Quick impressions of the teams so far

[RWC]

Ferrari-business as usual,another two championships.

Williams-oops,is it something that's fixable?Or will they be slightly hobbled?

McClaren-looking good again,but that engine...?A couple of wins less than the number of predictions by coulthard

Sauber-Two years with willy rampf as tech boss= good cars both years!

Renault-looking good for the future.

Hondas(yellow & white)-get it together big H!

Arrows-Will to go better,but we probably won't notice them ironically-because they will have similar strategies to the others for once!

Toyota-Lack of showboating is great.But they are learning from scratch.

Minardi-Hey,at least you can beat Jag this year!!

[f1manoz]

Ferrari - Not much has been seen as yet so hard to judge. But, to be frank, not much could have changed.

McLaren - The new car looks like it could do the job this year, as both drivers have praised it. But do they have the calibre of drivers to take the titles?

Williams - Car has been quick at times thus far, but the drivers haven't been overly enthusiastic about the new car.

Sauber - The C21 looks like another brilliant machine from the small Swiss team. Another 4th may not be as far-fetched as first assumed.

Jordan - Car has looked quick, but off-track matters seem to be getting more headlines

BAR - Who knows?!?!?

Renault - Well, it couldn't be as bad as last year, could it?

Jaguar - Could be worse than last year

Arrows - Wait and see

Minardi - The car looks the goods, and with the new engine, things could progress.

Toyota - The team themselves are predicting much, but the car has improved.

[Coach44]

Ferrari - Third championship in a row!?! The worst possible outcome second (due to mechanical failure(unlikely), bad luck etc)

McLaren - DC (and the team)strong second (the car looks quick so far)with possibility of WDC with some luck on his side for a change.

Williams - Problems with the chassis, but good drivers and engine...third again.

Sauber - Strong at the beginning of the season then falling behind (didn't we say that last year). 4th??? possibly 5th

Jordan - Only one quick driver...good car...my bet is 6th (or seventh if Renault moves up)

BAR - Last chance...car looks better than last year...Two great drivers...I see them fighting with Sauber for fourth if Honda delivers the goods.

Renault - They'll do very well! JB has something to prove. Possibly 6th or 7th

Jaguar - Will be worse than last year.

Arrows - Wait and see

Minardi - Last.

Toyota - My humble opinion is that they'll beat Arrows and Minardi and who knows maybe Jaguar (scary thought. )

[Anthony Bartlet]

Outside of the usual three i think sauber will be good for a bet. Fastest again at Valencia test, they have been regularly quicker than Williams who had 4 wins, 4 poles and 8 fastest laps last year, worrying,Tony B

[Super Tourer]

Ferrari - looking good, probably haven't fully shown their hand yet - champ fav's. MS wins - RB second.

Williams - bit to do, 2001 car is still quicker overall. Wait for the JPM/RS fireworks as season develops - Ralf will start overdriving from around 6th race on....

McLaren - closest challenger to Ferrari over the season. KR will keep DC on his toes.

Renault - who know's - amongst the Jordan/BAR/Sauber?Jag pack. Button faces make or break year - Trulli needs to prove he can race as well as qualify.

BAR - Car looks as inconsistent as all the previous BAR's - team don't seem to know how to make their cars go faster so expect them to struggle along with the Jags. JV will be bored, Panis average.

Jaguar - Totally dis-organised, teams a shambles - no direction. Another dismal year (probably their last). Sad swangson for Irv....lost of retirements for DLR

Arrows - Car should be better than the Jag - if they start beating them it will be interesting to see if they get any upgrades or 'support' falls away...I wouldn't want to rely on an engine supply that Lauda has signed a contract for....
HHF a lot to prove, Bernoldi just needs to collect the Red Bull cheques..

Sauber - The dark horse 2001 Ferrari engines will still be very competitive & reliable. Car looks immediately faster than last years - Heidfield flying - lots of points this year. Massa looks quick but wild.

Jordan - Expect usual patchy performance from Jordan - they still find the transition from fun loving F1 team to serious contenders hard to make. Lighten up again - it may help! Fizzi on form - Sato will run him very close.

Toyota - Very hard to estimate - probably mid-field at best - expect a lot of retirements in the heat of battle. Took them quite a while to get CART engines right. McNish better than Salo over the year.

Minardi - undoubtedly better - but will still require an awful lot of retirements to get in the points. Without the cushion of Alonso's ability they may find themselves outside the 110% qualifying fairly often - particularly with AY.

[bulldogspirit]

Ferrari - in the best position to run away with titles again, but others won't make it as easy as last year.

McLaren - always thereabouts, a few wins but no championship

Williams - best opposition to Ferrari, engine will power to victory at fast circuits, chassis could harm them on slower circuits.

Sauber - same as last year, Heidfeld has something to prove.

Jordan - maybe a bit better than last year, battling with BAR again. Sato's ability is the scale-tipper, if he's good then they could do well, but may struggle in his debut season.

BAR - same as ever, patchy performances over the season, look to Panis to overshadow a disinterested JV.

Renault - should be up there challenging for podiums, battling with Sauber for 4th, Jenson has to prove himself worthy of a drive next year.

