Who will be the next NEW F1 world champion?

[Frentzen127]

He did say NEW champion.

[DanielPT]

He did say NEW champion.

I still maintain that post even with the new champion!

[Sublime_FA11C]

Rosberg or Grosjean. A very very very outside chance for Pic, since we really don't know if he's any good.

None of the others are likely champions because the current champions present will have dibs on the title for years to come and only Rosberg or Grosjean seem like they could get it. Slim chance even then.

Perez is ok, but i don't think he'll ever be a champion. Ditto DiResta.

I think i'll list them all:

Vettel
Webber - Hasn't done it so far, isn't really fancied. Has a chance though.

Button
Hamilton

Alonso
Massa - Right... not even a season this unpredictable gets him a chance.

Schumacher
Rosberg - Likely. Dependable, level-headed. Seems like he would take the chance.

Perez - Shown nothing so far that makes him champion material. Race winner, yes but not champ.
Kobayashi - Dont see him as champion. Would love it though. Will he ever get a championship winning car?

Raikkonen
Grosjean - Very likely. Needs experience but will get a chance certainly.

Maldonado - Never. Can be absolutely superb on his day. But never.
Senna - Would be lucky to unrejectify already. Doesn't seem talented enough.

Di Resta - I don't think he's good enough. Maybe can win races though.
Hulkenberg - No.

Ricciardo - Seems mediocre.
Vergne - Hasn't realy been around long enough. Seems slightly above mediocre.

Petrov - I don't see him in a good car anytime in the near future. Has some talent.
Kovalainen - I think we've seen his best shot.

Glock - No.
Pic - Anonymous. Who knows if he has any potential at all.

Karthikeyan - No.
De La Rosa - No.

So there are my humble thoughts. Any potential champions coming in '13?

[Stramala]

If there's going to be a new champion this year, it certainly won't be anyone on his year's grid.

Except maybe Perez.

Wait... Are you saying that this year's champion will not be someone from this year's grid?

MIND BLOWING!

He is indeed correct. Juventus will claim they won the World Championship and add an extra star to their shirt to signify winning the F1 World Championship.

[mario]

Rosberg or Grosjean. A very very very outside chance for Pic, since we really don't know if he's any good.

None of the others are likely champions because the current champions present will have dibs on the title for years to come and only Rosberg or Grosjean seem like they could get it. Slim chance even then.

That is quite true - with the current list of top ranking teams currently looking reasonably stable (McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus (at they are called for now) are still right up there), it is reasonable to assume that without a major shake up in the pecking order, the foreseeable WDC's will come from one of those top five teams, the majority of whom have already won the WDC at least once.
Several of those drivers are currently also on long term contracts with their respective teams - Vettel and Button are currently signed up with their respective teams until 2014 (with Vettel clearly not interested in leaving and Button probably planning on staying at McLaren until his retirement), whilst Alonso is signed up until 2016, effectively locking out three of the more competitive seats right away.
The most likely scenario would be if Mercedes could gain an advantage over the other teams that allows Rosberg to control things, though that doesn't look incredibly likely at the moment (Mercedes are definitely closer to the front this season, but whether they can remain close enough over an entire season remains to be seen), or Webber can maintain enough consistency to beat his rivals (and at the moment he is definitely one of the more consistent drivers). Unless there is some other surprise or a team suddenly vaults its way to the front, the most recent WDC's are likely to take the title for the foreseeable future due to them currently locking out the most competitive cars.

[WeirdKerr]

If there's going to be a new champion this year, it certainly won't be anyone on his year's grid.

Except maybe Perez.

Wait... Are you saying that this year's champion will not be someone from this year's grid?

MIND BLOWING!

I'll just be contraversial and say she hasn't even started karting yet.....

[JeremyMcClean]

Whoops, I meant to say that out of the drivers who haven't won a Championship on the grid this year, won't win a Championship. Except maybe Perez.

[shinji]

I heavily dislike most of the people on here

Why are you here then?

[East Londoner]

I heavily dislike most of the people on here

Why are you here then?

I feel hated.

[DanielPT]

I heavily dislike most of the people on here

Why are you here then?

I think he likes to wind up people.

Based on his "against public opinion" antic, if we start agreeing with him on everything he might be forced to change his positions...

[David AGS]

I WILL






DC to make a comeback as Pirelli tester, impresses everyone, 3-4 big teams after him due to his valuable imput and knowledge of the latest and radical Pirelli tyres. Offers from Williams, Ferrari and McLaren as Red Bull decide he is too old for their youthful image. He signs with his heart with Williams, but a minute later gets a call from Ron Dennis and changes his mind. Williams get a few bags of cash in compensation.

