After several arguments, lot of fact checking and the occasional passionate rant, myself and my colleague Joe Weimerskirch, have successfully predicted the entirety of the final Formula 1 standings for the 2018 Season.

This of course means that we have got it completely and utterly wrong and this article is probably a big waste of everyone’s time. Especially since pre-season testing hasn’t given away anything significant. Ahead of the first Grand Prix in Australia this weekend here is our predicted grid for the 2018 season.

 

A 3 way fight… but Daniel Ricciardo comes out on top:

Yep, already this is looking very dodgy but F1 is one of those sports that occasional throws us a radical curveball. The Red Bull driver is one of the fan favourites on the grid and has plenty of talent and a great car to boot. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, both aiming to become only the 3rd driver in history to claim five world titles, will no doubt be right on his tail. But it’s about time the shoe drinking, eternally smiling Aussie got a world title and we think he’ll pull it off.

However Mercedes still rule

The Constructor’s trophy will be returning to Brackley. While Red Bull’s driver line up of Ricciardo and Max Verstappen may be slightly stronger than Hamilton and Valterri Bottas, consistency is one of Mercedes’s best qualities. Again it will be a close three-way fight but the silver arrows will edge it. As for Ferrari, whilst Vettel will be at the top of his game, Kimi Raikkonen is way past it. Expect the Iceman to retire from cockpit at the end of the year. Again.

 

All out for 4th place

The toughest section to predict, with teams constantly moving up and slipping down the pecking order. Force India emerged as the 4th best team last season and we predict that to continue. Haas and Renault have seemingly made improvements the extent of which are yet to be seen (Joe and I are still fighting over who should be placed higher). All mid-table teams field strong drivers who will all surely be clamouring the soon to be vacant Ferrari seat. The unknown quantity in this is McLaren. Now free of the Honda engines that plagued them for three years, they are looking to reclaim their spot as one of F1s top dogs. If the car is even half decent there is no doubt Fernando Alonso will drag the team up. He is arguably the sport’s best driver at the moment and he will be keen to show he’s still got it, after being stuck in terrible cars for over a decade now.

Same old, same old for the backmarkers

It’s never nice saying whose going to finish last, but we have to do it. Despite a new partnership with Alfa Romeo, Sauber should remain stuck to the bottom of the table. Toro Rosso have essentially two new drivers who are yet to be proven and will undoubtedly take a little time to settle. Williams are the surprise addition here. Their driver line up is very young and their car is inconsistent. Expect them to both fight for podiums and pointless positions.

Kent Current’s Formula 1 predictions is full:

Driver’s Standings

1st	Daniel Ricciardo
2nd	Lewis Hamilton
3rd	Sebastian Vettel
4th	Valtteri Bottas
5th	Max Verstappen
6th	Kimi Räikkönen
7th	Fernando Alonso
8th	Sergio Perez
9th	Esteban Ocon
10th	Romain Grosjean
11th	Carlos Sainz
12th	Nico Hulkenberg
13th	Kevin Magnussen
14th	Stoffel Vandoorne
15th	Lance Stroll
16th	Pierre Gasly
17th	Brendon Hartley
18th	Charles Leclerc
19th	Sergey Sirotkin
20th	Marcus Ericsson

Constructor’s Standings

1st	Mercedes
2nd	Red Bull
3rd	Ferrari
4th	Force India
5th	Mclaren
6th	Haas
7th	Renault
8th	Williams
9th	Toro Rosso
10th	Sauber