RUMBLING V8: 2008 Predictions

my team predictions for the brand-new season done and dusted, here's the first part of my driver predictions. And, please remember that this time I haven't ranked them; just a few lines on what I think is awaiting them.

is a race-winner in a championship winning car. There is little sign that Honda’s RA108 will be a huge step forward in comparison to its predecessor, at least in the first half of the new season. So, I’m not expecting any impressive performances from him, until the Honda car gets to a certain level.

actually rate Button as an equal to Lewis Hamilton in terms of pace and race craft. I also reckon Hamilton has an edge in terms of facilities at his disposal to improve himself. This might explain why the ‘perceived’ talent is higher for Hamilton. Jenson Button is currently limited by his car and not by his talent. I believe he is doing as good a job as any other top driver in extracting 100% out of his car. Button can be whatever his car is. Be it a champion or back-marker.

very-good-driver-in-a-bad-car. Fisi’s biggest problem might probably be handling pressure. The pressure I’m talking about here is a bit different. In a race-winning car, a driver will be expected to win races. In a car that struggles to finish in the points, a driver will not expected to do anything other than finish the race with it. Fisi always does the opposite of it, which means he does the unexpected. Which again means that his talent is not at question but his efficiency in extracting everything out of himself is. Expect to see those unexpected performances from him this season.

a bit of an unknown quantity for me. Gascoyne doesn’t fail to talk about this youngster’s ability in his press meets and we can’t dispute him.

ChampCar champ is now in F1 and will definitely be looking forward to making a name for himself here. So far in testing, he has been pretty close to him team-mate Vettel, who is very highly regarded, and thus this is not exactly an inconsequential thing. His race craft should also be champion material and thus his success this season will rely on how quickly he learns the technical aspects of F1.