2016 Pecking Order Speculation and Fantasy Thread

[ChemNerd14]

Pointless and rather unlikely (3-6) but whatever, not just Australia - let's say first 4 races:

Merc - Ferrari - - - Force India-Toro Rosso - Williams-RB - McLaren - Sauber - Renault - Haas - Manor

I could see this for the first few. The FI and TR cars should be pretty competitive initially before the newer packages out develop them.

I am not sure if Force India and Toro Rosso will be able to keep up with Williams and Red Bull . Williams and Red Bull's are usually just as fast if not faster than Force India and Toro Rosso's by the first races. They also have really good driver lineups, though Force India and Toro Rosso put up some steep competition. Toro Rosso will also suffer from a year old Ferrari engine when compared to the Merc-powered Williams and Force India.

[superdowg316]

I'll throw my two cents in:

Tier 1: Mercedes and Ferrari: Merc will undoubtedly continue to be the benchmark of the field, but Ferrari with Seb will be breathing on their necks the whole time, so will Kimi when he's in form.

Tier 2: Williams, Toro Rosso, Force India, Haas: The Merc engines will help the Williams and Force India's out very well with Force India being the better overall car over Williams, Toro Rosso should outclass Red Bull bar anything going wrong with the 2015 Ferrari PU and Haas with their resources and Ferrari link will surprise come Bahrain at the lastest.

Tier 2.5: McLaren: They'll start out better than the MP4-30, but will be in and out of the lower to mid points range for the first part of the season. Following some upgrades and some feedback work from Jenson and Fernando should see them in the points consistently and battling for Top 5's after Silverstone.

Tier 3: Manor, Red Bull, Renault: Points will be on the cards, but it'll be a trying year for the once dominant Red Bull squad, so to the Renault/Enstone team after a tumultuous late and post season. Manor will be the big improver of the year with newly acquired staff and Merc PU. Watch out for them.

Tier 4:Sauber: Unfortunately for Sauber, they'll steep further down the order in 2016. Lack of funds and raw hard driving talent apart from Nasr are going to have them struggle all year for many points. Sad considering with BMW and Kubica they were nearly the next big thing. What a shame.

I hope I don't look back at this post with bitter resentment for how the season's gone!

[Facts Only]

1) Mercedes - No other option really
2) Ferrari - Close
3) Williams/Red Bull - Picking up the odd Podium
5) Force India/Mclaren - As usual with McLaren back to there 2013/14 position, 1 podium a-piece.
7) STR - As usual, way off the back of MCL and FIF1
9) Sauber - Just, maybe with <10 points
10) Manor/Haas - This will be the battle of the season. Can Experience with a small budget beat Money and Organisation in a brand new team? I think 1 points finish will seal it for one of them.

[Vasconia]

That's my thoughts. If they have their stuff in order by the first race, they may be fighting for a podium spot. Australia always has a bit of unpredictability to it. I think the TR with an upgraded Ferrari PU and those two drives will be pretty competitive early in the season. I won't be surprised if they beat their parent company over the first half.

Yes, I do think that TR will be more competitive than RB in the first races, unless Renault shows that they have done a better(easy) job with their PU.

The battle between Sainz and Verstappen could be epic! how that both have the same reliabilty.

[Sniffit]

Must say that I am curious that people place Manor anything but dead last. No way their limited funds and a two rookies, one that hasn't raced in open wheel racing lately and one that was at best just below mediocre in GP2 last season will amount to much.

[ChrisDanger]

Must say that I am curious that people place Manor anything but dead last. No way their limited funds and a two rookies, one that hasn't raced in open wheel racing lately and one that was at best just below mediocre in GP2 last season will amount to much.

I'm tempted to think that they'll do much better with the personnel changes and Mercedes engine. But then again, "much better" than way at the back may well be still at the back. I don't think it's an easy call though.

[dren]

I don't expect Manor to improve their position, they'll just be closer to the rest. Haas will be floundering around there as well. It will take them the first half of the year to get their car sorted. We may see them grab a point come Monaco. I'd expect Haas to dice it out with Sauber for the second part of the season, just ahead of the Manor cars.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Dream come true... if only.....
1. Mercedes - Ferrari - McLaren
2. Red Bull - Williams - Force India - Toro Rosso
3. Renault - Haas - Manor - Sauber

No place for Williams ?

