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2009 F1 predictions
I know that the 2008 season only just finished up, and I know this thread has been created by what would be regarded by conventional wisdom as "way too early", but I was bored at the time.
Purpose of thread? Simple.
Place what you think awaits in 2009, specifically in F1. We dig this thread up again in 12 months' time and either stand in awe of some members' Nostradamus powers and/ or other members' complete lack thereof.
I'll go first:
1) Heidfeld continues on with BMW, who in turn continue to slowly but surely catch up with McLaren and Ferrari. Heidfeld has his moments of brilliance, but continues to fade. Kubica turns out to be one of the contenders for the ultimate gold. He announces his move to Ferrari at the end of the season. BMW announces the signing of Piquet and Rosberg at the end of the season.
2) Raikonnen soldiers on at Ferrari, but struggles to regain his lost form. He announces his retirement at the end of the season, presumably to focus more on partying like there's no tomorrow. Massa vows to make up for the lost championship of 2008 by obliterating his opponents in 2009. His promise holds some weight, but he's weighed down by continued car problems.
3) Dennis' golden boy Hamilton enjoys bathing in championship glory. Sadly, the glory goes to his head and weighs down his car. He does not mind though, Nicole Scherzinger is there to stroke away the pain. Heiki fails to impress. Is it his lack of talent, or Dennis' lack of enthusiasm of seeing his protege upstaged?
4) Alonso is running at the front of the pack every other weekend thanks to a resurgent Renault effort. He announces that he's not going anywhere, opting to stay at Renault. Nelsinho Piquet has his moments, but has a rather quiet year otherwise.
5) In a surprise move to some, Brawn's presence at Honda delivers one of the stronger packages of the season. Barri and Button nevertheless fail to finish in the points consistently enough. Rumors of Bruno Senna becoming a works driver in 2010 are rampant.
6) Toyota, thanks to the priceless know-how they gained with their Prius, now runs along the top-dogs consistently. They take the manufacturer's championship.
7) Shock! Horror! Max Mosley announces his imminent exit from the FIA. No one knows for sure why, but no one really cares. Everyone's just really glad it finally happened.
I'll be satisfied if only #7 turns out to be true.
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[QUOTE=Kooper;843155]
7) Shock! Horror! Max Mosley announces his imminent exit from the FIA. No one knows for sure why, but no one really cares. Everyone's just really glad it finally happened.
I'll be satisfied if only #7 turns out to be true.[/QUOTE]
So will I !!!
:P
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#7
and it'd be nice to see Force India get a point or two.
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[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;843195]#7
and it'd be nice to see Force India get a point or two.[/QUOTE]
If the remain under that guise long enough to score points.
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It would be kind of ironic if Toyota took the manufacturer's title, with them preparing to leave F1...
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[QUOTE=Zytek_Fan;843207]It would be kind of ironic if Toyota took the manufacturer's title, with them preparing to leave F1...[/QUOTE]
Is that certain or dependent on success? If they win the title maybe the will stick around.
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[QUOTE=Kitdy;843228]Is that certain or dependent on success? If they win the title maybe the will stick around.[/QUOTE]
I don't know. By the sounds of the people at Cologne, they don't plan on sticking around long.
Sportscar racing is a lot more relevant to production, so that may be a reason they decide to jump ship. And for costs.
Spending $600 million a year on an F1 program that has yielded unsatisfactory results. Whereas, they could pour less than that and be pretty certain of victory, depending upon how they manage things. Dumping Mike Gascoyne was a horrible mistake for Toyota, and started to line up the cards to the end.
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[QUOTE=Zytek_Fan;843231]I don't know. By the sounds of the people at Cologne, they don't plan on sticking around long.
Sportscar racing is a lot more relevant to production, so that may be a reason they decide to jump ship. And for costs.