He is teammed up with Magnussen, in a sort of ironic situation from 1996 as he and Jan Magnussen tested together while Hakkinen was recovering. DC replaces Hamilton as the Brit joins IndyCars. DC wins the title, clearly as the Number 1 driver (as agreed in his initial contract) ahead of Seb Vettel.


From the current drivers involved (Testers and all), Esteben Guttierez and Valeri Bottas. One or the others will be winning titles...

[tkcom]

It will be Vettel, Alonso or Hamilton for at least 5 more years. The next NEW WDC will be some GP2 phenom in a highly competitive car.

[Stramala]

I heavily dislike most of the people on here

Why are you here then?

I think he likes to wind up people.

Based on his "against public opinion" antic, if we start agreeing with him on everything he might be forced to change his positions...

Michael Schumacher is a saint, the greatest racing driver there has ever been

[eurobrun]

Why are you here then?

I think he likes to wind up people.

Based on his "against public opinion" antic, if we start agreeing with him on everything he might be forced to change his positions...

Michael Schumacher is a saint, the greatest racing driver there has ever been

And on that basis, RMN GRSJN is a future world champion.

[Shadaza]

It will be Vettel, Alonso or Hamilton for at least 5 more years. The next NEW WDC will be some GP2 phenom in a highly competitive car.

The competitive car part is key, Hulkenberg was excellent in GP2 and so was Grosjean (twice no less as he would of won it in 2009 had he not got the Renault call up) It seems success in the junior formulas is by no means everything. You only need to look at Liuzzi for that.

[FullMetalJack]

It seems success in the junior formulas is by no means everything. You only need to look at Liuzzi for that.

Exactly, Kobayashi wasn't exactly great in the lower formulas, and look at him now. Kimi Raikkonen had virtually no experience prior to F1, and he's one of the very best on the grid.

[DanielPT]

It seems success in the junior formulas is by no means everything. You only need to look at Liuzzi for that.

Exactly, Kobayashi wasn't exactly great in the lower formulas, and look at him now. Kimi Raikkonen had virtually no experience prior to F1, and he's one of the very best on the grid.

He won a few things (Namely FR Eurocup and GP2 Asia Series) and fared well in others (F3 Euro Series where he was a race winner). Although he wasn't heroic in GP2 series he had show potential and proved to be no slouch.

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

And on that basis, RMN GRSJN is a future world champion.

I knew you'd come around eventually!

[JeremyMcClean]

You know who could become a new F1 Champ?

Mitch Evans.

2nd in GP3 Series and doing well so far!

[FullMetalJack]

It seems success in the junior formulas is by no means everything. You only need to look at Liuzzi for that.

Exactly, Kobayashi wasn't exactly great in the lower formulas, and look at him now. Kimi Raikkonen had virtually no experience prior to F1, and he's one of the very best on the grid.

He won a few things (Namely FR Eurocup and GP2 Asia Series) and fared well in others (F3 Euro Series where he was a race winner). Although he wasn't heroic in GP2 series he had show potential and proved to be no slouch.

I only saw him in GP2 main series, so i'm having to go on the basis of those results, which weren't that impressive to be honest.

[DanielPT]

You know who could become a new F1 Champ?

Mitch Evans.

2nd in GP3 Series and doing well so far!

That didn't do much for Robert Wickens. He was second on 2010. I am willing to bet that if Robert comes into F1 it won't be because this second place....

I only saw him in GP2 main series, so i'm having to go on the basis of those results, which weren't that impressive to be honest.

True. They were average at best. Although he had a few good races... Not enough I know.

[eurobrun]

And on that basis, RMN GRSJN is a future world champion.

I knew you'd come around eventually!

I think you might have missed the joke.

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

And on that basis, RMN GRSJN is a future world champion.

I knew you'd come around eventually!

I think you might have missed the joke.

Oh, I didn't miss it; I used the patented "F1 fan selective hindsight" in order to see only what I wanted to see!

[Ferrim]

Am I the only one who looks at this year's standings and sees Webber level with Vettel?

Admitedly, he had a great chance in 2010, and I wouldn't have said he stood a chance a couple of months ago, but right now... he has the best shot of all the non-champions.

[mario]

Am I the only one who looks at this year's standings and sees Webber level with Vettel?

Admitedly, he had a great chance in 2010, and I wouldn't have said he stood a chance a couple of months ago, but right now... he has the best shot of all the non-champions.

