Top Teams

I think de Angelis performed well against Senna? Did Senna also not want Warwick as a team mate, or have I made that up?

Having said that I think Senna pushed the limits of his cars and beyond - especially in qualifying.

welshy

afternoon welshy ---
in reality senna battered elio de angelis and elio away from him after 85 , yeh its true senna did not want warwick at lotus for 86 because lotus were never capable of running competitive cars ,

senna"s train of thought was his own 1986 lotus would have been less competitive had warwick joined for 86 -

To get back with Gary Anderson's order of top teams this season I think he's got it spot on. Horner has made a bit of a fuss this season about the Red Bull struggling due to the tyres but they've got 2 cars on the podium twice and only Webbers penalty and tyre failure has stopped them from having both cars in the top 6 at all races.

Ferrari have looked strong as well with Massa letting them down a little. If it wasn't for Alonso's over eagerness in Malaysia and Massa's tyre issues in Bahrain they'd be right up there with Red Bull.

Mercedes have blown a bit hot and cold this season, struggling with tyres more than all those around them but being fairly steady. Hamiltons 3 podiums and Rosbergs 1 win shows the car has pace but until they fully solve their tyre issues they are a compromised team.

Lotus have started to let themselves down, whether thats down to the weather and tyre warming issues, or a lack of development I don't know. Kimi has 3 podiums plus a win but since Spain they've been overtaken by Mercedes in my eyes.

Force India have been strong and steady with their only real issue being in Malaysia and perhaps Sutil's rustiness. They've not been slow anywhere and are probably not far off overtaking Lotus unless they can buck up their form soon.

McLaren have been poor this season with their best result being a fifth place form Button and a sixth from Perez. They are well off Lotus and Force India, and getting dangerously close to the STR!

If I was to rank the cars relatively I'd say:

Red Bull
.
Ferrari
.
.
Mercedes
.
.
Lotus
Force India
.
.
.
McLaren
.
Toro Rosso
.
.
Sauber
.
Williams
.
Marussia
Caterham

Off all of them I think Lotus have the most to gain as if they can warm up their tyres like in the early races they'd be up there with Ferrari chasing the Red Bulls hard.

Lotus may have some other problems at the moment if they think there is a chance they wil lose Raikkonen to Red Bull. that won't help stabilise them.
I think Newey will cope with pretty much anything that the others can throw at Red Bull.
The only real threat at the moment is Ferrari, imo, and as they have no problems on the horizon they have time to focus on making their cars better.
Mercedes in particular have other problems to deal with at the moment.

But I will stick to my guns....

Both McLarens, top 8, Silverstone.

Oh, and although a bit off topic, because I like taking risks, I predict an Audi will win at Le Mans.

While I think the order he named is correct for now, the order over the course of the season so far is different. I think the Ferrari and Red Bull are at least equal, the reason RB have been so good the last two races is tyres and weather. Fundamentally it is the quickest car but couldn't use it. Also I would say the Lotus has been better than Mercedes, but again the last two races have reversed it.
Alonso isn't leading due to his DRS failure and crash. Kimi is beating both Mercs because his car has been better.

See above:

I knew, sooner or later, Someone would talk sense.

Take a bow Sir.

I agree that Lotus' issues are more luck of the draw than Mercedes' technical issues. The next few races should be cool however and with conservative tyre choices I can't see them being able to use their strengths against Mercedes weaknesses. Ferrari and Red Bull are in a bit of a bubble of their own right now with Lotus struggling with what they've been given and Mercedes hampered by what they have got.

“I like taking risks, I predict an Audi will win at Le Mans.”

erm, that is sticking your neck out. You do realise that there are only 3 of them.

They have to get past 15 GTE-Am cars and 5 of them are Ferrari's.

Also, Toyota have an extra 3 litres of fuel in the their tank.

So using knowledgeable logical common sense I have conveniently ignored facts, as per instructions, and I will predict that the Le Mans 24 Hours race will be won by the winner.

"The next few races should be cool however..."

What? June, July......

No summer, well what a bummer!
Dah, dah dah, dee dum tee dum dum...
Sorry, just a bit of a 70's Punk Rock/ Stranglers relapse.
(No, I haven't touched a drop, yet.)

Lol yeah no summer in summer. Britain will be lucky to see 20+, Germany has a tendancy to be a bit dreary to. After that its Hungary which should be warm but nothing close to Bahrain warm. Then its Belgium, which will surely involve rain....

Welcome to Summer F1 style