The 2008 Autosport.com Gamble
At the start of every season, the autosport.com team members and contributors do the brave thing and put their bets down on who will be the world champion and which team will win the constructors' championship. Each member predicts the top 5 drivers, ranking them from first to fifth, and likewise for the top 5 teams. The Number One receives 5 points, Number Two receives 4 points, and so forth. Collecting together everyone's votes results in what autosport.com predicts will be the standings at the end of the season. In eight months we'll know if we rule or if we're just a bunch of fools...
| THE 2008 DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP GAMBLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pos | Driver | Total | AC | AB | RB | TD | JN | PE | DR | MBe | RS | SE | ML | MBo | DW | CS | TO | MM | EH | MG | GC | TK | SS | |
| 1. | Raikkonen | 97 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | |
| 2. | Hamilton | 86 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | |
| 3. | Massa | 54 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| 4. | Kovalainen | 46 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 5. | Alonso | 21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 6. | Rosberg | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7. | Heidfeld | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 8. | Kubica | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| THE 2008 CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP GAMBLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pos | Team | Total | AC | AB | RB | TD | JN | PE | DR | MBe | RS | SE | ML | MBo | DW | CS | TO | MM | EH | MG | GC | TK | SS | |
| 1. | Ferrari | 100 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| 2. | McLaren | 91 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| 3. | BMW Sauber | 50 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 4. | Renault | 43 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 5. | Williams | 22 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 6. | Red Bull | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7. | Toyota | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
1. Lewis Hamilton; 2. Felipe Massa; 3. Kimi Raikkonen; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. McLaren; 2. Ferrari; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Red Bull Racing
I hate making predictions and I wasn't brave enough to take the autosport.com gamble last year, and looking at how my colleagues fared suggests I was wise to take a back seat. While as a group they had Kimi Raikkonen as World Champion by a handy margin, nobody placed Lewis Hamilton higher than fourth. And nine of the 18 pundits didn't even put him in their top five! Ferrari came out top in the constructors' title, another good collective decision, but putting Honda fifth was a trifle optimistic...
So can I do any better? Well, I've taken a pretty obvious route by putting Lewis on top. Although a lot of people are talking up Ferrari's testing form, I believe that McLaren will finally do it this time. Just consider how close they got last year with all the distractions, and with Alonso taking points off Lewis.
I am a huge Kovalainen fan, and I think he will surprise people, but on balance Hamilton will have the edge. Of course the Ferraris will be right there, but I suspect that things won't go quite so smoothly this year. Also points (and bad luck) will probably be distributed more evenly between the two drivers, and that may give Lewis the edge.
As for the rest, I have got no clue. I've given Alonso the benefit of the doubt for fifth because I suspect that over the season Renault's sheer strength will allow him to outscore those who have looked better in testing.
1. Lewis Hamilton; 2. Kimi Raikkonen; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Robert Kubica
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Williams; 5. Renault
Hamilton will have learnt a lot from last year and is likely to be hungrier than Raikkonen, who may also lose important points to Massa. I'll go for Kubica over Alonso in fifth on current form.
Williams in fourth and Renault fifth may be optimistic, but it's a gamble. That chasing pack looks so tight it's anyone's guess and could all come down to reliability. Maybe even Toro Rosso.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Nick Heidfeld; 4. Felipe Massa; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Renault; 5. Red Bull Racing
Not much change at the head of the field. Kimi Raikkonen will kick it up a notch this year, to prove that his maiden title was neither a fluke nor a gift. Lewis Hamilton will hold off perennial performer Nick Heidfeld for the runner-up slot, while Fernando Alonso will struggle in the minor championship placings.
Ferrari will win the constructors' title with relative ease, while McLaren will do just enough to snatch second from the improving BMW team. Renault will hold station just outside the top three, with Red Bull also making marginal gains in fifth.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Heikki Kovalainen; 4. Felipe Massa; 5. Robert Kubica
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Red Bull Racing; 5. Renault
Ferrari's testing pace seems to indicate that they will start the season as favourites, but expect Hamilton's genius/confidence to push Raikkonen hard. Kovalainen will not be far behind and Massa will be right there too, but probably a bit more incident-prone. Some have been impressed by BMW's long-run pace in testing and suspect that Munich won't be far away. Reliable Heidfeld may ultimately score more points than Kubica but if the car suits, there's more potential for fireworks from the Pole.
