PF1 TMW 2020 Predictions: Racing Point
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 1:32 pm
Moving swiftly through the field, we're now up to the team who finished 7th in the 2019 F1 WCC, Racing Point. And they are another team who carry their 2019 driver line-up over to 2020, which always makes things a little more interesting.
As with Williams and Alfa, the 2019 result heavily favoured one driver over the other. Sergio Perez enjoyed great success in the TMW votes against Lance Stroll, taking 18 of the 21 TMW victories and securing over two-thirds of the vote. He ended the season with ten successive TMW wins, while six of Stroll's losses saw him fail to pick up a single vote. All of which was foretold by the pre-season prediction in which 87% of us felt Perez would win the TMW vote.
So... what will be different in 2020? Well for a start, Stroll has an extra season of experience, which can only be a good thing against the fourth most experienced driver on the grid. The team themselves are in a better place than they were this time 12 months ago, having had a year free from financial headaches, so expectations will be higher that results will be stronger across the season. For Stroll it will also mean he has had a chance to influence the car design, something which may result in a better season for him. However, at the end of the day it was very clear where he was lacking: qualifying. According to Racefans' statistics, Perez outqualified Stroll on 18 occasions, with only the Williams pair exiting quali in Q1 more than the 14 times Stroll did. He was almost constantly starting behind his teammate and having to try and recover places. If he is to enjoy a better set of results in 2020 then that is clearly the biggest issue he needs to fix, and perhaps a more competitive Racing Point car will assist him in that sense.
For Perez, it seems like he again doesn't stand to gain much this year. Beating Stroll is the expectation, especially given the gulf between them in 2019, and the closer Lance is to him, the more his reputation will suffer. From Perez's comments about his future in F1 you do wonder if he already has half an eye on 2021, which seems like it will be a make-or-break year for him. Could that be to his detriment in 2020? Or does the phrase "the cream rises to the top" ring true here, with Perez expected to repeat his exploits of last year and again comfortably handle his young Canadian teammate?
2019 Result
Perez 71% - 29% Stroll (18-3)
87% of votes pre-season votes correctly predicted Perez would triumph
2020 Prediction Results
Alfa Romeo: Kimi Raikkonen 86% - 14% Antonio Giovinazzi
Haas: Kevin Magnussen 71% - 29% Romain Grosjean
Williams: George Russell 95% - 5% Nicholas Latifi
As with Williams and Alfa, the 2019 result heavily favoured one driver over the other. Sergio Perez enjoyed great success in the TMW votes against Lance Stroll, taking 18 of the 21 TMW victories and securing over two-thirds of the vote. He ended the season with ten successive TMW wins, while six of Stroll's losses saw him fail to pick up a single vote. All of which was foretold by the pre-season prediction in which 87% of us felt Perez would win the TMW vote.
So... what will be different in 2020? Well for a start, Stroll has an extra season of experience, which can only be a good thing against the fourth most experienced driver on the grid. The team themselves are in a better place than they were this time 12 months ago, having had a year free from financial headaches, so expectations will be higher that results will be stronger across the season. For Stroll it will also mean he has had a chance to influence the car design, something which may result in a better season for him. However, at the end of the day it was very clear where he was lacking: qualifying. According to Racefans' statistics, Perez outqualified Stroll on 18 occasions, with only the Williams pair exiting quali in Q1 more than the 14 times Stroll did. He was almost constantly starting behind his teammate and having to try and recover places. If he is to enjoy a better set of results in 2020 then that is clearly the biggest issue he needs to fix, and perhaps a more competitive Racing Point car will assist him in that sense.
For Perez, it seems like he again doesn't stand to gain much this year. Beating Stroll is the expectation, especially given the gulf between them in 2019, and the closer Lance is to him, the more his reputation will suffer. From Perez's comments about his future in F1 you do wonder if he already has half an eye on 2021, which seems like it will be a make-or-break year for him. Could that be to his detriment in 2020? Or does the phrase "the cream rises to the top" ring true here, with Perez expected to repeat his exploits of last year and again comfortably handle his young Canadian teammate?
2019 Result
Perez 71% - 29% Stroll (18-3)
87% of votes pre-season votes correctly predicted Perez would triumph
2020 Prediction Results
Alfa Romeo: Kimi Raikkonen 86% - 14% Antonio Giovinazzi
Haas: Kevin Magnussen 71% - 29% Romain Grosjean
Williams: George Russell 95% - 5% Nicholas Latifi