Spending $600 million a year on an F1 program that has yielded unsatisfactory results. Whereas, they could pour less than that and be pretty certain of victory, depending upon how they manage things. Dumping Mike Gascoyne was a horrible mistake for Toyota, and started to line up the cards to the end.[/QUOTE]
Being the devils advocate, success in F1 is more useful than success in sportscar racing for advertising, but they are not succeeding in F1 while spending what I thought was around 450 million a year. Also, sportscar racing sounds like it's gonna be really competitive in the coming years with Audi and Peugeot and Acura and maybe others all going for the win in P1.
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[QUOTE=Kitdy;843239]Being the devils advocate, success in F1 is more useful than success in sportscar racing for advertising, but they are not succeeding in F1 while spending what I thought was around 450 million a year. Also, sportscar racing sounds like it's gonna be really competitive in the coming years with Audi and Peugeot and Acura and maybe others all going for the win in P1.[/QUOTE]
All the turmoil might just scare sponsors away.
Look at all the sponsors lining up in sportscar now. Sure, they're not handing money out like in F1, but I'm sure they will be eventually.
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[QUOTE=Zytek_Fan;843257]All the turmoil might just scare sponsors away.
Look at all the sponsors lining up in sportscar now. Sure, they're not handing money out like in F1, but I'm sure they will be eventually.[/QUOTE]
No they won't unless sportscar racing becomes as popular as F1 and it is far far away from that. 13.1 people in the UK alone watched ITV's broadcast for the Brazilian GP and the GP has topped 80 million viewers in the past. F1 might be the wealthiest "sporting" league in the world.
I wonder what sorta viewership Le Mans gets - I do know that as for yearly sporting events, the season ending GP is one of the highest rated, maybe second only to the Superbowl?
So, in the event that sportscar racing become as popular as it was in the Group C days and it is televised on major TV stations globally, maybe sponsors will start handing out big money, but I still doubt that it will have the cachet of F1 as F1 is simply king of the hill for money in racing, the only other one that I would figure is close is NASCAR.
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[QUOTE=Kitdy;843260]No they won't unless sportscar racing becomes as popular as F1 and it is far far away from that. 13.1 people in the UK alone watched ITV's broadcast for the Brazilian GP and the GP has topped 80 million viewers in the past. F1 might be the wealthiest "sporting" league in the world.
I wonder what sorta viewership Le Mans gets - I do know that as for yearly sporting events, the season ending GP is one of the highest rated, maybe second only to the Superbowl?
So, in the event that sportscar racing become as popular as it was in the Group C days and it is televised on major TV stations globally, maybe sponsors will start handing out big money, but I still doubt that it will have the cachet of F1 as F1 is simply king of the hill for money in racing, the only other one that I would figure is close is NASCAR.[/QUOTE]
Le Mans actually gets quite a bit of viewership.
I do like F1, but I believe it's started on the way to being a sinking ship with its current leadership.
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[QUOTE=Zytek_Fan;843262]Le Mans actually gets quite a bit of viewership.[/QUOTE]
The recent viewership figures I found for F1 indicate that the average viewership is about 55 million per race.
I will try to see what Le Mans gets; I wonder if it is above that 55 million...
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[QUOTE=Kitdy;843264]The recent viewership figures I found for F1 indicate that the average viewership is about 55 million per race.
I will try to see what Le Mans gets; I wonder if it is above that 55 million...[/QUOTE]
I think if you could find out who originally broadcasts the race, you could find the viewer number.
Contact the ACO maybe?
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Here in the U.S. as much as I hate to admit it NASCAR reigns "Supreme" in motorsports. (Damn!! that left an awful taste in my mouth!!) Although we did have F1 here in the states again, even if it was for a short time. But what is gaining popularity is the ALMS and Petite LMS as well. SPEED for the most part is our motorsport network, and thank God for them. If it wasn't for SPEED my F1 coverage would be minimal at best! NASCAR in the U.S. is what F1 is in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world! I would love more than anything to have F1 back here in the states, and really give NASCAR a run for their money.