1. Lewis Hamilton; 2. Kimi Raikkonen; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Red Bull Racing; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Williams
Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen will dominate the season, and there will be virtually nothing to separate them over the course of the year. Expect another showdown in Brazil, by which stage the errors and bad luck of Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen will have put them out of the title battle.
Ferrari will just have a slight edge over McLaren, despite Hamilton's brilliance, but the real fight will be behind the dominant two teams. Red Bull, Williams, Renault, BMW and Toyota will fight tooth and nail, but it is the experienced line-up at Red Bull that will help reap valuable points for them.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Williams
Despite some people having doubts about his motivation, Kimi Raikkonen will respond in style and clinch a second title in a row as Ferrari's proves to be the car to beat. Lewis Hamilton will enjoy another strong season and will run Raikkonen close, but title glory will again elude him.
Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen will have to be content to play second fiddle to their team leaders, and both will finish far from the dominant Raikkonen-Hamilton duo.
In a season dominated by Ferrari and McLaren, Fernando Alonso will finish a very distant fifth as Renault continue to try to close the gap to the front.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Heikki Kovalainen; 3. Lewis Hamilton; 4. Felipe Massa; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Williams; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Renault
If Ferrari can rein in Felipe Massa - who could easily upset the points applecart - then Kimi's second title is virtually assured: the Finn is on a roll, and his team have vital stability on their side, plus all the fundamental components.
Heikki's searing pace in testing indicates he will give Lewis a run for his money and likely get the better of a driver surely heading for second-season blues; while Fernando is determined to rebuild his reputation - so is more dangerous than ever before. Potential race winners all, though.
McLaren face too many variables to be considered title favourites, BMW's F1.08 has 'issues' - although the team will undoubtedly sort these as the season progresses - while Renault's catch-up programme means they are unlikely to be consistent front-runners. That leaves Ferrari to take the laurels (again), with Williams springing the biggest surprise.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Heikki Kovalainen; 4. Fernando Alonso; 5. Felipe Massa
1. McLaren; 2. Ferrari; 3. Renault; 4. Williams; 5. BMW Sauber
When Raikkonen has a slightly superior car that handles to his liking and finishes races, there's little point in the rest of the pack turning up. He may well have such a machine in 2008, so even Hamilton will be hard-pressed to keep him in sight. In fact, it could be Finland's finest ever F1 season, for Kovalainen is a certain bet for race wins.
Although Alonso will revitalise Renault and rescue his reputation, he will have to settle for podiums. Rosberg and Williams probably won't win this year either, but the F1 world will be a better place if they do.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Heikki Kovalainen; 3. Lewis Hamilton; 4. Felipe Massa; 5. Nico Rosberg
1. McLaren; 2. Ferrari; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Renault; 5. Williams
Kimi should have no trouble retaining his title. He'll be more comfortable with the car, tyres and team - and will be demonstrably ahead of Massa. Lewis and Heikki will be too close to each other and allow Kimi to maximise his points tally.
The McLaren teammate relationship will be much calmer this year, and on paper I expect Lewis to have a better overall year. But this is meant to be a gamble, so I'm picking Heikki to finish ahead. It would also be interesting to see how the nationalism card is played when the title protagonists are from the same country. For the stat rats out there, it'd be the first time in over 20 years.
Williams should have their best year in a while with Rosberg getting his first win and being the 'best of the rest'. However, his teammate won't be good enough to help Williams clinch third in the constructors' championship, so I expect BMW Sauber (on account of continuity) and Renault (on account of driver line-up) to eclipse them in the standings.
