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Well, I say "side-competition", but it should really be called "F1 2014 Silly Predictions Thing", but whatever.

I haven't messed around with the questions too much from last season. Many are the same as last year, but with names changed (Ricciardo, Massa etc.). It's all fairly straightforward, but I expect some smart-arse to come up with a way of subverting it, so do your best.

PRIVATE MESSAGE me your predictions. Don't post them in this thread. The closing date is er ... *checks the calendar* ... Thursday the 13th of March, at 23.59. I'll post everyone's predictions up the following day so we can all laugh at each other.

So, without further ado, here are the questions:

1. How many different teams will win races this season?

2. How many different teams will win the first six races? (Based on the presumption that the new engine regulations will cause chaos at first)

3. Who will be the first driver to retire from the Australian Grand Prix after the lights go out? (DSQs will not count)

4. Who will be the first-listed non-classified driver in the official results of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

5. Which driver will get the most pole positions?

6. Which driver will retire from the most races? (DSQs will not count)

7. How many times will Jenson Button finish on the podium?

8. What will Felipe Massa's best race result be?

9. Who will be the first driver to be replaced FOR A RACE for any reason? You may answer "no one" if you like.

10. At how many events will the Full Wet tyre be used by at least one driver DURING A RACE? You may answer "none" if you like.

11. Will Daniel Ricciardo win a grand prix?

12. Which driver will accumulate the most number of "penalty points" under the new system? You may answer none if you think no one will receive any penalty points, but that's a long shot. An Autosport article explaining the new system can be found here.

13. Which team will finish fifth in the constructors’ championship? (Is it really as straightforward as RB, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Lotus in the top five this season?)

14. At which event will the drivers’ championship be decided?

15. Who will be leading the drivers' championship immediately after the German Grand Prix (the halfway point of the season)?

16. Team-mate head-to-heads:

For each team, state the driver you think will finish races ahead of his team-mate more times than the other way round. As there are 19 races there can't be a tie between team-mates, so there will be a winner in each team. For the purposes of calculating who has finished ahead, the official results of each race will be used. There will be one point awarded for every correct driver predicted.

Pedantic point: If we're being picky, a driver could be replaced for an odd number of races during the season, meaning that there could be a tie between two drivers in a team. If you want to take a punt on that happening, you can do so by stating it in your entry. It's a long shot though.

Example entry for Q16:

Red Bull - Vettel
Ferrari - Alonso
Mercedes - Rosberg
etc. etc. etc.

Good luck. You may all start moaning ... NOW!

Am I to assume that potential entries for this are waiting until as late as possible, given that testing is throwing up some interesting problems for some teams?

So, is anyone actually going to enter this year, apart from the ONE entry I have received. Anyone?

I will enter later, after I have made some random guesses, carried out an in depth analysis of pre season form.

I was hoping that was why people were holding off. I'm going to be doing the same thing myself. I have no idea about anything yet!

With all this years changes especially all the new engine and gearbox rules. Reliability will be a real issue this year. So re reading the the preseason test figures then guessing.

I have read three different analyses from three different F1 experts, and they all agree on one thing: xxxx and xxxx are the leading teams at the moment.

Have Castlemaine entered two teams?

If Carlsberg did Grand Prix teams ...

Well folks - I would say that if you haven't got some idea of the form this year, you never will before Australia. I've had another couple of entries, but don't forget to enter this year, as it's going to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable seasons we've had for a while.

OK, the deadline for this is 23.59 TOMORROW.

So if you are planning on entering, you have limited time left. As I only have a few entries this year, maybe some of you non-F1 fans might fancy a go at this? It's only predictions after all. I don't think many of us have any idea what will happen this year, so it's not as if F1 fans have a huge advantage.

THE DEADLINE IS 23.59 TONIGHT. THAT'S TODAY!

If you're planning on entering and haven't done so yet, then get a move on.

Well, the "penalties" have started already. Both Williams drivers have been fined for speeding in the pit lane during FP1!

Doesn't count for the penalties question, of course.

The first update is in - see thread.

Daniel Ricciardo's DSQ from the Australian GP means that he has been excluded from the results. This means that Vettel wins the head-to-head point for this race, as a DSQ automatically puts you "behind" your team mate in the results.