Team-Mate Wars: The 2009 Preview

[Dare]

Read it and lets hear your comments

Wednesday 25th March 2009
 
It's the one battle that every driver wants to win this season: beating his team-mate. PF1 predicts how the ten civil wars will go this season...


Ferrari: Raikkonen versus Massa
Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali's taking no chances with Kimi Raikkonen and has already started cranking up the pressure on him before the start of the season. Despite the Finn maintaining he has a contract at Maranello until 2010, Banco Santander's sponsorship of the team will start next year and we all know who they'd like to see sitting next to Felipe Massa.


Raikkonen has never had that Senna-esque drive-to-win-at-all-costs attitude outside of the cockpit and it can be misleading. Given the chance he will chase anybody down. This year could be much better for him because he's got the ability to drive through traffic and adapt to tricky situations.


Felipe Massa has shown little of that in the past. Massa's peerless ability to convert a pole position into a winning drive works best when Ferrari have the fastest car. When they don't, he struggles, and in the wet he really struggles. It was only Raikkonen who took the fight to Lewis Hamilton at Spa last year, Massa couldn't get close.


Unless reliability deals either of them cruel blows - and Ferrari's KERS doesn't look the easiest bit of kit to keep running at working temperature - expect to see Raikkonen back on terms with Massa or even ahead. They'll both have their mirrors full, though.
Team-Mate Winner: Raikkonen




McLaren: Hamilton versus Kovalainen
McLaren let Heikki Kovalainen off quite lightly in 2008. On the days when Lewis Hamilton had a rush of blood to the head, angered the stewards or didn't qualify well, Kovalainen should have been there to take points away from Ferrari. He wasn't and he didn't and that made the title race a lot closer than it should have been.


However...


The fact that he was often much further back meant that he didn't take points away from Lewis either. Martin Whitmarsh said some gentle words about Heikki pushing forward next season, no doubt alluding to his performance shortfall. Underlying those will be the stark reality that unless Kovalainen gets his game on, Nico Rosberg will be sitting in his seat in 2010.


In the new wider-front-wing world of 2009 Hamilton will have to be a bit more circumspect at the start of grands prix. Now that he is World Champion he will have to acknowledge that he is not driving a go-kart any more. Perhaps he should have those parking sensors that they attach to the bumpers of clueless 4x4 drivers (though reaction time might be a tiny factor here).


Trying too hard at the wrong time has been Lewis's single biggest vice in the past and if he can temper this in 2009, then he'll start to approach Alonso's status, as F1 No.1.
Team-Mate Winner: Hamilton




BMW: Kubica versus Heidfeld
Because we've not seen the two BMW drivers testing alongside each other during the winter months, this is going to be one of the most interesting team-mate battles of the season. The sheer weight of KERS has left the lighter Nick Heidfeld with the advantage of more free weight at his disposal and hence better ballast distribution on his car.


Robert Kubica has set himself a punishing diet to match this and for sheer effort you have to take your hat off to him. It shouldn't be that a sport gives an unfair advantage to tiny people. With jockeys and horse racing they can't just change the regulations to make the horses bigger, but in F1 they could.


Kubica - if he were Heidfeld's size - would easily take this team-mate battle, but as he isn't, it'll be much harder work.
Team-Mate Winner: Kubica




Toyota: Trulli versus Glock
The weight of expectation will bear down heavily on Jarno Trulli in 2009. The Toyota team have had a good winter testing period and it looks as though Trulli finally has the car to succeed. What's more, he won't have lost any of his ability to qualify well.


But pressure and expectation can do funny things to people. Giancarlo Fisichella was always labelled as a driver 'who could be a potential F1 champion if only he had the right car'. Until Renault gave him that car and Fernando Alonso proved that he was significantly quicker.


The same might happen to Trulli. Team-mate Timo Glock made quiet progress in 2008 and though he doesn't have Trulli's genius for qualifying, he's a lot better at nursing along giant fuel payloads in his car.


Ultimately Trulli has a lot more experience to draw on than Glock, plus the motivation that if he doesn't do it now, then he probably never will.
Team-Mate Winner: Trulli




Red Bull: Webber versus Vettel
Mark Webber wasn't particularly stretched by David Coulthard last season, but in 2009 he'll struggle to keep in touch with Sebastian Vettel. Even though he is a "bloody kid" Vettel has the maturity (and the trophy) of a grand prix winner. His drive under pressure at Monza in mixed conditions was one of the drives of the season.


Like Kubica, Webber's sheer height and body mass is not to his advantage in the era of minimum weight drivers and a heroic recovery from a broken leg will only have added to his pre-season worries. Since returning to the cockpit he's been able to complete a race distance in the car, but it's not been the ideal preparation.