Surprise of the season will be down to how much Toyota or Honda improve on a meandering 2007.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Williams
Ferrari seem to have the better all-round package, and their more experienced driver line-up will get the most out of it. It remains to be seen how well the McLaren will develop during the season without Alonso. The battle for third should be close, but I think Alonso will end up with more points than the rest, even if his car isn't a match for theirs. Fingers crossed that Rosberg can carry Williams to a few podiums as well.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Fernando Alonso; 5. Heikki Kovalainen
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Toyota
Having finally managed to win the championship last year, and with Ferrari seemingly ahead of the field, it's hard to gamble against Raikkonen. He will be strongly challenged by teammate Massa and Hamilton in the McLaren, but he should come out on top once more in the end.
Alonso's class will shine again, but his Renault team won't be at the level of the top two. Thanks to the Spaniard, however, the French outfit will regularly fight against BMW, who will be challenged by a promising Toyota. I expect Kovalainen to do well with the other McLaren, and he should be able to get a maiden win.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Nick Heidfeld
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Renault; 5. Williams
I don't think a whole lot will change in 2008 compared to 2007, so I expect Ferrari and McLaren and their drivers to fight for race wins and the title. Behind those two teams, BMW will fight with Renault, Williams, and Toyota for the rest of the points - with BMW, once they sort out their problems, being the strongest. In the end I expect Raikkonen to win his second title after a close fight with Hamilton.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Williams
I don't see a big shift in the drivers and teams that will be fighting for the world championship. I'm tipping Raikkonen to take back-to-back titles, but any of the next three could easily beat him to the 2008 championship, with Alonso best of the rest in his return to Renault. Similarly, Ferrari and McLaren will have a close battle for the constructors honours, with Renault returning to form ahead of BMW Sauber and an improving Williams.
1. Lewis Hamilton; 2. Kimi Raikkonen; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Fernando Alonso; 5. Nico Rosberg
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Red Bull Racing
The season will be dominated by more Ferrari and McLaren wins, which will leave few victories and points for the other teams - although I do believe one or two races will go to either Renault or BMW Sauber's way.
I think the McLaren in Hamilton's hands will take the drivers' championship from the more equal Ferrari pairing. As with last year, more wins will push Kimi ahead of Felipe, while both will gain Ferrari the constructors' championship.
BMW Sauber will lose their 2007 consistency and drop behind a slower but more stable Renault team. Red Bull Racing's improvement in reliability will finally net the drivers more points, but Nico Rosberg will string together a better season to usurp the others for fifth in the championship.
1. Heikki Kovalainen; 2. Kimi Raikkonen; 3. Lewis Hamilton; 4. Nico Rosberg; 5. Felipe Massa
1. McLaren; 2. Ferrari; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Williams; 5. Renault
2008 will be all about the Finns, with the modest, unassuming but accomplished Kovalainen finally in a good car and just besting his taciturn countryman (as Heikki did to Kimi in Fuji in 2007) and sometimes-Finn Rosberg willing the Toyota-engined Williams ever forwards.
Sophomore-slumping Hamilton and a seething Massa will spend the season competing against each other in the second division, with Massa's occasional brain-fade knocking him down the order a bit behind Nico the wunderkind.
The BMW twins will continue to pile up the fourth and fifth places nose-to-tail all year long but not be able to break the glass ceiling. Ron Dennis will go out a winner at the Finnish Line.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Fernando Alonso; 5. Heikki Kovalainen
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Renault; 5. Williams
For this year I see Ferrari prevailing over McLaren in a two-horse race, with no big surprises along the field. The Woking team will continue to suffer from the long shadow of last year's spying affair, while Ferrari's testing form speaks for itself and should lead to an impressive start of the season.
I believe Kimi will be able to retain the championship title, the only question is how Massa will be handled within Ferrari: if the Brazilian is not de facto the 'number two' driver, then they risk emulating McLaren's 2007 season.
