2006 Predictions

[hobbit 0]

Nothink wrong with having a house name. But that name is not great

[monza gorilla 1]

Thought that'd wake you up Ben!

Nice part of the world, it must be said. Passed by about 10.30 this morning.

[Jenson_Rules 0]

i was still in bed LOL cos im not actually very well.

And yes, notice how close the 3 brock pubs are, one next door, and two just by the level crossing

[hobbit 0]

I hd been in work for over 6 hours by then how bad is that. And i have only been in from work for around 1 hour

[Jenson_Rules 0]

well ive been sick 7 times in the last 3 days

so yeah, im not very well

[hobbit 0]

BLess not to good then. I was proper rough last week got sent home from work as i was p**sing them off as i was so ill

[Jenson_Rules 0]

lol!

[hobbit 0]

Yeah was well funny. All my staff were telling me to f off as i was so rough. In the end i could hardly stand up so thought it best i go home. Cant do this going sick when you just have a cold

[F1 FANatic 1]

Make that San Diego bub and make sure you pack your sunscreen, wouldn't want you pasty white flesh to get sunburned

you live in SD, me too, cool.

SD ferrari club lol

i think im going to order a sky writer on your island to write in really big letters LOL over your house when JB doesnt get a win again. and in Ferrari red so you know who sent it

[Jenson_Rules 0]

Thing is JB WILL win at least 1 race this year.

Malaysia would be a good bet, failing that sanmarino, failing that barcelona, failing that monaco, failing that hockenheim, failing that turkey, failing that suzuka!

Those are the tracks he excels on, never know, could win all of them!

and if he did win at all those tracks he may well be 06 wdc

[pumpdoc 2]

you live in SD, me too, cool.

SD ferrari club lol

i think im going to order a sky writer on your island to write in really big letters LOL over your house when JB doesnt get a win again. and in Ferrari red so you know who sent it

Well not San Diego but San Marcos Are you going to Long Beach?

[nojvnof1 0]

Thing is JB WILL win at least 1 race this year.

He really, really should. As you say Malaysia is a good bet, Imola too, but he could do it this weekend, thanks to that test he had at the track a few weeks ago.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Not Imola, Bridgestone will have a big advantage there so expect a Schuey win. Button is good everywhere but if I had to bet I'd say Hockenheim and Spa and Monaco

[Jenson_Rules 0]

BAHRAIN PREVIEW

ITV-F1.com

We usually take an overall, broad-brush perspective in our ITV-F1.com grand prix preview features. But since there's plenty of that elsewhere on the site, we thought we'd zero in on one element that could just turn out to be the story of the weekend...

There was amusement in the ITV-F1.com offices on Wednesday morning when the amount of space devoted to Jenson Button suggested the national newspapers' sport editors had finally woken up to the idea that this could be Jenson Button's year.

Invited to a pre-season gathering, the journos faithfully reported how Our Jens' Olympic-standard training regime and epic testing schedule have put him in better stead to break his winless streak than ever before.

There is nothing surprising in the content of the news, this I grant you.

And it is by no means uncommon to read about Jenson's 102 winless GP appearances, or indeed his social life!

Particularly since he represents Great Britain's, and England's, best hope of glory in the 2006 Formula 1 drivers' championship.

But it's ironic that on the eve of a race which could very well produce Jenson's maiden victory, you can't but feel that Jenson's immediate potential is almost being under-sold by the great British press.

In the days of Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, huge week-long build-ups were afforded the beginning of their title campaigns, not to mention the sort of coverage England's World Cup and Ashes teams receive prior to said tournaments.

And can you imagine Andrew Murray receiving anything less than back-page attention for the entire month of June?

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not advocating mass hype on Jenson. After all, it is true that his results in F1 do reflect those of his peers, on paper at least.

But it seems to have slipped past scrutiny that Button is not only heading into Bahrain with a better chance than he has ever had to win a grand prix, he is very probably in better shape than any of his rivals.

It is of course possible that the massed ranks of pundits may be keeping their powder dry, waiting to see how the form guide shapes up after qualifying.

But if you look at the data, and consider all the parameters, Jenson can win on Sunday.

Why the conviction? Well let’s look at the facts.

