by Alex Johnston, Topher Smith, Linus O’Howell & Luke Barraclough
The summer break is over and Formula 1 is back! The first part of the season had plenty of action: seven race winners, an F1 debut for a young Brit, maiden wins, scary accidents and more! What other twists and turns can we expect to see? We’ve tried to guess…
Alex’s prediction: Ollie Bearman to make a second F1 race appearance of the season
Kevin Magnussen is the driver on the grid currently closest to a race ban in terms of penalty points and has narrowly avoided said penalty this far despite a heavy crash with team mate Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and a controversial collision with Williams’ Logan Sargeant in Miami.
📸 12 points means a race ban, Magnussen is on 10 - despite escaping punishment for this first lap crash in Monaco.
Bearman made his debut with Ferrari and I feel as though Magnussen’s aggressive driving style - while often effective - will ultimately go against him, prompting Bearman to replace him, for one race at least.
Topher’s prediction: McLaren to beat Red Bull to the title
I'm afraid I have to say that Red Bull keeping Sergio Perez will ultimately be its downfall. Don't get me wrong, I do think Perez is talented, but something just isn't working for him with the RB20.
It's impossible to say with any certainty whether someone like Daniel Ricciardo or Liam Lawson would do better, but the fact of the matter is that Perez simply isn't scoring enough at a time where McLaren has two Grand Prix winners in its cars.
📸 It’d be tough to predict if Ricciardo could resurrect his former Red Bull form if he was parachuted into the top team as a Perez replacement.
If both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri keep themselves at the sharp end and Perez doesn't up his game, it could turn out to be Red Bull's undoing by not going bold with its driver decision.
Linus’ prediction: Ferrari Win the Constructors Championship!
Now this is a bold prediction! It’s expected that McLaren could well usurp Red Bull by the end of the season to take the lead of the Constructors’, but people need to make sure they don’t forget about Ferrari.
Now, things haven’t been going particularly great for the Scuderia as of late, but the Scarlet Red team are still just 21 points behind McLaren, and if they can sort things out, they should be a real force to be reckoned with!
📸 Can Ferrari fight?
Charles Leclerc is regarded as one of the fastest drivers on the grid, and he tends to end seasons well whilst Carlos Sainz is arguably the most consistent driver in the entire field! You then throw in the fact that Red Bull have just the 1 driver that’s performing well and McLaren’s lack of sealing results, and I can genuinely see Ferrari pulling this off as long as they sort their car out!
Luke’s prediction: Max Verstappen will only win a few of the remaining races
With the uprise of McLaren and Mercedes; Red Bull will struggle to keep up, with a lack of upgrades planned. As seen before Red Bull have made some upgrades, yet McLaren and Mercedes have still closed the gap significantly.
So what does this mean for Max Verstappen? Max is one of the greatest drivers in modern day Formula 1 with astonishing records to his name and three world championships. Without his supreme Red Bull car behind him there are questions surrounding Max’s performance.
📸 Are the odds stacked against Verstappen or has he got it all under control?
Max Verstappen has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix, due primarily Mercedes and McLaren being consistent with upgrades to their cars.
I have to say I don’t think Red bull will be able to keep up with the upwards trend McLaren and Mercedes are on, and could even cause Verstappen to lose the drivers world championship…
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Ferrari, Sky Sports, Oracle Red Bull Racing.
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