Going back a few years, I predicted Alonso would lead the pack for the coming year, and he fulfilled the thought. So who to watch next year? That isn’t so easy. We saw Red Bull making a comeback towards the latter half of the season,with Verstappen showing his mettle, and Ricciardo following closely behind. That may change in 2019, but I see Max possibly pushing the leaders for a place in the finals, while Pierre Gasly remains an unknown quantity. Ferrari dropped more clangers this year than others, including Mercedes, who with Lewis, couldn’t fail. Afew clangers, but not compared to Ferrari,.
That brings us to the rest, Mclaren and Williams being past leaders, but with very poor performance this last few years. - can they drag themselves out of the mud? Force India are on a resurgence, as are Hass, bit I don’t see either team going further than mid ten places.
All up, I see Lewis, Max and Sebastien as potential leaders, depending on team back-up and who makes the most errors.
Lewis remains predictable, Max possibly, and Seb seems to have lost his mojo. What do you think?
I’m going to miss Alonso, but he’s aiming for a third crown. in the USA. Along with Lewis, one of the gentlemen of motorsport. Kimi- now contracted at Sauber, who should have stayed at Ferrari- why was he dumped? - Too much for Seb to handle? And what prompted Ricciardo to leave Red Bull- life is full of conundrums.
I’m wondering if Charles Leclerc will eclipse Vettel. Whilst Vettel is clearly no mug, with four championships, after four on the trot he was beaten by Ricciardo in 2014 when he didn’t win a race - Ricciardo finished 2 places above him, with 3 wins. Vettel must already be wondering if the same thing is going to happen again.
It looks as if Red Bull might be more competitive in 2019, given fairly minor rule changes and the prospect of a more powerful engine. If Leclerc comes good, the battle between him and Verstappen could be interesting. Verstappen is the new Schumacher IMO, who will do anything to win. I expect him to try and dominate Gasly in every way, starting with relationships and resources within the team.
Afterthought:
Hulkenberg v. Ricciardo will be one to watch too. Ricciardo has a reputation as a creative and effective racer, Hulkenberg has had a much lower profile career but is I believe highly rated by his peers, and should benefit more than anybody from the new rules around driver weight - for 2019, where the driver is under 80Kg, extra ballast up to that weight will be added at seat height. Under 2018 rules, the cars had to be ballasted to minimum weight too, but all the ballast could be low - from 2019 having a light driver will be less of an advantage. Hulkenberg is currently the tallest and heaviest driver in F1.
I’ve been a dyed-in-the-wool Ferrari fanatic since Lauda/Reggazoni in 1974. So I’m really excited about what Leclerc will bring to the Scuderia next year - and the developing dynamic between him and Vettel.