Pre-season predictions 2006 edition

Its almost a month until Bahrain, and I was just wondering what everyone thinks we are headed towards this season.

My picks are Honda for team and Schumacher for individual in a close race with Raikkonen and Alonso.

as you might well have figured, I am a big time honda fan; so much so that even a non-betting person such as myself has £10 on honda to come in the top 3 at the end of the year (admittedly partly fueled by a debate I was having with someone else who doesn't agree with me).
them to win constructors?
hard to say.
i'd back them in reliability but then again, ferrari have a habit of not showing just good how their car is.
In my heart, i want honda to win.

Schumacher to win Driver, Renault to win team. Super Aguri won't score a point, scott speed will have 3 points.

Schumacher for driver
toss up between mclaren and renault

Williams F1 all the way!

I predict that Schmacher will take Driver and Ferrari will barely take team champion too. He needs to finish first alot in his races this year... I predict that Renalut, BMW Sauber, and Honda with Bariechello will be big competitiors for Ferrari.

I think Renault will have the edge over McLaren and Honda, at least initially. Don't know exactly where Ferrari fit into the equation. Bridgestones don't seem to be that strong on the Williams and Toyota, which is a worry. Although I expect Ferrari with more experience and their special relationship with Bridgestone will be quicker.

Look at Alonso's lap times during the stint when he set the fastest lap in Jerez yesterday (and topped the timing sheets).

Alonso lap by lap

PIT EXIT
1:33.552
1:16.956
1:18.023
1:19.066
1:19.281
1:19.723
PIT EXIT

Mclaren set their fastest laptimes during "out lap, hot lap, in lap" stints. Can't read much from testing times, can you. With Mclaren getting an upgraded engine (expected to be more reliable and offer 60 more hp), I think they have every chance to be up there from the word go. I am not, however, going to make predictions for the whole season ;) :)

Agree there are so many variable in testing it is impossible for an outsider to full understand the ins and out of all the times. For example the Renault pace quoted drops off rather rapidly, perhaps they were trialing a super sticky compound that wouldn't last long enough to use in a race? While the Macs used a different tyre, or at least ones they figure are more suited to them. Having Ferrari testing on totaly different tracks makes it even more difficult to kow where they fit in.

Since I've had about a month out from AF, my predictions are (And have been since about January)

Ferrari to take constructors, followed by Honda, followed by McLaren.

A very intense battle for the WDC between Schumacher and Alonso, I think that the 248 F1 will prove a tad better than the R26 though (And I don't see Fisichella excelling by any means). Button and Kimi will have 3rd and 4th to decide between them.

Also have a good chance of finishing at the sharp end: Rosberg, Barichello, Klien, Montoya, Massa.

Webber, Villeneuve, Heidfeld, Liuzzi and Coulthard will do well, but aren't going to set the world on fire.

People who are going to suck: Speed, Ide, Sato, Albers, Montiero (Though the Midlands and Sato could surprise every now and then)

I'm really not sure what's going to happen Toyota Ralf and Trulli will finish very close to one another, but I'm not sure whether they'll finish near the top or near the bottom.

I think (or at least hope) that the Bridgestones will not be as consistent as the Michelins this year, but will be very strong on certain tracks. Barhain I think was a Bridgestone track, even more so given the lowish temps and extensive pre-season testing Ferrari and Toyota did there. Even with that advantage Renault were able to just shade Ferrari, and McLaren were surprisingly strong in the race. Renault is still my pick at the moment, but not by a lot. On past form Malaysia this weekend should give Michelin the advantage with a tight Renault/McLaren and perhaps Honda battle. :) And more than anything I hope Williams can step up and take the fight to Ferrari when the Bridgestones are on song.