Predictions for 2013 season

[godlameroso]

2013 is going to be the season of team-mate rivalries. I think the usual three cars will be there or thereabouts, but there will be a clear pecking order. The only stand out feature of this season will be what team-mate comes out on top. I see Webber as Vettel's biggest competitior next year as he too is retiring.

[clipsy1H]

My predictions:

- Button will win this champ
- Vettel will be only contender for Button

Surprises (at top)

- Ferrari and Alonso to win this champ
- Lewis to be in top 3
- Kimi to beat Romain.

I expect a strong Hulkenberg and Rosberg.

[foxmulder_ms]

The race will be between Alonso and Vettel but this time it will be easier for Vettel.

Hamilton win a race.

Raikkonen will get the third place again. (He is my dark horse in the race)

I think this coming season will be the worst one for Mclaren in recent history.

[jdlive]

In view of the technical regulation stability, I am expecting the pecking order to remain the same for 2013, with Ferrari and RBR leading the constructors, and Vettel/Alonso fighting for the WDC. I think Alonso will have harder time this year due to the resurgent and determination of Massa as 2013 could possibly be his last season or chance to give the WDC a shot. And this could really play into the hands of Vettel for the WDC.

Even if Massa wins the WDC, Ferrari itself would somehow disqualify him.

[Neno]

My predictions:

- Button will win this champ
- Vettel will be only contender for Button

Surprises (at top)

- Ferrari and Alonso to win this champ
- Lewis to be in top 3
- Kimi to beat Romain.

I expect a strong Hulkenberg and Rosberg.

button is probably weakest champion from all 5 of them on grid. beating barrichello in brawn i dont call achivement of carrer, button can probably fight for champ only if mclaren deliver half a second advantage car over next car. this year also proved that

[ferndal]

My predictions:

- Button will win this champ...

button is probably weakest champion from all 5 of them on grid. beating barrichello in brawn i dont call achivement of carrer, button can probably fight for champ only if mclaren deliver half a second advantage car over next car. this year also proved that

I agree -To put money on Button for WDC '13 is risky (to say the least). He first have to find a way past Webber, Kimi, Alonso etc.

Whit Brawn '09, he only had to beat Barrichello - with the rest of the field way behind.
And then again for '13 he would need a perfectly superior car - Like he had in '09. When he lost his '09 car advantage he could not challenge another championship.

I predict Alonso putting up a good fight for the WDC - if he is given only a marginally better car. With Vettel and Kimi fighting close behind.

[JimClarkFan]

My predictions:

- Button will win this champ
- Vettel will be only contender for Button

Very bold prediction lol, I would love for button to win again. My preferred winner this year, would be Alonso though. As a former Alonso hater I've fallen for the Spaniards charms

[Websta]

button is probably weakest champion from all 5 of them on grid. beating barrichello in brawn i dont call achivement of carrer, button can probably fight for champ only if mclaren deliver half a second advantage car over next car. this year also proved that

Michael Schumacher "only beat Barrichello" as well, and Button dealt with Ruebens in a similar fashion (6 wins from 7 races, not bad at all). Button is often very underrated, I think that is unwise.

[markc]

I recall that RB was mighty tasty in 2009 too even without the DD. Yet again Button gets underrated for his achievement. I'm going with Button as WDC. I'm more worried about Chicco so I'm less sure that McLaren will be WCC, but I'm gonna go for that too

[Juzh]

I recall that RB was mighty tasty in 2009 too even without the DD. Yet again Button gets underrated for his achievement. I'm going with Button as WDC. I'm more worried about Chicco so I'm less sure that McLaren will be WCC, but I'm gonna go for that too

He's not underrated at all. He is what he is. Slightly better than webber, but miles behind hamilton.

