<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Franco Fangio @ Feb 4 2007, 10:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Yeah, it indeed doesnt give too many clues away..
It's only testing, it's really hard to say who will be the strongest. I'm guessing Mclaren will be a title contender. They look strong so far, but I personally think Ferrari is stronger than it appears atm. If, McLaren will be on top, then I'm putting all my money on Fernando Alonso. I don't think it should matter whether he's new at Mclaren (same goes for Kimi) if he has a winning car, he will win races and maybe the title. No doubts about it!
I agree about Alonso, but I don't think Kimi has the right attitude to make things work at Ferrari, he needs to change. He's filling Schumi's boots, who was a great leader and carried the team. I don't think Kimi has the commitment to do that. Somethings gonna have to give, either Ferrari or Kimi will have to change. It's potentially a great combination, but it might need a bit of time to get in full swing. Maybe I'm being biased, I used to like Kimi, but this last year hes just started to annoy me. He has the same problem that could affect guys like Lewis Hamilton, everyone is so far up his arse, telling him hes the best, that he becomes arrogant. In these situations the desire of the driver is questionable.
Just because a driver has a great car doesn't mean he will be succesful, he needs the right team with a good relationship as well as the right mental attitude. If you think all it takes to win at this level is a winning car, you're kidding yourself. Look at Fisi.
My tip for this year is Felipe Massa. He made so much progress last year I think he might be ready to take the next step up the ladder. I think he has the best chance at the title. I think Alonso will feature, but will just miss out on the title. I think Kimi might struggle for consistency this year, but will win a couple of races.
My other tip is Jenson Button, I think things will go one way or the other here. If Honda can put out a good, consistent, reliable car then I think he has a fantastic chance, maybe the best chance of his career. I've seen a change in his attitude this year, maybe he's realised that he has to fight for it, and that it won't be given to him.
My dark horse is Mark Webber in the Red Bull. I think the touch of Adrian Newey on the RB3 could just move Red Bull up the order. I think he could win a couple of races, and he will excel in qualifying. His race pace is the big unknown, we'll have to see if he can stay with the leaders. Whatever the case, I think he will outperform DC, by quite a long way.
