[AutoConsultant]

With livery launches almost done and testing starting today, I am sure F1 fans are getting ready for yet another exciting season. There's a lot of uncertainty in the air due to the new technical regulations which just adds to the drama.

I thought it will be a good idea to get a few bold predictions in from fellow BHPians to gauge the mood and expectations. Also, it will be fun to look at them at the end of the season and laugh at how bad we are at such predictions!

The rules are simple - the predictions have to be BOLD. They cannot be like Hamilton wins a race or Mazepin Spins. In fact, they kind of have to be opposite of that. Let's try and make 3 such predictions. I'll start :

• Russell out-qualifies Hamilton over the season
• Tsunoda gets at least one podium finish
• Williams finish ahead of Aston Martin in the Championship standings

Let's Go

[sen2693]

Alonso turns out to be one of the contenders of the WDC.

[Agarwal_Aayush]

HAAS finish 5th in overall standings.
Would really want these guys to be fighting midfield rather than lugging behind.

[mailbalaji]

We will have 5 teams winning races this year:
Ferrari
Mercedes
RBR
Aston Martin
Alpine

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by AutoConsultant

With livery launches almost done and testing starting today, I am sure F1 fans are getting ready for yet another exciting season. There's a lot of uncertainty in the air due to the new technical regulations which just adds to the drama.

I thought it will be a good idea to get a few bold predictions in from fellow BHPians to gauge the mood and expectations. Also, it will be fun to look at them at the end of the season and laugh at how bad we are at such predictions!

Let's Go

Mercedes and RedBull are going start the campaign with a foot back, with last years intense title fight, which both of them didn't expect, thanks to early season aero change which put the Merc behind. They have lost precious time and resources in concentrating on the 2022 car.

Ferrari look like they have a fast car, they have a very positive environment within the team, they might get a couple of podiums or wins early on before RB and Merc catch on.

My order for the 1st half of the season

Ferrari
Mercedes/Red Bull
McLaren
Alpine/Alpha Tauri
Williams
HAAS
Alfa Romeo

Very excited for 2022!

PS: Not sure if this is a bold prediction

[VRJ]

Thanks for the great thread AutoConsultant. I’m soo excited for this years season. Everyone’s starting from scratch, budget limits and top talent drivers. Is it going to be Mercedes domination all over again? RB gets both the championships? Oh wait, lot of chatter and hype about Ferrari this year and they have one of the best driver lineups. There’s always Trust the El Plan. Give Alonso the second or third fastest car and he’ll become the drivers champion. Couple of bold predictions that I have and that would destroy F1 Twitter and Reddit are :

1. Mick Schumacher out-qualifying Ferrari’s prodigy Charles Leclerc. Can you even imagine the scenes?

2. Hamilton and Russell crash out of competitiveness. I hate crashes and I hope no driver is ever injured. But, can you imagine the drama and the number of headphones and tables Toto is going to destroy?

3. Alonso World Drivers Champion 2022.

4. Perez upped his game towards the end of the last season. Maybe he’ll out-qualify Max on a couple of occasions?

5. Bottas scores more points than Hamilton.

Cheers!

[Cyborg]

Interesting idea for a thread AutoConsultant, however, perhaps the title should be “wishful thinking” instead of “bold predictions” in my opinion

As a perfect example - Alonso winning the drivers title in an Alpine

Cheers

[TROOPER]

My bold prediction would be to see a Charles-Sainz-Norris three way WDC fight. Enough of the Redbull Mercedes nonsense. I’m fed up.

High time Sainz wins a race.

Hope Seb wins at least one race with Aston and retires on a high. Don’t know how many people saw him have a fun time at the Race of Champions 2022. Anyone who says he’s “washed up” has clearly lost their minds.

[IshaanIan]

My whacky predictions would be as follows:

Russell gets schooled by Sir Lewis Hamilton throughout the season
Leclerc and Ferrari fight for title in a 3 way battle including RB and the Silver Arrows
Seb and Ric both score more points than they have in the past two seasons.

[am1m]

Have a good feeling about George Russell. Think he'll perform extraordinarily well this season. Overall 2nd at least.

As much as I'd like my team to win, I fear Ferrari will have a middling season again.

Another female F1 test driver will get a chance this year.

[fiat_tarun]

My bold prediction is that we are going to have a Ferrari & McLaren fight for the championship

[akash_v12]

Great idea!

I wrote down my driver and constructors predictions earlier this year, so thought I'll share them here as well.

Unfortunately, the maths might not add up and there will be a few discrepancies here and there but that's my rough estimate.

[GrandTourer]

Driver:
1. Verstappen
2. Hamilton
3. Russell
4. Sainz/Norris
5. Leclerc
6. Alonso
7. Perez
8. Ricciardo

Constructor:
1. Mercedes
2. Red Bull
3. Ferrari
4. Alpine/McLaren

[suhaas307]

I think it’s going to be a 4-way battle between Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

A potential repeat of the 2012 when we saw 7 different drivers take top honours in the first 7 races of the season.

We may see Aston Martin win a race this season.

Sainz will definitely win a race this season.

WDC will be a 4-5 way fight with one Ferrari and one McLaren in the mix.

[iamahunter]

The season of the young drivers!

My top 3 Predictions:
1. Russell faster than Hamilton (or might hold back due to "team-orders").
2. Ferrari in the top 3 constructors.
3. Mick finishes in the top 15 in the drivers rankings.