rjbetty
11th February 2013, 00:34
This thread is to nominate teams and drivers which are most likely to have looked good in testing but will turn out to be rubbish when the season proper starts. Obviously Mercedes are a prime candidate :p but which others may stand out?
Also, we can nominate teams and drivers for the opposite, meaning they will not look special in testing, but come the first race will set the track alight!
Also, I'd be really interested to hear the best cases from the past too!
I'm thinking maybe Sauber are actually going to do quite well this year after all. The feel and mood of the team and Hulkenberg is one of quiet confidence, as though they are not showing their hand yet. As usual as I said, I think Mercedes will do less well in the season than they might appear in testing.
I also think Chilton and Marussia will qualify over 5sec off the pace, even though they seem to look quicker.
The most infamous example from the past I can think of of a team looking steaming hot in testing but greatly disappointing at the first race is Prost in 2001. Everyone was talking about them. Alesi was so confident and was gushing about the car being 4 seconds faster than the 2000 one. Nigel Roebuck and others in Autosport were even talking about him being a dark horse for victory in Melbourne! In reality, he qualified 3sec off the pace in 14th and the rest of the season was little better. Sauber in 2010 are also quite a good one.
Ferrari in 2004 were unexpectedly good after looking so-so in pre-season testing.
Also, we can nominate teams and drivers for the opposite, meaning they will not look special in testing, but come the first race will set the track alight!
Also, I'd be really interested to hear the best cases from the past too!
I'm thinking maybe Sauber are actually going to do quite well this year after all. The feel and mood of the team and Hulkenberg is one of quiet confidence, as though they are not showing their hand yet. As usual as I said, I think Mercedes will do less well in the season than they might appear in testing.
I also think Chilton and Marussia will qualify over 5sec off the pace, even though they seem to look quicker.
The most infamous example from the past I can think of of a team looking steaming hot in testing but greatly disappointing at the first race is Prost in 2001. Everyone was talking about them. Alesi was so confident and was gushing about the car being 4 seconds faster than the 2000 one. Nigel Roebuck and others in Autosport were even talking about him being a dark horse for victory in Melbourne! In reality, he qualified 3sec off the pace in 14th and the rest of the season was little better. Sauber in 2010 are also quite a good one.
Ferrari in 2004 were unexpectedly good after looking so-so in pre-season testing.