I think that part of the problem is that the wider public question whether Mark would truly have the support of the team in a title run off if Vettel was still reasonably close behind, given a) what happened in 2010 and b) the acknowledged bias of several members of Red Bull Racing's senior management towards Vettel.

[stupot94]

I have always sid it will be Romain Grosjean. However after the start he had I doubt this

[pasta_maldonado]

I have always sid it will be Romain Grosjean. However after the start he had I doubt this

I too agree. Webber doesnn't appear to have consistency, and if Toleman can come up with a competitive car next year, things may look good with a year's experience under his belt.

[Sunshine_Baby_[IT]]

I have always sid it will be Romain Grosjean. However after the start he had I doubt this

I too agree. Webber doesnn't appear to have consistency, and if Toleman can come up with a competitive car next year, things may look good with a year's experience under his belt.

I don't think that Webber will ever be world champion. He will probably retire at the end of next season and I don't think he will win in a couple of years what he didn't win in all his F1 career.
I'm not sure about Grosjean. It seems at least at now he makes too much mistakes...

[DanielPT]

I have always sid it will be Romain Grosjean. However after the start he had I doubt this

I too agree. Webber doesnn't appear to have consistency, and if Toleman can come up with a competitive car next year, things may look good with a year's experience under his belt.

I don't think that Webber will ever be world champion. He will probably retire at the end of next season and I don't think he will win in a couple of years what he didn't win in all his F1 career.
I'm not sure about Grosjean. It seems at least at now he makes too much mistakes...

To be fair with Webber he only had a car to fight for the championship in the last 2 years. Arguably, 3 years.

[WaffleCat]

I seriously,whole-heartedly think Romain Grosjean is the next world champion.Sure,he found himself pulling crap performances in Australia and Malaysia,but once he gets consistency on his side,there is no stopping him...maybe.

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

I seriously,whole-heartedly think Romain Grosjean is the next world champion.Sure,he found himself pulling crap performances in Australia and Malaysia,but once he gets consistency on his side,there is no stopping him...maybe.

Okay, I just have to say that I'm a big fan of Rmmnnn. He's a fun, aggressive driver. But "no stopping him"? Even with the "maybe" thrown in, even I have to say probably not. He has a lot of talent, but so do Perez, Kobayashi, Di Resta, and others. I like his chances better than the others, but the margins are so close these days that it's nearly impossible to transcend the car/setup at any given time.

Of course my own view is that everyone in F1 is a supremely talented driver. There's a top-tier of talent (like Alonso, Raikonnen, Prost, maybe Schumacher in his day etc.), those once in a generation types (Fangio, Jim Clark, Senna, maybe a couple of others) but most of them, including many world champions are simply extremely fast, world-class drivers who were in the right car at the right time. If Toleman can keep it up and next year's car builds on this year's success, I could see Grrssjjnn doing it. Especially if they hit on something good in a technical sense and if Kimi moves on somewhere.

[mario]

I seriously,whole-heartedly think Romain Grosjean is the next world champion.Sure,he found himself pulling crap performances in Australia and Malaysia,but once he gets consistency on his side,there is no stopping him...maybe.

Okay, I just have to say that I'm a big fan of Rmmnnn. He's a fun, aggressive driver. But "no stopping him"? Even with the "maybe" thrown in, even I have to say probably not. He has a lot of talent, but so do Perez, Kobayashi, Di Resta, and others. I like his chances better than the others, but the margins are so close these days that it's nearly impossible to transcend the car/setup at any given time.

Of course my own view is that everyone in F1 is a supremely talented driver. There's a top-tier of talent (like Alonso, Raikonnen, Prost, maybe Schumacher in his day etc.), those once in a generation types (Fangio, Jim Clark, Senna, maybe a couple of others) but most of them, including many world champions are simply extremely fast, world-class drivers who were in the right car at the right time. If Toleman can keep it up and next year's car builds on this year's success, I could see Grrssjjnn doing it. Especially if they hit on something good in a technical sense and if Kimi moves on somewhere.

Well, although the team did lose a number of experienced senior staff over the past few years to Ferrari and Mercedes and had a rather difficult season last year, they seem to have regained something of the form that they had a few years before. That said, whilst the pairing of Kimi and Grosjean does seem to be working surprisingly well (as Eddie Jordan pointed out, with some accuracy, Grosjean's cheery demeanour with the media has reduced the need for Kimi to talk to the media). It isn't entirely assured, though, that Kimi will be leaving the team any time soon - he seem to be enjoying himself there much more than at either Ferrari or McLaren, and if the team are able to produce a competitive car, why would he want to move anywhere else?