Neither of them are brilliant at the start of races and Vettel started last year with a particularly woeful tale of retirements.
Team-Mate Winner: Vettel




Brawn GP: Button versus Barrichello
One thing for certain this year - Button won't be able to outqualify Rubens Barrichello by more than 11-7. The reason I know for certain is that PF1 Mr Big Bucks, Pete Gill, has bet me that Button will do 12-6 or better and Pete's reputation for hauling in big-money wins is way up there with Flavio Briatore's technical drawing skills.


Button will certainly edge Barrichello, but not by much. Both are great at starts (when they have a clutch mechanism that works) and both are supreme in the wet. The fact that both their careers were hovering in the balance in February might also give them a bolt of electricity.
Team-Mate Winner: Button




Williams: Rosberg versus Nakajima
Nico Rosberg needs a few results to put him back on the radar of the big teams and the last thing he needs is Nakajima keeping pace with him or outqualifying him. It happened last year and it's likely to happen again this.


What's more interesting is the progress that Nakajima san might make. He had a confident first year; better than Katayama, better than Sato and better than his dad. In one or two years' time there should be a space in the Toyota team and then there is the real prospect of the first Japanese GP winner.
Team-Mate Winner: Rosberg




Renault: Alonso versus Piquet
Last year Alonso whitewashed his team-mate in qualifying, but this year Piquet might turn it round and... no, of course not.


It's not going to happen, is it? Renault have the pairing of the best driver on the grid and the worst driver on the grid. And that includes the Safety Car driver.
Team-Mate Winner: Alonso




Toro Rosso: Bourdais versus Buemi
Bourdais has the experience, Buemi has a lot of speed. Expect a season of two halves with Bourdais taking charge at first and Buemi growing in confidence as the season progresses. Bourdais really can't afford Buemi to be quicker than him from the get-go.
Team-Mate Winner: Buemi




Force India: Fisichella versus Sutil
Fisichella did a lot better than predicted in 2008 against a team-mate that many rated. For his own career's sake the highly likable Adrian Sutil needs to start putting manners on his team-mate who, after a lifetime of F1, is still rubbish on the opening lap.
Team-Mate Winner: Sutil

[Ian]

I'll go along with pretty much all of that Dare.......Except.....Alonso as F! No1

[John S]

I disagree about Kimi besting Massa and I think Glock will upend Trulli by the end of the season. They are a bit harsh on Fischi in the assesment, but Sutil is becoming a handful for him so that could be right.

I personaly think Jens will have it over Rubens and yet there is a nagging doubt. Rubens does seem able to get just a little more from the car but we only have limited running to judge from, a race or two may give us more to go on.

The report does over emphasis the opinion of Ferd as No 1, he is good but I can only score him equal with a few others for the top honour. let's see a few races with the new spec before I place anyone in front.

[FW14B]

Alonso on form and happy is the best driver out there.  But if there is anything on his mind, or any major with the car, and he can become stroppy and lose it. 

As for the predictions, I'd go along with most, but I cannot help but think the author of the piece is a little overexcited about Kaz.  He hasn't really done much to suggest he is a potential race winner.  I also expect Webber to push Vettel hard, and for Fisi to possibly upset Sutil, who is still unproven to some extent. 

[Ian]

Gonzo, sorry(Alonso)is sufficient if he is in the fastest car and he starts from pole, otherwise he's a waste of space. 

[Steven Roy]

Massa struggled with the rear end of his Ferrari a few times in free practise already.  Oversteering cars will never be his friend.  Kimi will handle him this season.

Hamilton will have the upper hand at McLaren and I expect Heidfeld to deal with Kubica.  Kubica likes an understeerer and can't run KERS as often due to the weight.

I expect Glock to deal with Trulli and Barrichello to show the world that Button is nowhere as good as his reputation.

Vettel and Webber will be pretty equal and Bourdais will be a lot better than Buemi.

Rosberg will have the upper hand at Williams and Alonso at Renault.  That only leaves FIF1 and I will go for Sutil there.

It will be interesting to read this thread at the end of the season.

[cosworth151]

If Kimi keeps his head in the game, he will get the better of Massa. Lewis will make the best of whatever MaLaren can give him.

I'll give Kubica a bit of an edge over Quick Nick, and I think SeaBass will edge out Buemi.

Rossberg will outperform Kadzu and Ferd will be the man at Renault.

Barrichello and Button will be about equal. I'd like to see Fisi beat out Sutil, but I don't think it will happen.

Webber is one of my favorites, but I'm afraid Vettel will win out, at least until Mark has had more time to heal.

My pick for the surprise of the season is Jarno Trulli. He really, really likes slicks, and I expect him to move away from Timo as the season unfolds.

Of course, my standing in last season's GG show I'm not the world's best handicapper!