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F1 2017 Preview: Predictions

My predictions last season could have been a bit more correct. I hadn’t expected the massive improvement to the Renault power unit that allowed Red Bull to finish 2nd in the WCC. I also hadn’t counted neither Williams nor Force India really making significant improvements their 2015 cars into 2016 and I didn’t expect Haas to rack up points that early in the season.

So watch as I go ahead and make those same mistakes all over again. This season’s predictions come down to the number of sandbags that teams offload from their car after pre-season testing. Everyone thinks that it’s down to Ferrari and Mercedes with both teams believed to be sandbagging each other so the other doesn’t have an accurate performance target.

So who will win the 2017 Formula One World Drivers’ and World Constructors’ Championships? I have a punt at it today.

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F1 2017 Preview: Rules Changes

Never one to save teams money for too long, Formula One is undergoing another major rules change this season. Having introduced the hybrid V6s in 2014, the teams are now going through a major overhaul of the aero formula to increase the speed of the cars. While the cars look new, it may actually make the racing worse.

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F1 2017 Preview: Drivers and Teams

Just because the blog has been quiet for the last couple of months doesn’t mean that we’re not still here at Lowdown HQ. Another Formula One World Championship season is about to begin and we’re not about to let it pass by without more news and analysis from F1 most insider outsiders.

With a new aero formula changing the look of Formula One, this season has a good chance for upheaval. A new World Drivers’ Champion is guaranteed as Nico Rosberg retired before turning a wheel with the #1 on his car. While there are two fewer seats on the grid this season, there are two new drivers replacing two retiring World Champions.

The question coming into the season is whether behind the scenes and rules changes at Mercedes will derail their run of three consecutive World Drivers’ and World Constructors’ Championships. Testing suggests that it’s possible but we aren’t sure how likely it is.

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F1 2016 Season Preview: Predictions

f1-2015-britain-podiumOur week-long preview of the 2016 Formula One World Championship has finally come to an end. After looking at the driver, teams, rules and video games, it’s finally time for us to pick a winner. The story heading into this season has been whether Ferrari has made up enough ground over the off-season to be able to challenge Mercedes for the top step of the podium. Considering how dominant Mercedes has been the last two years winning 32 of the 38 races since the change in engine formula, that was always going to be a big ask. Perhaps, it’s still far too big for this season.

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F1 2016 Season Preview: Rules Changes

Day two of the 2016 Formula One season preview has us taking a look at the new rules for the new season. Most of the major rules changes will come next season when F1 introduces the new aero regulations. For now, the only significant rules changes for the 2016 relate to the tyres. Pirelli is bringing three dry tyre compounds to each race and overhauling the tyre regs as you know them.

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F1 2016 Season Preview: Drivers and Teams

As is tradition here on The Lowdown, we are doing our annual week-long Formula One season preview series. The 2016 season starts in less than a week with the Australian Grand Prix. To start our F1 2016 season grand prix-view, we’ll take a look at the teams on the grid and the men driving the cars.

There isn’t a lot of change on the Formula One grid this season. While there is a new team on the grid with the addition of Haas, sixteen of the 20 seats on the grid remain the same as last year and three rookies will debut in Australia. While the driver market intrigue for the 2016 season was minimal, there is plenty for 2017. There is also a lot of engine and money news that will shake the grid up this year.

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F1 2015 Season Preview: Predictions

We’ve reached the final day in Formula One preview week here on The Lowdown. As is always the case, we end the week with predictions for the upcoming season. While the head of the field isn’t going to change, it is fun to take a look at how the rest of the grid might finish this season while they all play catch-up to Mercedes.

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F1 2015 Season Preview: Drivers and Teams

For the third day of our 2015 Formula One season preview is a look at the drivers and teams that are contesting this year’s World Championship. We’re down one team from 2014 as Caterham has closed up shop despite a crowdfunded last ditch effort to pick up some prize money at Abu Dhabi. There are also a few driver changes at the head of the field to go over as well. It’s not a completely overhauled grid but there some big changes that you’ll want to go over before the Australian Grand Prix.

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F1 2015 Pre-Season News Roundup

The second day of The Lowdown’s week-long preview of the 2015 Formula One World Championship continues with some of the recent big news that has occurred. While we’ll be covering the big driver and team moves heading into 2015 in tomorrow’s post, there was plenty more happening in the off-season. Chief among those stories are the on-again, off-again entry of Marussia in the 2015 championship and the fallout from Fernando Alonso’s accident at the Barcelona test.

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F1 2015 Season Preview: Rules Changes

We’re less than one week from the 2015 Formula One World Championship. As is often the case, the season kicks off on the streets of Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia. The first day of our week-long Formula One season preview kicks things off with a look at the new rules for Formula One for the 2015 season. Unlike last season which saw wholesale rules changes with a new sets of engine, ERS and gearbox rules, this season sees a far smaller set of rules changes. This year, there are tweaks to the engine limit, aerodynamic regulations, sporting regulations and more.

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