[Neno]

button is probably weakest champion from all 5 of them on grid. beating barrichello in brawn i dont call achivement of carrer, button can probably fight for champ only if mclaren deliver half a second advantage car over next car. this year also proved that

Michael Schumacher "only beat Barrichello" as well, and Button dealt with Ruebens in a similar fashion (6 wins from 7 races, not bad at all). Button is often very underrated, I think that is unwise.

no, you get me wrong. i didnt call button bad driver, it's simplier that barichello was that bad driver.
i respect button, he is champion, when he got his weekend on his wish, he is unstoppable, but this wont happend in 19/19 races.
this year prove it, where car's performances were so close this season, you sensed that button dont have (i making example) hamilton speed, he often fighted for 4-6 place, not for pole or win. i just can't see he is winning a championship where car's performances are very small.
but, you are you, me is me, we have diffirent opinions

[Stradivarius]

I recall that RB was mighty tasty in 2009 too even without the DD. Yet again Button gets underrated for his achievement. I'm going with Button as WDC. I'm more worried about Chicco so I'm less sure that McLaren will be WCC, but I'm gonna go for that too

He's not underrated at all. He is what he is. Slightly better than webber, but miles behind hamilton.

I expect Button to do well this year and next year. As will Vettel and maybe Alonso. I don't think anyone else will have a chance to win the championship, unless the teams' form change dramatically from last year.

During 3 full seasons in McLaren, Button scored 672 points, while Hamilton scored 657 points. Hamilton won 10 races. Button won 8 races. Hamilton's championship positions have been 4th, 5th and 4th in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Button's championship positions have been 5th, 2nd and 5th.

When looking at 3 full seasons, 58 races, it is not likely that luck/coincidence plays a significant part, so your claim that Button is miles behind Hamilton doesn't seem justified. The results during the 3 last years have shown that they are pretty much evenly matched. They have different qualities, where Hamilton is often faster, while Button usually is more consistent and in total there isn't any significant difference.

Regarding the alleged correlation showing that Button helps develop good cars, I fail to see this correlation at all. When driving for Honda/BAR he and his team scored only one (lucky) win in 6 seasons. Their position in the constructor's championship were 5th, 2nd, 6th, 4th, 8th and 9th in 2003 to 2008. No sign of improvement over time here! Then his team won in 2009, but that was clearly due to other factors than driver's influence. After Button left this team, they have been performing at the same level as before 2009. They have scored one competitive race win and placed 4th, 4th and 5th in the constructor's championship. McLaren has not been any better after Button arrived. They have been 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in the championship, while in 2008 and 2009 they were 2nd and 3rd (and in 2007 McLaren had the best car even though they were disqualified from the constructor's championship). So I can't see that the presence of Button makes any difference at all.

It is also worth mentioning that allthough Button was better than Barrichello at the start of the season, the difference wasn't massive. Barrichello was faster i in Spain, but was put on a different strategy in order to allow Button to win. In the second part of the season, Barrichello was better than Button and won the races at Valencia and Monza. In total they were pretty equal over the full season, but Button had the upper hand when the car was best, while Barrichello had the upper hand when Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari were giving them more competition, which meant that there were less points to earn.

[Juzh]

I recall that RB was mighty tasty in 2009 too even without the DD. Yet again Button gets underrated for his achievement. I'm going with Button as WDC. I'm more worried about Chicco so I'm less sure that McLaren will be WCC, but I'm gonna go for that too

He's not underrated at all. He is what he is. Slightly better than webber, but miles behind hamilton.

I expect Button to do well this year and next year. As will Vettel and maybe Alonso. I don't think anyone else will have a chance to win the championship, unless the teams' form change dramatically from last year.

During 3 full seasons in McLaren, Button scored 672 points, while Hamilton scored 657 points. Hamilton won 10 races. Button won 8 races. Hamilton's championship positions have been 4th, 5th and 4th in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Button's championship positions have been 5th, 2nd and 5th.

When looking at 3 full seasons, 58 races, it is not likely that luck/coincidence plays a significant part, so your claim that Button is miles behind Hamilton doesn't seem justified. The results during the 3 last years have shown that they are pretty much evenly matched. They have different qualities, where Hamilton is often faster, while Button usually is more consistent and in total there isn't any significant difference.