The other major question is about the long term competitiveness of the team, since he is probably going to remain there because of his links with Boullier for some time. There is some talk that the FIA bight bring forward some of the regulation changes from 2014 to 2013 - the plans for lowering the height of the chassis and nose tip may be introduced in 2013 - so with fairly radical changes to the designs of the cars planned for the next few years, it is not entirely guaranteed that he'll have a good car.
After all, the performance of the team has tended to vary a fair bit from season to season recently - from championship winning form in 2005 and 2006 to being 4th fastest on average in 2007, starting out with a fairly average car car in 2008 which became a quite competitive car at the end of the season, a fairly lousy car in 2009 before building a fairly decent car in 2010 (albeit a little behind where they were in 2007-2008), whilst 2011 saw them start out with a competitive car but proceed to slip back down the field as they hit a technological dead end.
On top of that, to a certain extent the potential performance of their future cars is somewhat out of their hands given that there is no guarantee that the engines will be quite as close as they currently are in 2014 in terms of performance. A couple of years struggling in a poor car, and Grosjean's upward career trajectory could be sharply curtailed as a result...

[Shadaza]

I will throw forward Swiss Driver Matheo Tuscher currently competing in Formula 2. Sure he is 3rd in the championship at the moment and the field isn't the strongest but he is only 15 YEARS OLD.

He seems to have a lot of potential and if any of the big teams pick him up he can be a star in the future I think.

[pasta_maldonado]

I will throw forward Swiss Driver Matheo Tuscher currently competing in Formula 2. Sure he is 3rd in the championship at the moment and the field isn't the strongest but he is only 15 YEARS OLD.

He seems to have a lot of potential and if any of the big teams pick him up he can be a star in the future I think.

he can afford to spend about 2-3 more years in the junior categpries than someone who is 17-18, so that will be a huge bonus for him.

The most sriking thing is... he's my age Actually, we're both fast: he's fast round a track and I'm fast at racking up my post count

[East Londoner]

I will throw forward Swiss Driver Matheo Tuscher currently competing in Formula 2. Sure he is 3rd in the championship at the moment and the field isn't the strongest but he is only 15 YEARS OLD.

He seems to have a lot of potential and if any of the big teams pick him up he can be a star in the future I think.

he can afford to spend about 2-3 more years in the junior categpries than someone who is 17-18, so that will be a huge bonus for him.

The most sriking thing is... he's my age Actually, we're both fast: he's fast round a track and I'm fast at racking up my post count

The scary truth is, sooner or later there'll be a driver on the F1 grid who's my age or younger. And then I really will feel old.

[Nuppiz]

The scary truth is, sooner or later there'll be a driver on the F1 grid who's my age or younger. And then I really will feel old.

Yep, it probably won't be long before this happens to me as well (currently Esteban Gutierrez is the closest to do so; he's three and a half weeks younger than me).

[DanielPT]

I will throw forward Swiss Driver Matheo Tuscher currently competing in Formula 2. Sure he is 3rd in the championship at the moment and the field isn't the strongest but he is only 15 YEARS OLD.

He seems to have a lot of potential and if any of the big teams pick him up he can be a star in the future I think.

he can afford to spend about 2-3 more years in the junior categpries than someone who is 17-18, so that will be a huge bonus for him.

The most sriking thing is... he's my age Actually, we're both fast: he's fast round a track and I'm fast at racking up my post count

The scary truth is, sooner or later there'll be a driver on the F1 grid who's my age or younger. And then I really will feel old.

I could name quite a few that are younger than me, but somehow, I don't feel old...

[shinji]

I will throw forward Swiss Driver Matheo Tuscher currently competing in Formula 2. Sure he is 3rd in the championship at the moment and the field isn't the strongest but he is only 15 YEARS OLD.

He seems to have a lot of potential and if any of the big teams pick him up he can be a star in the future I think.

Jaysus, you can say that again. Your post prompted me to look up the field, and the only driver I've heard of is Plamen Kralev

[eurobrun]

The next new world champion will be Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, who is currently dominating Auto GP. Besides, he has the same birthday as me (February 3rd).

[Stramala]

I will throw forward Swiss Driver Matheo Tuscher currently competing in Formula 2. Sure he is 3rd in the championship at the moment and the field isn't the strongest but he is only 15 YEARS OLD.

He seems to have a lot of potential and if any of the big teams pick him up he can be a star in the future I think.

Jaysus, you can say that again. Your post prompted me to look up the field, and the only driver I've heard of is Plamen Kralev

You've never heard of Dino Zamparelli or Christopher Zanella? Those are at least two guys I've seen driving before. The others? Not so much.