Jaguar - most likely scrapping with Arrows and Minardi at the back end of the grid, expect Eddie to score at Monaco as ever, otherwise PDLR will probably be the more likely scorer.

Arrows - same again, Bernoldi is poor, HHF is past it. Points will be hard to come by, unless Cosworth engine surprises.

Minardi - one reasonable driver, one s**** driver, shoddy engine, points will be seldom if any at all.

Toyota - potential surprise package, won't want to be beaten by Honda, but without the experience to get near Jordan & BAR. Expect a few points, battling with Jag & Arrows.

[Bononi]

What could we expect ??????


MORE OF THE SAME !!!

[nicker less]

Ferrari- much of the same

Mclaren- Good so far in testing, and DC will probably claim 'This years mine'.

Williams- Troble with chassis, and not as fast as I expected them to be.

Sauber- Stunning in testing, and looks like another good year for them.

Toyota- Lower down than expected, but they have to learn.

Arrows- O'dear, O'dear, O'dear.

[Number Juan]

Ferrari - out there but being chased more

mclaren - quietly confident

williams - a tad slower than last year's rocket - but better reliability - maybe a suprise?

sauber - slip down the ladder possibly but their drivers will be in demand again

toyota - flop

arrows - see toyota

jordan - another dissapointing season, sato might be a suprise

bar - very lacklustre year again

jaguar -

minardi - better than last year

renault - more of last year's results

[Speedworx]

Ferrari - No 5th title for MS and no constructors title either.

McLaren - Championship winners. Maybe a 1-2 in championship.

Williams - Team will strugle with bad car.

Sauber - Will continue to show up teams like Jordan and BAR.

Jordan - Yet another year of nothing.

BAR - Another horrible car and bad performances.

Renault - The top teams had better watch out!

Jaguar - One word: LAST!!

Arrows - Cosworth engine should be good.

Minardi - Best year ever?

Toyota - The team will surprise many people, one of which won't be me. They will do very well.

[neilap]

I expect Ferrari to win again. Maybe not the constructers title, but the drivers. I dont feel that RB will be very effective in the fight. I feel that McLaren will be fighting Williams harder than they are Ferrari/Michael. Sauber, has had their day in the sun. BAR &/or Jordan will fighting for fourth. I expect Renault to be the biggest challenge to the Honda powered teams. Toyota will be using the excuse that it is a learning year. They will look "goodish" at the end of the year. Unfortunately I feel they might be able to buy their way to being a title contender. They will be getting bigger and better sponsors and I feel that in a few years Ferrari will be the second most sponsored team. As for a title I doubt it! As for Jag, Arrows and Minardi I feel that they will have good battles in the back of the grid.

[Speedworx]

Jag will be last. Arrows and Minardi have better engines.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by hakkiman
Jag will be last. Arrows and Minardi have better engines.

and how do arrows have a better engine than jag, when they are both the same?

[Speedworx]

Jag has too much in-team fighting and no tech boss. Arrows is more sorted.

[Mark F1]

Ferrari - Very nice looking car, have only tested with 2001 car so a bit hard to judge, but will definately be the team to beat

Williams - New chassis not as good as new engine, but hopefully it is fixable. Expect Montoya to outshine Ralf and challenge TGF for the title, reliability permitting.

McLaren - Good testing form stands them in good stead for the season. DC and Kimi will be right up their and who knows, could be DC's year?

Sauber - Another Brilliant car, the absolutely excellent Heidfeld with rookie Massa will hold onto 4th place and don't be suprised to see the car on the podium.

Jordan - Giancarlo & Takuma will BOTH shine and be regular points finishers, no wins though.

Renault - Very much a development year. If reliability is good then who knows how well they will do. Im afraid Trulli will outshine Button though.

BAR - Up and down testing form & Villeneuve does'nt know wether he is coming or going. Points will be hard to come by.

Arrows - HHF will gain a few points scoring positions due to decent chassis and Cosworth power, Bernoldi = nowhere.

Jaguar - Dear oh dear, Final year for Irvine, Lauda out by end of season, very few points.

Toyota - Tough first year, McNish & Salo about equal, car will probably suffer mechanical trouble and won't exactly be on the pace.

Minardi - Not much change here Im afraid. Webber will impress with a couple of good races, but Yoong will struggle to qualify, and when he does he will regularly finish 3 - 5 laps down.

[Speedworx]

We will all have to wait and see who gets the nearest with our predictions.

[Mr V]

i'm saying this (hoping!) as a williams/jpm fan, but their times in testing (yes i know......not always the whole story!) do seem to be up and down (jpm fastest today!!) but i do think that they are playing things down abit. does anybody on this forum really (and be honest here) see sauber finishing first or at least second in this years wcc ahead of williams and mclaren?

[Don K]

• Ferrari: another WCC.
• McLaren: second or third
• Williams: third or second
• Sauber: fourth or fifth
• Jordan: fifth or fourth
• BAR: 6th, 7th, or 8th
• Renault: 7th, 6th, or 8th
• Jaguar: 9th, 8th, or 7th
• ---
• Arrows: 8th, 9th, 7th, or 6th
• Minardi: eleventh or tenth
• Toyota: nineth, tenth or eleventh