF (Finally does not f*** up the last race)
2002: Ralf or Jacques (BAR are taken over by Honda and become top team with Williams)
2003:Ralf or Jacques
2004:Montoya (Ralf gets booted out of Williams and Jacques retires after winning the WC for BAR)
2005:Who the hell knows? There is no way one can tell what things will be like this far ahead.

[Mr.S]

2000-Ralph-Williams BMW (David and TGF swerve across the track taking their teammates with them through the next five races)
2001-Ralph-Williams BMW
2002-Ralph-Williams BMW
2003-oh lets say... Montoya-Williams BMW (Ralph god bored and decided to let some one ells win)
2004-Ralph-Williams BMW
2005-Gene-Minardi (Minardi Fan crazed and drunken blockes the pit lane through six races in a row giving Gene five wins and his first WDC)
2006-Mazzacane-Minardi Saturn (Minardi turns out to be a dominant force in Formula One, First F1 car to be built with plastic body panels via the saturn L-Series)
2007-Takagi-McLaren Deawoo