Introduction
HELLO READERS! SPRING HAS ARRIVED AND WITH IT COMES A NEW EDITION OF THE SMC EXPRESS. WE ARE BACK TO OUR BEST WITH THIS LATEST RELEASE AND ARE EXCITED TO BRING TO YOU A RANGE AND DEPTH OF WRITING ON A WIDE SELECTION OF INTERESTING TOPICS. THANK YOU TO OUR EDITING TEAM AND ALL OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS FOR THEIR HARD WORK.
AS USUAL, CONTACT MR. O'CONNELL (TOCONNELL@STMUNCHINSCOLLEGE.IE) IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED IN THE EVER-REPUTABLE SMC EXPRESS.
Miscellany: Pg 1 - 3
An Introduction to Programming By Ríon O'Neill Pg. 1
Gender based Violence in Ireland By Qeann Suinn Pg. 2
Should Homework be in the Future Education System By Nate Rivers Pg. 3
Sports: Pg. 4 - 10
Career of Chedozie Ogbene By Senan Quinn Pg. 4
Afcon 2022 By Jack Koyce Pg. 5 - 9
Match Report Ardscoil vs. Munchins By Sean Kinehan and Conor Hall Pg. 10
Media Content: Pg 11 - 18
The Current State of the Movie Industry By Ríon O'Neill Pg. 11
Spiderman: No Way Home Review By Nate Rivers Pg. 12
Daredevil Review By Cian Kelly Pg. 13
The Book Of Boba Fett Review By Ríon O'Neill Pg. 14
The Evolution of Halo Through the Decades By Nate Rivers Pg. 15 - 18
Special Feature: Pg. 19 - 33
FORMULA 1 PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS 2022 Pg. 19 - 33
An Introduction to Programming
By Ríon O'Neill
Perhaps you didn't even realize, but programming is a relevant part of your daily life; you are even looking at it right now. Learning programming can be a great skill to have with many different languages of code available to learn. In programming, each coding language will have different advantages and disadvantages depending on what you are using it for. If you are new to coding, Python is a great introduction while others such as C++ and Java are better suited for people more familiar with coding.
With the skill in higher demand throughout the past few years, younger people should be learning some of the basics and explore more if they enjoy it. Understanding the fundamentals of the python coding language is estimated to take anywhere between two to six months but do not be discouraged, learning can be part of the enjoyment and your confidence in your skills will grow as you progress with your experience.
Although coding is not something everyone will need, it is something I think can appeal to everybody. Coding can also improve logical thinking and problem-solving skills. If you are interested in starting, there are plenty of tutorials to choose from on the internet
Gender Based Violence in Ireland.
By Qeann Suinn
The recent murder of Aisling Murphy has brought a great deal of attention to gender-based violence in the country with tributes being paid to her from across the world in places such as New York and London. There has also been an increase in gatherings raising awareness for gender-based violence across the country. In this article I will shed light on what men in the community and official government parties can do to make Irish women feel safer in public.
1. The lack of research on gender-based violence makes it difficult to approach solving the issue effectively.
This means a good place to start would be the improved collection of data regarding DSGBV (Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based violence).
2. There needs to be a massive expansion of training and education in public/private sectors around DSGBV.
There are many concerns around lack of appropriate and consistent resources to fund and sustain DSGBV training. I cannot stress enough the importance of education of these topics in primary and secondary schools. If young people are educated on the effects of their actions on the opposite gender, they will be less likely to commit violent acts against them.
3. Raising awareness through gatherings and online posts
This a wonderful way to educate the public using exceptionally little funding. It is completely free to repost or create your own post on social media. The awareness these posts create allows people to successfully fundraise and gather substantial amounts of money to help resolve gender-based violence.
These small but substantial changes can help prevent many other tragedies from happening to women in our community and across the world.
Should Homework be Used in the Future of our Education System?
By Nate Rivers
We are all familiar with homework, it has been part of most people’s daily routines at some point in their life. Although homework originated as a punishment for some students, it has now become something used universally. While homework may sound like it helps your learning, there is a lot of evidence showing otherwise and it has become a more popular debate for where the education system should go in the future. So, with all these debates in mind, I have decided to discuss why there may be differing views and arguments for both opinions.
