Formula One 2017 predictions: Johnny Herbert runs the rule over the ten racing teams
MERCEDES
DRIVERS
Lewis Hamilton
Valtteri Boltas
Johnny’s verdict: Mercedes are quick and consistent again and for me they’re still the team to beat. They know they go pretty well at every track on the calendar, which is a big psychological boost — there’s no big gremlins out there for them.
RED BULL
DRIVERS
Daniel Ricciardo
Max Verstappen
Johnny’s verdict: Max said he thought Red Bull’s car wasn’t quite a race winner yet but that could just be pre-season sandbagging. They’re third in the pecking order right now but such is their in-season development that could all change.
FERRARI
DRIVERS
Sebastian Vettel
Kimi Raikkonen
Johnny’s verdict: Ferrari look quick. How quick, no one quite knows but there’s a quiet confidence there. The Vettel frustrations of last season have gone and Kimi’s looking as quick as he ever has. Right now, they’re the No1 threat to Mercedes.
FORCE INDIA
DRIVERS
Sergio Perez
Esteban Ocon
Johnny’s verdict: For the budget they have, they did a cracking job last year and continue to do so. I like their demeanour and how they go about racing. With talk of money being shared more evenly among the teams hopefully they’ll become more of a threat.
WILLIAMS
DRIVERS
Felipe Massa
Lance Stroll
Johnny’s verdict: Paddy Lowe is a great addition to the team as their technical boss, the other big change being Lance Stroll coming in. I know Stroll has his critics but Felipe Massa got a reputation for crashing left, right and centre in his early days.
MCLAREN
DRIVERS
Fernando Alonso
Stoffel Vandoorne
Johnny’s verdict: The current situation looks dreadful — it has echoes of when Williams went from dominating to those wilderness years. I never thought it would get this bad but it’s now worse than last year — a car that’s 20km/h slower on the straights than its rivals.
TORO ROSSO
DRIVERS
Daniil Kvyat
Carlos Sainz Jr
Johnny’s verdict: First of all, the car looks good and they’ve got a great driver pairing. I’m delighted that Dani Kvyat settled after what happened at Red Bull — that’s been a great comeback. They’ll do well, how well in a bunched midfield I don’t know.
HAAS
DRIVERS
Romain Grosjean
Kevin Magnussen
Johnny’s verdict: Out of the blocks, they shouldn’t be too bad but last year they suffered with a lack of in-season development — that was very poor — and that might be the case again. They still have brake issues but have a great natural talent in Romain Grosjean.
RENAULT
DRIVERS
Nico Hulkenberg
Jolyon Palmer
Johnny’s verdict: Things look okay and there appears to be a nice vibe in the team. Renault didn’t look quite as competitive as they might have hoped but Nico Hulkenberg is a great addition and Jolyon Palmer did a good job last year. I hope it comes together.
SAUBER
DRIVERS
Marcus Ericsson
Pascal Wehrlein
Johnny’s verdict: Testing didn’t go brilliantly but with the takeover it was always going to be a little late for this season. It’ll be a long journey but they’ll bring in the right personnel. Sauber are a team I like a lot, team principal Monisha Kaltenborn, in particular.
