2012 Formula One Side Competition

[tubeguru]

Ah, having re-read my post, I forgot to change that from the British GP. So yes, it's only Massa in the frame for this one.

[Root]

The German Grand Prix starts tomorrow.

Whoops, I posted my reminder in the wrong thread.

I don't see how Red Bull's exhaust blowing is or will be a bigger row than Bahrain, but as you said, it's your choice.

[tubeguru]

The German Grand Prix starts tomorrow.

Whoops, I posted my reminder in the wrong thread.

I don't see how Red Bull's exhaust blowing is or will be a bigger row than Bahrain, but as you said, it's your choice.

I haven't made the final decision yet! On balance I suppose the trouble at Bahrain has to rank above all the "cheating" going on in the sport, but if a team is regularly "pushing the envelope", as Red Bull currently are, then at some point the balance has to tip.

[hopeful traveller]

Erm... Glen and I both said Alonso for leading at halfway!

[tubeguru]

Congratulations - you passed the test. I deliberately put that error in to see if anyone actually checks what I say.

But no extra points for being that anal - sorry.

[The Raven]

Not bitter are you Tubeguru?

Hopeless Traveller and The Raven going for Alonso to lead the championship at the halfway point. I think that was a longshot even before they'd built the cars!

[tubeguru]

Don't forget, I made the questions up before the season started. At the start of the season, Ferrari had a terrible car. Only recently have they come to the front. I wonder how many people wish they hadn't gone for Vettel for the championship now? I thought Button could do it, but he's way off the pace now.

[hopeful traveller]

Cough, cough.

[tubeguru]

Bloody wait. Some of us have jobs to go to.

[tubeguru]

OK, just to satisfy Hopeless Traveller, here is how it stands after Hungary.

Who will win the Driver's Championship?

Dunno.

Who will win the Constructor's Championship?

Red Bull

Will Michael Schumacher win a GP?

Are you kidding?

What will Kimi Raikkonen's highest finishing position be?

He almost ruined it for me, but he equals his best position this year, and keeps me in line for a point.

Who will be top rookie? This year's rookies are Charles Pic, Jean-Eric Vergne and Romain Grosjean.

Duh.

Which of the three "new" teams will finish highest in the Constructor's Championship? If none of these teams scores points, the most successful will be the team with the highest finishing position. The teams in question are the three newest teams in F1: Caterham, HRT and Marussia.

No one came close to Petrov's 13th place at the European GP.

Which driver will be the first to be replaced this season for any reason?

Once again,I should clarify at this point that this refers to being replaced for the RACE, and not for various practice sessions as has been the norm of late. Still no changes on race day, but Maldonaldo is sailing close to the wind, and they may just get rid of him for a few races to avoid all the trouble he causes. Senna is also looking close to being replaced.

What will be the year's biggest row (technical/personal/whatever - your choice)?

Red Bull, Bahrain ... not much else has been argued about this year, has it?

How many races will take place before Red Bull and/or Ferrari announce that they're dropping Mark Webber and/or Felipe Massa respectively for 2013?

Webber is in for 2012. Ferrari have made no noises about dropping Massa yet, but are probably waiting for contract talks with various drivers to finish (Button, Perez, Raikkonen etc.)

Driver's Championship: walkover or close battle? I will determine whether a "walkover" or "close battle" was achieved at the end of the season.

Despite Alonso now starting to "doiminate" the championship, it's not going to be decided until the last couple of races.

Will all the teams complete the season (i.e. field two cars at all 20 GPs)?

I'd say yes, now we've got this far. Once again, this does not include DNFs for technical or driver illness reasons.

What will be the most exciting and boring races of the season?

No one can argue that this race was dull. All the passing happened in the pits, and the nearest we got to any action was when Raikkonen nearly took our Grosjean as he battled for second place out of the pits. Was it as boring as Monaco? Quite possibly - we didn't even have a safety car in this race as we did with Monaco. So this race goes down as the most boring so far this year.

Most exciting: China. Most boring: Hungary.

Your own prediction that is not covered by anything above. Take a shot at something that will or won't happen this year that isn't covered by the previous 13 questions and see if you strike it lucky!

No one has guessed anything right yet, apart from steeeeeeevoooooo (was it him?) guessing about a protest at Bahrain.

Team mate head to heads:

Hamilton 7, Button 4
Vettel 6, Webber 5
Alonso 11, Massa 0
Rosberg 6, Schumacher 5
Raikkonen 9, Grosjean 2
Hulkenberg 7, di Resta 4
Kobayashi 6, Perez 5
Ricciardo 6, Vergne 5
Senna 7, Maldonaldo 4
Kovalainen 6, Petrov 5
Glock 8, Pic 3
de la Rosa 11, Kartikeyan 0

Let's all have a summer break shall we?

[Root]

Which of the three "new" teams will finish highest in the Constructor's Championship? If none of these teams scores points, the most successful will be the team with the highest finishing position. The teams in question are the three newest teams in F1: Caterham, HRT and Marussia.

No one came close to Petrov's 13th place at the European GP.

You could mention Kovalainen's 13th place in Monaco too.

How many races will take place before Red Bull and/or Ferrari announce that they're dropping Mark Webber and/or Felipe Massa respectively for 2013?

Webber is in for 2012. Ferrari have made no noises about dropping Massa yet, but are probably waiting for contract talks with various drivers to finish (Button, Perez, Raikkonen etc.)

Button has a three-year contract and Räikkönen has a two-year contract, so neither of them will renegotiate this season. I'm not sure about Pérez though.

[tubeguru]

This article is dated yesterday:

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/794 ... s-rubbish-

It claims that Raikkonen is out of contract at the end of the year. So who is right?

This article is dated today:

http://planetf1.com/driver/3213/7950181 ... en-to-stay

Raikkonen and Button could easily have their contracts bought out by Ferrari if they want a fast driver to partner Alonso next year.

[Root]

PlanetF1 isn't exactly known for being the most reliable or objective of F1 websites, to be honest.

Try this:

Kimi Raikkonen has another year on his Lotus contract and expect the impressive Romain Grosjean to be retained alongside him.

or this (from yesterday):

...boss Eric Boullier is confident Raikkonen will remain with the Enstone-based operation in 2013. He told Finnish broadcaster MTV3: "There are always a lot of rumours. We have a two-year contract with Kimi but, as in every agreement, there are always options. I believe Kimi is happy here"

[tubeguru]

For a competition that's supposed to be a bit of fun, it's amazing how much nit-picking goes on.

[Root]

I'm not nit-picking! Especially considering that the contract status of Button and Räikkönen does not determine the answer to any of the questions in the quiz. I just thought I should point it out.