There are dozens of reasons as to why there should or should not be homework, but I will mention the common arguments for both, starting with the reasoning for why there should not be homework. If homework were to be removed from our education system, students would be able to prioritize a better sleep schedule which has been proven to improve your learning ability dramatically, along with it also improving physical and mental health. Furthermore, it has been shown that many students do not receive help from this extra work and can create problems such as burnout. This would also give many students the opportunity to spend more time doing things like spending time with family or friends and enjoying hobbies. The most suitable example of no homework being done well is Finland with them having the highest level of high school completion in the world.
As to the reasoning behind why someone might think giving homework is a better approach, it is clear this would be an integral change in schools, these newer methods have not been tried and tested as much as our current form of learning. Homework can be used to understand how a student learns and can be useful in recognizing learning disabilities. Homework can also help improve skills such as time management among students. What stance do you take on this debate? As homework becomes irrelevant in more schools, the relevancy of the arguments for both sides increase.
The Career of Chiedozie Ogbene
By Senan Quinn
Chiedozie Ogbene’s name has been in the headlines after a vital penalty miss in Rotheram’s loss in the FA Cup, seeing them be eliminated in the 3rd round of the competition by QPR. But this is only a minor setback in the Irish international's career, and now I'll tell you why.
Club Career
Chiedozie Ogbene started his career in Ireland with Cork City and Limerick, before moving to Brentford in 2018. He was born in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos. Ogbene moved with his family to Ireland in 2005. He attended Bunscoil Chríost Rí and played Gaelic football for Nemo Rangers. He signed for Cork City in August 2015. In 2017 he signed for fellow League of Ireland club Limerick Fc. He was linked with a transfer to Aston Villa but instead signed for Brentford. After an unsuccessful spell at Exeter city, he signed for Rotherham. Hes made 64 appearances in all competitions for Rotherham and has scored twice for them.
National Career
He was eligible to represent both Republic of Ireland and Nigeria international teams. On the 8th of June he made his debut on against Hungary, becoming the first African-born player to represent the Republic of Ireland. The Irish players had been booed by Hungarian fans prior to kick-off for taking the knee. Hes made five appearances for the national team, scoring twice for the boys in green.
Chiedozie’s Future
The Irish international still has a long career ahead, only being 24 years old. He still has much to achieve with both club and country with the young man having potential to play at the top level. If he improves his goal scoring and overall play, it won't be long before he is playing for a top team in one of the top five leagues.
MY TOP 5 BEST AFCON 2022 JERSEYS
By Jack Koyce
5. CAMEROON
Cameroon's jersey colors are very nice to represent their countries flag. Cameroon normally wear Puma jerseys but this time they have changed. A simplistic design with the Pan-African Cameroonian green-red-yellow on the left shoulder, this effort could be one of the stand-out designs of AFCON 2022. Cameroon are the hosts of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations [to be held in 2022] and are in Group A alongside Burkina Faso, Cape Verde & Ethiopia.
4. GHANA
Another Puma design from Ghana's culture, and the most viral kits to be on show at this year's tournament, Ghana's home and away kits share a unique graphic that is inspired by Ghanaian culture and the vitality of local fabric. Ghana's bright yellow kit for home games is intended to be closer to the traditional strip, and fans have reacted positively.
3. SIERRA LEONE
One of several examples of Umbro's amazing creativity. The blue home kit has a unique design where the more you look, the more you see within a unique pattern that has brilliant qualities and references traditional African fabric. While the white away kit is a pure design with the Sierra Leone flag referenced in a green block under the collar and a blue block at the base of the shirt.
2. IVORY COAST
Another of the five Puma contributions to the Nations Cup, the Ivory Coast shirt is instantly recognizable due to their simple but striking orange and green color scheme. The green shoulder bands give this design strength and authority, although fans will be hoping that Eric Bailly and his fellow defenders demonstrate more of both qualities than they did at the Olympic Games.
