Alonso has high hopes, calls Hamilton his biggest rival in Formula One

[NickEice]

Sometimes mechanical DNF's are not just "Bad Luck". Why has Hamilton had so many DNF's in his career? He is very hard on that car, and maybe Shumi was too hard on the fragile Merc last year. Rosberg didn't have these problems...

[Lesky]

Sometimes mechanical DNF's are not just "Bad Luck". Why has Hamilton had so many DNF's in his career? He is very hard on that car, and maybe Shumi was too hard on the fragile Merc last year. Rosberg didn't have these problems...

Really? Ross Brown does not agree with you! Schumacher retired from multiple races in first 10 laps, must have been REALLY HARD on the car those laps then?

Ross Brawn has apologised to Michael Schumacher for yet another mechanical problem in Canada on Sunday. From a total of seven races so far this year, the Mercedes driver has retired on four occasions with technical issues.

Without his troubles, it is not inconceivable that Schumacher would be leading the drivers’ title race at present. He dropped out of third places in both Australia and China and in Malaysia was hit by Romain Grosjean. In Monaco, a loss of fuel pressure was the downfall before a stuck DRS flap ended his Montreal race.

“He suffered a hydraulic issue which left his DRS jammed open and it was not possible to fix it in race conditions,” explains Team Principal Brawn. “I can only apologise to Michael for a further technical failure.”

[Jose Lorca]

I regard Vettel as the biggest threat. He's very quick in an EBD car and rarely makes mistakes.

I have doubts about whether Mercedes, Perez, and Kimi will be quick enough or consistent enough to be serious threats but one thing I'm sure about is that Button wont be a threat because in 2011 he had his best season to date and despite having a dominant car advantage over Ferrari he beat Alonso by only 13 points. It's not realistic to expect McLaren to have a dominant advantage over us, so Button is not a worry

[wisepie]

Much as it pains me to say it, you can never discount Mclaren or its drivers, especially Jenson. I reckon the field will be even closer this season due to the relatively few rule changes, so you can bet it will be a real fight to the flag, there are so many variables (weather and luck among them) that we just have to better than the rest. And of course we are!

[brembo man]

Really? Ross Brown does not agree with you! Schumacher retired from multiple races in first 10 laps, must have been REALLY HARD on the car those laps then?

Well it was just 13 laps at Catalunya when the chin Smashed REALLY HARD into Senna's Williams. Even Ross would agree that it was the chins fault. Or maybe Bruno's fault for not letting him pass !! Like I said before , 2012 was a joke watching the chin in action.

[Alonsomaniac]

Aside from what car people are driving, I think Alonso is right - Lewis is the one who can race him at an almost equal level.
BTW, that same Lewis said that he and Fernando (and especially Fernando) have finally left 2007 behind them. Lewis said he was very happy with them getting along much better now because he always respected Fernando a lot and thinks Fernando is the best driver on the grid. Lewis was pleased to hear Fernando say the same about him and said he saw that as a real recognition of himself as a driver.

Maybe the start of a real friendship between two rivals?........

[Hermann]

I really don't know why people want to see rivals being 'friends' i want them to fight each other, this is F1 not kindergarten of political correctness :twisted

[brembo man]

Well said. I have to agree with you. Just remember how Bent everyone was when the chin moved over for his favorite home boy Vettel. Normally he'd try to push an opponent into a wall. Or park on the track. Fight to the end, forget frends on the track.

[wisepie]

Hey Hermann and brembo man, don't be too hard on these guys, this is a dangerous sport and respect between drivers is very important, friendship won't necessarily dilute their killer instinct, it should make them a bit more cunning as they know their foe's mind!

[FrankAlfa]

I think the sport has many drivers that see one particular driver that they can say is a close equal to themself. Alonso sees Hamilton as his closest competitor on the race track. I think we all pretty much see that. Vettel is a very good driver but we still question his ability when he is sitting in the Newey creation. All of the questionable parts and pieces on the Red Bull race car like the rubber nose, etc. all indicate that the driver is not the reason for Red Bull's glory but rather the car that seems to break the rules time and time again and not given penalties. This is something everyone seems to be getting sick of and the race car with so many rules breaking issues only serves to take glory away from Vettel.

Ciao,

Forza Ferrari!!!!

[brembo man]

And we still came within 3 points !!

[Pekka]

1. Vettel 2. Button 3. Alonso

Those I fear most next year (As a Kimi fan).

Webber... Sucks
Perez... He might surprise
Massa... No chance in Fernandos shadow


I have absolutely zero fear against Hamilton in a Merc next year, but I'm hoping he will prove me wrong and make it interesting. Nico will probably beat Lewis!