A Casual American F1 Fan's 2019 Predictions


A Casual American F1 Fan’s 2019 Predictions
By Brian Cotnoir

Hello All!  I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited for another Formula 1 Season.  I’m excited with all the new rule changes and driver re-shuffling, and I can’t wait to see how my favorite driver (Pierre Gasly) does this season.


This will be the 4th Season of Formula 1 that I will be closely following, but nonetheless I am ready.  I don’t think I could be considered a Hardcore fan yet (seriously, I didn’t know who Ayrton Senna was until 2017), but every year I begin to enjoy F1 more and more as I continue to loathe NASCAR.  And I feel like this year, I am confident to start making some predictions for how the season will turn out in 2019, so may predictions will range from Casual to Bold, and I can’t wait to see how right or wrong I will be.  Here are my predictions in no particular order

1.) Lewis Hamilton will win a 5th straight Championship.   He’s the Big 
Man on Track and he’s got the team to back him up.

F1 will still be "The Lewis Hamilton Show" in 2019

2.) Ferrari will win the Constructors Championship.   I feel like the teammate combo of Vettel and Leclerc will be a stronger combo than Hamilton and Bottas and despite the fact that Vettel and Leclerc won’t win the drivers’ championship they can still be Mercedes biggest advisory.
It will be a Silver Lining for the Prancing Ponies this year

3.)  Valtteri Bottas will be let go at the end of the season and replaced by Esteban Ocon for the 2020 Season.   It’s not that Bottas isn’t a great driver; it’s just that he’s too soft spoken and not as charismatic, and doesn’t have the star power of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. 

It's Okay, Valterri, maybe you can go back to Williams or join Racing Point(?)

4.) Charles Leclerc will be the only first time winner this season.  It pains me to say this—especially now that Pierre Gasly is going to be in a car than can compete for wins—but I feel like Leclerc has a longer leash at Ferrari than Gasly does at Red Bull and has the potential to be a race winner in his rookie season.

A Future F1 Champion, Charles Leclerc

5.) Kimi Raikonen and Daniel Ricciardo will get some podiums for their new teams.  I don’t think either one of them will win a race in 2019, but I think they might each get a runner-up or 3rd place finish (with a little luck)

6.)  Pierre Gasly will have more success than Max Verstappen early in the season.  Gasly has more experience with Honda engines than Verstappen, so he already has a better idea of what they can do, and it’s going to take Max a few races to get used them, but make no mistake, Verstappen will probably win 3 or more races for Red Bull and finish Top 4 in Points.

You two better win this year!

7.)  Rich Energy Haas F1 will get their 1st podium.  I just feel like they are due for that 1st Podium finish and will probably be their only highlight of the season.

8.)  Sergio Perez is going to outscore Teammate Lance Stroll in the points by a lot!  Oh want to know what teams going to fall the  most in 2019? Racing Point!  They are going to finish behind McLaren, Alfa Romeo, and probably even Toro Rosso.  Oh yeah, Billions of Dollars can’t make your son a more talented driver, Lawrence Stroll.

The only 2 North American Drivers in F1

9.)  Renault will be the “Best of the Rest” in the Constructors Championship this year.    I don’t see any other F1 teams being able to follow the Big 3 teams other than Renault

Good Luck Renault

10.) Williams will score less than 10 points and will finish Dead Last in the Constructors Championship again.  If their pre-season testing is any indication of how they will do, I don’t think Williams has any chance of redeeming themselves.  I still think they’ll do better than last season, but I think there’s zero chance of them surpassing 10 points in the Constructors Championship

Well that’s just my predictions, If I had to make a guess now, I think only 2 or 3-out-of-the 10 are likely happen, but that’s what makes watching F1 racing so fun.  I guess we’ll see after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this year.  Good luck to all the drivers and teams and here’s hoping for a safe, awesome, and exciting racing season.

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