Lewis Hamilton will confirm his qualities and Fernando Alonso, despite struggling with an inferior car, will be the one that will put his nose in front when the McLaren-Ferrari drivers are not there to dominate the front spots.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Felipe Massa; 3. Lewis Hamilton; 4. Fernando Alonso; 5. Heikki Kovalainen
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Renault; 5. Williams
Ferrari will be the car to have in 2008, and Kimi Raikkonen - now fully comfortable with the Italian squad - will have the edge over teammate Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso's departure from McLaren will hurt the Woking-based team, in terms of car development through the season.
BMW will get the better of McLaren occasionally in the early months, but from mid-season they'll be looking over their shoulders as Fernando Alonso and Renault get into gear. Williams, Red Bull and Toyota will all improve greatly and close up to the leading teams as a group, as they strive to get the better of each other.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Heikki Kovalainen; 4. Felipe Massa; 5. Nico Rosberg
1. McLaren; 2. Ferrari; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Red Bull Racing; 5. Williams
Consistency is going to count for so much this year, and that has factored heavily into my selections. It's hard to read into preseason testing, but I can't shake the feeling that the Ferrari is slightly better than the McLaren. That will help Kimi on his way to a second championship, although Hamilton and Kovalainen should be able to bring in enough points to send the constructors' championship to Woking.
Having BMW as the third-best team and yet none of their drivers in the top five looks strange, but Williams seem to have built a good car this year. The question is how long it will take Kazuki Nakajima to reach the stage of scoring points regularly, which is why the BMW pairing will sneak ahead in the constructors' points. Red Bull are also expected to take a step forward, and both David Coulthard and Mark Webber can be relied on to do a good job.
1. Lewis Hamilton; 2. Kimi Raikkonen; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. BMW Sauber; 5. Williams
The final rounds of winter testing point towards a slight race-pace advantage for Ferrari, in what is shaping up to be another two-horse race against bitter rivals McLaren. However, taking into account qualifying pace - particularly handy for the three street races - I think Hamilton, able to draw upon his experience of the 2007 campaign, will beat Raikkonen to the title by a slender margin.
It may take a few races for Kovalainen to fully adapt to the McLaren team, so Ferrari will edge the constructors' crown with the advantage of stability and experience in the driver line-up on their side. BMW may struggle to retain their best-of-the-rest status, as a group of outfits including Renault, Williams, Red Bull and even Toyota all look to have cars that are capable of strong points finishes.
1. Lewis Hamilton; 2. Kimi Raikkonen; 3. Felipe Massa; 4. Heikki Kovalainen; 5. Fernando Alonso
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. BMW Sauber; 4. Renault; 5. Williams
With Ferrari and McLaren again looking like the teams to beat, the podium is rarely likely to be available to other teams, so their drivers should again take the lion's share of the points.
Kovalainen starts the year with the disadvantage of getting to grips with a new team, which might ultimately prove the difference for the constructors' championship. Fifth place is likely to go to Alonso, Heidfeld or Rosberg.
Quite how the midfield shakes out should be very interesting this year. BMW, Renault, Williams and Red Bull seem to be starting the season well matched, with honours for the season going to the team that keep up their development programme and keep the drivers working well together. By the end of the season, they should all be capable of regularly menacing the front-runners for the final podium space, even if they are not the fastest on the day.
1. Kimi Raikkonen; 2. Lewis Hamilton; 3. Heikki Kovalainen; 4. Fernando Alonso; 5. Felipe Massa
1. Ferrari; 2. McLaren; 3. Renault; 4. Williams; 5. BMW Sauber
Ferrari have had an edge throughout winter testing and if they maintain that pace through the flyaway races, they could build a crucial early advantage. Kimi will be more affirmed by his world title success and while Hamilton is clearly capable of winning a world championship, he must do so with a McLaren team that are still feeling the effects of a turbulent 2007. Fernando Alonso will bring Renault back into the game as the season wears on, but I think the traction control ban may hurt Felipe Massa more than the other contenders. I also expect a Williams revival.
What Apple TV’s F1 coverage delivers for fans in the U.S.
What other tracks should return to the F1 calendar? Our writers have their say
What's behind McLaren's fresh A-B F1 team angst?
The new challenge a BTCC legend is taking on in 2026
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments