So here goes an entry no-ones gonna comment on, except maybe Andy to say “Seriously, boring”. But meh :-P

First F1 race of the year in less than 12 hours, and it’s prediction time. I was gonna write this last night after watching qualifying but it was 4am and I wanted to sleep…

From pre-season testing, Ferrari looked unstoppable. Seriously, they were massively quick. But either they’ve taken a step back, or everyone else has found bucketfuls of time in the last test, cos they looked all lost at sea earlier. OK, there could be an explanation (Raikkonen’s mechanical failure put him out of qualifying, and Massa looked a little ragged all through the session. I’m not convinced his lap is representative of what the car couldve done, but without Raikkonen there to compare, I guess we can’t tell), but still…

What was really good to see was BMW being as quick as McLaren. If he hadnt run wide on one of the corners, Kubica would’ve been on pole (i.e. start at the front of the grid). Which wouldve been great, just for the headline (Kubica is Polish, work it out).

So, I reckon we’re gonna have wins this year from McLaren (both drivers, but mainly Hamilton - the way he manages the rear of the car is absolutely mesmerising), Ferrari (both drivers) and BMW, and I reckon it could be either of those drivers. Kubica looks faster, but I think Heidfeld has the experience which could put him in the right place in a weird race like Canada or Europe last year. I also find it hard to see Alonso not winning a race, especially towards the end of the year, so I’ll put him in that list too.

Elsewhere, Honda. Considering how bad last year was, and how bad pre-season looked, 11th and 13th on the grid is pretty good. OK this year isnt going to be spectacular, but if they build up the momentum (and get rid of Barrichello), 2009 could be special. Williams, also, could be special this year. OK they were outqualified by Toyota for this Grand Prix, but I can’t seriously see that continuing. Thinking about it, I wonder if Rosberg could win a race this year…

What else? Ah, yes, Toyota. I’ll be interested to see who does better between Glock and Trulli, but let’s face it, the team’s just going to hover somewhere in the middle and continue to be perfectly mediocre. Toro Rosso, however, look good. I’m staggered by how slow Bourdais was, because I rate him pretty highly. But then Vettel is doing pretty damn well as well - getting the car into the top 10 is pretty good, and I hope the STR3 when it’s introduced at Turkey is a good step forward, because they could seriously upset someone’s party.

As for the rest… Fisichella will beat Sutil (probably), Sato and Davidson will be as close as last year, Alonso will throw his toys out of the pram at least once this year, and Mosley will implode under the weight of his own self-importance.

So, overall winners? Driver’s championship will go to Hamilton or Raikkonen, and constructors to Ferrari or McLaren. Probably Ferrari, cos of the FIA…

By the way, I don’t like the new format for the third phase of qualifying. They should declare race fuel loads before the session, then qualify empty. Then the loads should be declared after the session. Makes it easier to see what people are doing then, and a lot less dangerous.

Finally, why is the ITV-F1 coverage so dire? Honestly, this morning they couldve talked about all sorts from the Winter. So why did they waste time with a crappy clip of Tamara Ecclestone Skiing with Ferrari? Why?! Also, Mark Blundell was orange. He looked like an oompa-loompa. This made me laugh… I’m just not gonna watch it tomorrow, it’s really not worth missing sleep for. The only good bits are when Brundle does his F1-insight bits, and they wont do that at half 3 in the morning…