Oops... how did I missed that.

[godlameroso]

5 excruciating days until we can finally start getting a picture.

[ME4ME]

Red Bull expecting to get beaten by Toro Rosso in the first part of the year:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122838

[bauc]

5 excruciating days until we can finally start getting a picture.

Yes, I feel this is the longest ever wait to start testing

[Mclarettino]

MERCEDES INCREASED GAP TO 2ND
The much larger size of the engine intake box on the Mercedes compared to every other car on the grid means 2 things:

1. Mercedes' new engine has so much more power compared to its engine of last season and to other teams' engines of THIS season, that it needs a much larger volume intake to fully exploit the power of that engine.
2. Mercedes ERS is the most efficient and requires the least cooling. But it is generating so much energy it requires the much larger volume intake to keep it cool.

Mercedes approach is generally to maximise the PU's power and energy capacity, do not compromise it in any way, and then build a chassis around that.

Reckon the gap to the 2nd best team has increased. Ferrari could be in for an awful surprise when Mercedes turns everything up to full power for Melbourne qualifying. Could be 1.5 seconds again, at least.

[Mclarettino]

MERCEDES INCREASED GAP TO 2ND
The much larger size of the engine intake box on the Mercedes compared to every other car on the grid means 2 things:

1. Mercedes' new engine has so much more power compared to its engine of last season and to other teams' engines of THIS season, that it needs a much larger volume intake to fully exploit the power of that engine.
2. Mercedes ERS is the most efficient and requires the least cooling. But it is generating so much energy it requires the much larger volume intake to keep it cool.

Mercedes approach is generally to maximise the PU's power and energy capacity, do not compromise it in any way, and then build a chassis around that.

Reckon the gap to the 2nd best team has increased. Ferrari could be in for an awful surprise when Mercedes turns everything up to full power for Melbourne qualifying. Could be 1.5 seconds again, at least.

[Jolle]

MERCEDES INCREASED GAP TO 2ND
The much larger size of the engine intake box on the Mercedes compared to every other car on the grid means 2 things:

1. Mercedes' new engine has so much more power compared to its engine of last season and to other teams' engines of THIS season, that it needs a much larger volume intake to fully exploit the power of that engine.
2. Mercedes ERS is the most efficient and requires the least cooling. But it is generating so much energy it requires the much larger volume intake to keep it cool.

Mercedes approach is generally to maximise the PU's power and energy capacity, do not compromise it in any way, and then build a chassis around that.

Reckon the gap to the 2nd best team has increased. Ferrari could be in for an awful surprise when Mercedes turns everything up to full power for Melbourne qualifying. Could be 1.5 seconds again, at least.

The intake in the roll hoop, is more then just engine intake. In the V8 times, the cars were cooled by the radiators, small oil coolers (all in the side pods) and the airbox was on top. In the past two years, there is a lot of different components needing to be cooled, batteries, ERS, etc etc. McLaren and ToroRosso in particular started to use the roll hoop as a third side pod, building big radiators behind them.

In the V8 and before days, the more fuel you could get in the engine, the more power you got. Now it's about how efficient you are. Because the fuel is limited, the most powerful car needs the least cooling (fuel goes in, 100kg/h, standard for all teams), torque and heat come out. the less heat, the more torque you have.

[Mclarettino]

The intake in the roll hoop, is more then just engine intake. In the V8 times, the cars were cooled by the radiators, small oil coolers (all in the side pods) and the airbox was on top. In the past two years, there is a lot of different components needing to be cooled, batteries, ERS, etc etc. McLaren and ToroRosso in particular started to use the roll hoop as a third side pod, building big radiators behind them.

In the V8 and before days, the more fuel you could get in the engine, the more power you got. Now it's about how efficient you are. Because the fuel is limited, the most powerful car needs the least cooling (fuel goes in, 100kg/h, standard for all teams), torque and heat come out. the less heat, the more torque you have.

Thanks, did not know this.