At two of the three Spanish testing circuits used over the winter, Barcelona and Valencia, Honda finished off its pre-season programme significantly faster than the competition.

Indeed the team's test driver Anthony Davidson put in a low-fuel flyer that was almost a full second faster than Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren on the very last day of winter testing at Valencia.

This extraordinary pace would seem to counter conventional wisdom that while the Honda and the Renault were on a par in terms of consistency, the R26 was able to extract more speed on new tyres.

So with that in mind you can argue that it is Honda and not Renault that starts with the fastest car in Sakhir.

Button and team-mate Rubens Barrichello's other great advantage is Davidson.

Of the top five teams heading into the opening round of the season, only Honda has access to a Friday test driver.

McLaren proved last year just how much of a boost this can provide a team during a race weekend, but now with regulations insisting drivers can only use seven sets of tyres per weekend, this could prove a crucial advantage.

While Renault, Ferrari, McLaren and Toyota must closely monitor tyre wear through Friday, Davidson can merrily pound around working through compound comparisons and set-up specifications.

Add this to the extensive mileage racked up by Honda when it tested at Bahrain along with Ferrari last month, it's a statement of fact that the Japanese manufacturer will start practice on Friday as the most well-prepared team in the line-up.

So while it might seem folly to predict a Button victory with so many pre-season questions unanswered, we're going to anyway…

Hell, why not? How long is it since an Englishman headed into a grand prix season with equipment that was at least equal to the established benchmark?

Jenson may not pull it off, Rubens might not pull it off. Honda may fall short in the final analysis. But from where we are sitting, for once, Our Jens has a better than equal chance.

Roll on Sunday…

Simon Strang

WHY OH WHY DO THEY HAVE TO DO THIS, why do we always feel the need to do this, and then come monday if hes dosnt win they will all slag him off again. twats

[Jem of the Shire 0]

If Jenson is outperformed by Rubens and beaten fair and square, I won't try and defend him. But I am extremely confident that JB will have the upper hand. A win this sunday would make my year!!

[pumpdoc 2]

You are in for a looooooooong year

[Jenson_Rules 0]

Autosports preview seems to place the title fight between Mclaren and renault.

For all those who havnt got it yet, heres the articles of the top 5

.....

[hobbit 0]

I think Jenson will beat Rubens. well i hope he does anyway

[Jenson_Rules 0]

ok, obv they dont want to attach. sorry

[hobbit 0]

The press in this country are so good at that really biggin someone up then knocking them straight back down. They should all be shoot

[narain fan 0]

saying you'd like someone not to win is not an opinion. Its just jumping aboard the anti-Button bandwagon. In 2006 the wagon is going to crash and all its riders are going to fall out onto the ground with a big bump, and I'll stand over them laughing and saying I told you so

he couldnt get ahead of Raikonnen,who was on "used" tyres .... whilst button was on a fresh set of tyres

where is senna Praising the 4TH best driver now

[Wez 0]

Talking about best drivers... And as much as I honestly cant stand Schumacher, it was quite good to see the 3 best drivers in F1 on the podium together on Sunday.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

omg narain fan you're even spouting your anti-Button crap in this thread too, give it a rest!

Anyone who isnt a deluded idiot would have agreed that Button drove extremely well all weekend and made some great passing moves

[dribbler 6]

omg narain fan you're even spouting your anti-Button crap in this thread too, give it a rest!

Anyone who isnt a deluded idiot would have agreed that Button drove extremely well all weekend and made some great passing moves

Button drove Okay but fluffed his start. We will see as the season progresses whether he under performed or not in Bahrain relative to the cars mean performance. The moves he made were no better than good considering Montoya's reported problems. Maybe i'm a deluded idiot too.

[vitomita 0]

Hello everyone here are my picks:

Mclaren

Ferrari

Renault

Williams

Honda

Bmw

Red bull

Toyota

Toro rosso

Midland

Super Auguri

Kimi

Michael S.

Alonso

JPM

Roseberg

Massa

Barrichello

Button

Webber

Heinfeld

Fisichella

Klein

Coultard

trulli

Ralf

Speed

Liuzzi

Villenuve

Montero

Albers

Sato

Ide