1. NIGERIA
There's a slight second album syndrome from Nike with this design, as they've not quite stepped far enough away from their iconic 2018 design to avoid direct comparisons, which will somewhat unfairly not favor the newer effort particularly fondly. As a standalone effort, their new Agbada robe-inspired design still deserves to be considered as one of the finest African kits as Nike continue to set the tone for Naija sports fashion.
Match Report
St. Munchin’s College –v- Ard Scoil Rís Munster Schools Junior Cup Quarter Final Qualifier
By Sean Kinehan and Conor Mulcahy
St Munchin's beat Ard Scoil 32-5 on the back pitch of Thomond Park on Friday afternoon. Munchins started off slow but still managed to get into a 6-0 lead thanks to two good penalties in the 12th and 19th minutes from the boot of Tom Wood. Ard Scoil had a chance to cut the lead back to three points in the 20th minute with a very kickable penalty but failed to capitalize and the score stayed 6-0.
After immense pressure from Ard Scoil, they managed to get a try in the 32nd minute, right on the stroke of halftime, although they failed to convert the conversion with the score being 6-5. This would be the last play of the half with Munchin's leading at the break despite not their finest first half performance.
The second half started lively with Munchin's putting pressure on Ard Scoil. Their pressure paid off with Lee Collopy diving over the line to give Munchins an 11-5 lead in the 39th minute. Tom Wood converted the try from the left-hand side of the pitch to give Munchin's a 13-5 lead. Munchin's refused to take the foot off the gas and the game began to open up. Munchin's kept putting pressure on Ard Scoil and got back near the Ard Scoil try line. They would get rewarded again, with Oscar Vitolins driving over the line in the 51st minute to give Munchin's an 18-5 lead. The conversion barely missed from near the right touchline and Munchin's took a big 18-5 lead.
Following their second try of the match, Munchin's just kept on going and substitute Alex Quinn scored a wonderful solo try from his own half to give Munchin's a 23-5 lead in the 60th minute. This try would be converted from a similar position to the previous miss to give Munchin's a 25-5 lead. It looked too big a lead for Ard Scoil to overcome in just 10 minutes, but in the 63rd minute a lovely team move capped off by winger Alex Quinn’s second in the right corner to surely finish the game with Munchin's up 30-5. Tom Wood would convert again to give Munchin's a massive 32-5 lead
The game would finish 32-5 after a strong performance from St Munchin's, especially in the second half. Ard Scoil put in a hard-fought battle and never dropped the heads. Munchin's did brilliantly to comfortably win in the end after a relatively slow start. Munchin's play Castletroy next in the cup in Old Crescent RFC next Wednesday, 16th February.
We look forward to the next round which takes place on March 1st and will again bring you top-rate analysis of the fixture in our following edition.
(Scroll to the Bottom for the Special Feature)
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE MOVIE AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY
By Nate Rivers
Movies are an influential, popular, and ever-growing piece of media with new movies being released regularly. As a result of this along with other factors, there have been positive and negative consequences of this. Movies are one of many forms of art and art is about expressing oneself. As a result of this self-expression, certain ideals and beliefs will be expressed throughout a writer's work.
In 2019, up to thirty-eight percent of box office revenue in the movie industry went to Disney. With how much control over the industry and their writers that they have, should one studio handle so much of the media we consume considering how influential these stories can be? With Disney buying 20th Century Fox in recent years, this question is becoming increasingly prominent, this is excluding other crucial factors like television with Disney+ having over 118 million subscribers and their other streaming service, Hulu, having over 43 million subscribers.
Of course, Disney is not the only company this applies to with Netflix having even more at the current 203 million subscribers. Other major studios in the movie industry include Universal, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Sony Pictures. As a positive result of the growing industry, the good messages spread through these stories can reach more people. This popularity has also made these films more widely discussed. As fewer corporations become recognizable in the industry in favor of the dominant few, time will tell if this direction is best
Spider-man no way home movie review
By Nate Rivers
Spider-Man is a beloved superhero with people passionate about the character often arguing each other on who has portrayed the wall-crawler best. While I do not think this movie will completely put those arguments to rest, this movie is encouraging of all Spider-Man fans and many of the complaints with his newest portrayal have been rectified in this most recent installment in the characters long history of movies. Many have complained of the newest Spider-Man not holding the responsibility which the character is intended to representative of and often being put in the shadow of people like Iron Man for help. However, this portrayal by Tom Holland shows drastic and permanent consequences for the character’s actions and does not rely upon anybody else to save him. The plot is well paced but less intriguing at the beginning of the story. The story also has a strong ending, leaving loads of potential for where the iconic web-head could go next, and this is the most serious of Disney’s Spider-Man movies in tone. Rumors about the plot this movie holds have been circulating across the web and I will not confirm nor deny these popular rumors. However, compared to Marvel’s earlier spider movie this year, Black Widow, I will say this is a superior story with amazing composition and a spectacular Spider-Man.
Daredevil review
By Cian Kelly
The Daredevil show made by Netflix follows the life of a blind lawyer named Matt Murdock. Murdock was blinded at a young age when he saved an old man from getting hit by a truck carrying dangerous chemicals, when the chemicals spilt, it got in his eyes and blinded him while also heightening his other senses. The series then shows him navigating through life when he is starting a law firm with his best friend and gets mixed up in dangerous activities when he starts using his training to fight crime and discovers one person pulling strings from the shadows in Hell’s Kitchen. We see Murdock trying to keep his crime fighting life separate from his life as a lawyer.
The series has incredible writing that includes well thought out plot lines and fleshed out characters. Every plot point is important to the overall story and there is never a dull moment, always something interesting going on. The characters are some of the bests written I have seen in a superhero show, every single one of them is fleshed out fully to the point where I feel like I know them personally, this series does an amazing job at really showing why these characters are the way they are. You get to delve deep into these characters' backstories and understand them on a different level. Also, the fighting choreography is genuinely unmatched, the quality of these scenes is incredible, it showcases superhero fighting in such a different way, it is so gory and realistic that it really makes it stand out from the rest of the marvel superhero shows.
The cinematography of this show is also worth mentioning because of how beautiful it is, we see shots of New York and the amazing skyline while we are following Murdock. Finally, the casting and costume design of this series are just amazing, the characters look like they are straight from the comics, the casting was just spot on, the costume design is just crazy accurate, they take the costumes straight from the comics but make them slightly more realistic while still keeping them close to the source material.
The Book of Boba Fett Review
By Ríon O'Neill
Ironically, this is not a book review, The Book of Boba Fett was a TV show released weekly on Disney+ and follows the titular character, Boba Fett, and his allies as he gains power over the criminal underworld of Tatooine. This show explores themes of rulership and the approaches to reaching that position, while the previous kingpin of crime ruled through fear, Boba intends to lead through respect.
The show has some inconsistencies in quality at the beginning with some action set pieces being exceptionally well crafted while others struggle to reach that standard. There are also some issues of pacing with many of the episodes having to share their run time between two separate stories, meaning we must also share our attention between the two and cannot fully invest ourselves in either. For episodes five and six, Boba Fett only appears in one scene and the series is seven episodes long, so it is apparent this show needed more episodes or to make better use of the time they do have to keep an interest in our protagonist. However, this show also has a lot of positives going for it, the show has skillful use of makeup and practical effects with many of the aliens not using visual effects for their appearances, both main stories told are intriguing and mostly keeps interest consistently.
Although our protagonist is missing for two episodes, those episodes proved to be the best of the show. Overall, I would say the show is not a masterpiece by any means, but it is a lot of fun and a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe.
The Evolution of Halo Throughout the Decades
By Nate Rivers
Halo has been a staple of the gaming industry for just over twenty years now and is more relevant than ever with Halo Infinite, the newest Halo game making its debut. To celebrate this big event in the gaming industry, I have written about each game and discussed the influence they have had.
