With the first race just days away, now is a great time to predict the championship standings. I have deliberately avoided seeing anyone else’s predictions, so am relying on testing, reports and social media reports to come up with these predictions.

Constructors Championship:

10: Sauber

As well as having a really poor sponsorship I wrote an article about, Sauber didn’t inspire much hope during testing. I expect a tough couple of seasons before Audi takes over the team.

9: Haas

I am taking a risk by not putting Haas last. But despite the general pessimism from the team, I’m betting on both Haas and Sauber not scoring many points, so it should only take one good result to swing the standings. I would not be surprised to see a surprise finish from Hulkenberg that would prevent Haas from finishing last again.

8: Alpine

In F1 testing Alpine looked like they could be the slowest team. Reports hint that the car is overweight and lacks downforce. Yes, the team should develop throughout the year but I don’t suspect them to develop fast enough to escape the lower midfield.

7: Williams

Albon proved last year that he can deliver consistently and singlehandedly won Williams seventh last year. For Williams to secure this position though, Logan Sargeant needs to perform. Sargeant had a really poor season last year, only scoring one point to Albon’s twenty-seven. But, if the Williams is a more stable car, hopefully Sargeant can score some better results to be top of the lower midfield.

6: Visa Cash App RB

Whilst having a ridiculous name, the VCARB impressed at pre-season testing. I expect them to occupy the position Alpine did last year, not challenging the top teams, but removed from the cars behind them..

5: Aston Martin

Alonso’s long run pace was quite impressive at pre-season testing. Whilst few expect a repeat of last year, where Aston Martin launched as the second fastest car, I do believe that they’ll be competing with the other top teams for podiums. They may even develop into one of the fastest cars. However, I cannot in good conscience put them any higher than fifth, due to the presence of Lance Stroll. He had a pretty terrible season last year and I expect this form to continue. But, if Stroll can turn his performances around, Aston could challenge for the top three places.

4: McLaren

I published an article at the beginning of the year doubting McLaren’s ambitions to be a Red Bull challenger. I based this upon the fact that McLaren had a history of making overly ambitious targets before their car had tested. Their long run pace appears to have vindicated me, as they look quite a way behind Red Bull and Ferrari. Whilst the track characteristics of Bahrain would exaggerate the deficit, as the McLaren was best in high-speed tracks last year, I think it unlikely that McLaren will immediately be challenging for race wins. However, as they have proven over the last two years, the team has a knack for in season development. This will likely save their season and despite my doubts, I do hope to see some McLaren race wins this year.

3: Mercedes

I expect Mercedes to have a very track specific car, as they have for the last couple of years, but probably with higher highs than the last two years. I think Mercedes, McLaren and possibly Aston Martin will be locked in a season long battle for third. But I think Mercedes has the best driver line up and Lewis Hamilton and George Russell should both be able to get wins if the car allows it.

2: Ferrari

Ferrari’s long run pace at the pre-season testing looked impressive. They do not look that far off Red Bull. I still expect Red Bull to be champions yet am optimistic that Ferrari will get a number of race wins this year.

1: Red Bull

The RB20 looks intimidating. Max Verstappen did not look to have any degradation in his long run pace and the team may have even found the W13’s missing downforce. A combination of another dominant car and the best driver in F1 should deliver them a relatively easy constructors’ championship.

Drivers Championship:

1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Sergio Perez
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Lando Norris
8. George Russell
9. Oscar Piastri
10. Daniel Ricciardo
11. Yuki Tsunoda
12. Lance Stroll
13. Alex Albon
14. Esteban Ocon
15. Pierre Gasly
16. Logan Sargeant
17. Nico Hulkenberg
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Zhou Guanyu
20. Kevin Magnussen

Bold Predictions:

• Lando Norris wins his first race, then gets disqualified after the race.
• Alex Albon gets a podium for Williams.
• Lewis Hamilton will win one of his last five races for Mercedes.
• At least one Grand Prix will be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
• Charles Leclerc will get more pole positions than Max Verstappen.