Regarding the alleged correlation showing that Button helps develop good cars, I fail to see this correlation at all. When driving for Honda/BAR he and his team scored only one (lucky) win in 6 seasons. Their position in the constructor's championship were 5th, 2nd, 6th, 4th, 8th and 9th in 2003 to 2008. No sign of improvement over time here! Then his team won in 2009, but that was clearly due to other factors than driver's influence. After Button left this team, they have been performing at the same level as before 2009. They have scored one competitive race win and placed 4th, 4th and 5th in the constructor's championship. McLaren has not been any better after Button arrived. They have been 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in the championship, while in 2008 and 2009 they were 2nd and 3rd (and in 2007 McLaren had the best car even though they were disqualified from the constructor's championship). So I can't see that the presence of Button makes any difference at all.

It is also worth mentioning that allthough Button was better than Barrichello at the start of the season, the difference wasn't massive. Barrichello was faster i in Spain, but was put on a different strategy in order to allow Button to win. In the second part of the season, Barrichello was better than Button and won the races at Valencia and Monza. In total they were pretty equal over the full season, but Button had the upper hand when the car was best, while Barrichello had the upper hand when Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari were giving them more competition, which meant that there were less points to earn.

Just looking at this season you can be 100% sure hamilton humiliated button, even though the points dont show it. Everyone who watched races knows this. 18-2 in quali says it all. 2 mechanical dnfs while victory was in sight also dont help his raw statistics. I could analyse further, but all this hamilton/button has been debated 100times over.

[hyde and zeek]

Kimi/Vettel/Alonso will be in the title fight, need to see cars before the edge can be swaged. But I'll be routing for Kimi just to see him on podium and interviews!

Would like to see Weber / Button more in contention, but they seem to be fading with consistency, but there if the fickle finger of fate points their way to grab a win here or there.

New DRS rules could make a big impact on Qualy.

[JimClarkFan]

I recall that RB was mighty tasty in 2009 too even without the DD. Yet again Button gets underrated for his achievement. I'm going with Button as WDC. I'm more worried about Chicco so I'm less sure that McLaren will be WCC, but I'm gonna go for that too

He's not underrated at all. He is what he is. Slightly better than webber, but miles behind hamilton.

I expect Button to do well this year and next year. As will Vettel and maybe Alonso. I don't think anyone else will have a chance to win the championship, unless the teams' form change dramatically from last year.

During 3 full seasons in McLaren, Button scored 672 points, while Hamilton scored 657 points. Hamilton won 10 races. Button won 8 races. Hamilton's championship positions have been 4th, 5th and 4th in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Button's championship positions have been 5th, 2nd and 5th.

When looking at 3 full seasons, 58 races, it is not likely that luck/coincidence plays a significant part, so your claim that Button is miles behind Hamilton doesn't seem justified. The results during the 3 last years have shown that they are pretty much evenly matched. They have different qualities, where Hamilton is often faster, while Button usually is more consistent and in total there isn't any significant difference.

Regarding the alleged correlation showing that Button helps develop good cars, I fail to see this correlation at all. When driving for Honda/BAR he and his team scored only one (lucky) win in 6 seasons. Their position in the constructor's championship were 5th, 2nd, 6th, 4th, 8th and 9th in 2003 to 2008. No sign of improvement over time here! Then his team won in 2009, but that was clearly due to other factors than driver's influence. After Button left this team, they have been performing at the same level as before 2009. They have scored one competitive race win and placed 4th, 4th and 5th in the constructor's championship. McLaren has not been any better after Button arrived. They have been 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in the championship, while in 2008 and 2009 they were 2nd and 3rd (and in 2007 McLaren had the best car even though they were disqualified from the constructor's championship). So I can't see that the presence of Button makes any difference at all.

It is also worth mentioning that allthough Button was better than Barrichello at the start of the season, the difference wasn't massive. Barrichello was faster i in Spain, but was put on a different strategy in order to allow Button to win. In the second part of the season, Barrichello was better than Button and won the races at Valencia and Monza. In total they were pretty equal over the full season, but Button had the upper hand when the car was best, while Barrichello had the upper hand when Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari were giving them more competition, which meant that there were less points to earn.

Very true and a very good post. Results are what matter.

But even as a Button fan, this year Hamilton really beat him up, the results don't show it because of Hamiltons awful luck.