On November 15th, 2001, the original Xbox was released and Halo alongside it. In Halo, you play as Master Chief, a biologically augmented soldier that was trained from when he was a boy. You are the only person who can save humanity from the Covenant, a ruthless alien army who will stop at nothing to activate a halo ring which will wipe out humanity. The development of Halo was problematic for the team with the game almost crashing at its first presentation in 1999 and it is said that ninety percent of halo was created within only nine months before release. It revolutionized the industry with concepts such as seamless transitions between rooms and controls which were adapted to loads of other games after its release. While the story of Halo: Combat Evolved is simplistic in many ways, it creates enough intrigue for you to continue your journey, but the gameplay is its strongest aspect. The developers of Halo, Bungie, handled the next two main games in the Halo series before the franchise was given to another development team, Bungie’s other games improved upon the weaker aspects of their original story and polished the already revolutionary gameplay.
The studio behind Halo agreed with Microsoft to allow them to become independent if they developed a certain amount of Halo games and because of this, they were no longer developing Halo. The franchise was then given to 343 Industries to work on the next game. Halos 4 and 5 were not liked as well by the community, and I believe there to be a good reason for that. For example, the characters and environments are far more detailed but instead of adding realism to the textures, the details are more oriented towards overcomplicating the designs and making everything less distinctive. This makes the world feel very unlike Halo and this is proven further with the characterization of Master Chief, writing him with more of an individual personality, resulting in the player feeling like they are no longer Master Chief and only controlling him. Halo 4 is not a bad game, but it is a bad sequel and struggles to understand what it builds from. Halo 5 was a result of the developers not learning their lesson and led to a terrible result.
In 2021, it has been six years since a main line Halo game and the state of the earlier two games leaves the fate of the franchise in balance. Halo Infinite was released on December 8th and thankfully, 343 Industries delivered one of the best halo games to date. The series has gone back to its roots with the gameplay being reminiscent of but an evolution to the original Halo: Combat Evolved. The studio listened to the complaints about the newer art direction and offered a blend of both old and new while the story is strong and pays homage to the history of the series. This game is also an open world, meaning you are given access to a huge and open environment you must traverse and are free to explore throughout your time playing instead of following a more linear path. This environment's lack of diversity along with some glitches are the only complaints I have. It’s a refreshing game and an excellent return for the series. I’ll look forward to the future the franchise holds.
special feature
Formula 1 Preview and Predictions 2022
By Conor Mulcahy and Cian Mulcahy
Formula 1 starts back again 10 weeks after last season’s controversial ending where Max Verstappen edged Lewis Hamilton to the World Driver’s Championship.
With Formula 1 making huge rule changes this year, we don’t know which team is going to have the best car, but we can make a good prediction based on each team’s reputation, drivers and other assets.
Let's look ahead to a quick preview of the teams and their driver lineup for the upcoming season.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton – #44
George Russell – #63
George Russell partners seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes as Valtteri Bottas has left the team after five seasons, having helped the Silver Arrows clinch a record eighth consecutive constructors' championship. Another former Williams driver, Russell, makes a long-awaited step up to the team.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen – #1
Sergio Perez – #11
It's all the eyes on Red Bull's cars this season, as 2021 drivers' title winner Max Verstappen looks to retain his title. His teammate Sergio Perez on the other hand looks to improve on his very impressive season last year.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc – #16
Carlos Sainz – #55
Carlos Sainz readies himself for his second season with Ferrari, who clinched P3 in the constructors' standings in 2021, as the team aims to fight the frontrunners Mercedes and Red Bull. Charles Leclerc continues his successful tenure with the squad, hoping for a first win since 2019.
McLaren
Daniel Ricciardo – #3
Lando Norris – #4
Lando Norris continues alongside Daniel Ricciardo with McLaren, who narrowly missed out on P3 to Ferrari last season but showed that they too are fighting their way back towards the top.
Alpine
Fernando Alonso – #14
Esteban Ocon – #31
An unchanged line-up Alpine, who had an undeniably strong season in 2021 with veteran Fernando Alonso taking a podium and helping teammate Esteban Ocon to a brilliant Hungarian Grand Prix victory. The pair aim to bring Alpine up to the pace of McLaren and Ferrari and beyond.
AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly – #10
Yuki Tsunoda – #22
Yuki Tsunoda is no longer a rookie as he prepares for a second season with AlphaTauri. Pierre Gasly, who had a terrific 2021 season and finished ninth in the standings overall.
Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel – #5
Lance Stroll – #18
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel continues with Aston Martin for their second full Formula 1 season. Lance Stroll stays with the team, who will be aiming for higher than their 2021 finishing position of seventh in the standings.
Williams
Nicholas Latifi – #6
Alex Albon – #23
Williams change their line-up for 2022, with ex-Red Bull drier Alex Albon stepping in to replace Mercedes-bound Russell. Albon partners Nicholas Latifi as Williams come off a 2021 season that saw them score 23 points and finish above Alfa Romeo and Haas in the standings.
Alfa Romeo
Guanyu Zhou– #24
Valtteri Bottas – #77
Alfa Romeo are the only team to field an all-new line-up for 2022, Bottas joining the squad from Mercedes while Zhou Guanyu will be the grid's sole rookie – and the first full-time Chinese F1 driver in history – as he graduates from F2.
Haas
Nikita Mazepin – #9
Mick Schumacher – #47
It's the same line-up for Haas this season but neither driver has rookie status in 2022, with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin entering their second F1 seasons – and both aiming for their first F1 points too.
Constructors Championship Predictions
1.Ferrari
2.Mercedes
3.Red Bull
4.Mclaren
5.Alpine
6.Alphatauri
7.Aston Martin
8.Williams
9.Alfa Romeo
10.Haas
Conor’s Drivers’ Championship Predictions
1.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3.Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4.Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5.George Russell (Mercedes)
6.Lando Norris (McLaren)
7.Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
8.Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
9.Pierre Gasly (Alphatauri)
10.Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
11. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
12. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
13.Alex Albon (Williams)
14. Yuki Tsunoda (Alphatauri)
15. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
17. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
18. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
19. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
Cian’s Drivers' Championship Predictions
1.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3.Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
4.Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5.Lando Norris (McLaren)
6.George Russell (Mercedes)
7.Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
8.Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
9.Pierre Gasly (Alphatauri)
10.Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
11. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
12. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
13. Yuki Tsunoda (Alphatauri)
14. Alex Albon (Williams)
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
16.Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
17. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
18. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
19. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
Why We Think the Championship Will Finish Like This
I think I should start off this explanation with the biggest disagreement myself and Cian had, the 2022 Drivers’ Champion. I think the championship will go red for the first time since Kimi Raikonnen won in 2007 narrowly edging out Lewis Hamilton in the last race and I think history will repeat itself 15 years later with another Ferrari driver, in Leclerc narrowly edging out Hamilton in the last race of the season. Although we’ve seen in the past when Hamilton gets narrowly beaten, he comes back in style, winning the championship in 2008 and 2017, I just don’t the 37-year-old having enough in the tank to beat the up-and-coming Leclerc. The Ferrari 2022 car will be hard to beat considering how people talk about it, and you would think it will be a monster car after Ferrari focusing on the new car for most of last season.
While we disagree with the order of Sainz and Verstappen, we both agree that the Red Bull will be nowhere near its levels last season, with Red Bull going all in last year, and we also don’t know how good their new engine is going to be, I don’t think they will have a challenging car, however I think Max will pull off a drive similar to a 2010 or 2012 Fernando Alonso, and completely outperform his car, putting him in the battle right until the end, however I think his car will fail him when all is said and done.
I think the top 4 will all be very close, and I think the relatively inexperienced Carlos Sainz will be the one to lose out. Although his pace is undeniable and he is a great driver, even beating Leclerc last year Leclerc had his fair share of bad luck, like in Bahrain, you still can’t look past Sainz impressive last few years, I just don’t think he’ll be able for the top 3, and team orders will affect Sainz for the worse towards the end of the season.
We both agree George Russell won’t live up to expectations. While we disagree between him and Norris, we agree that Norris is a better driver than George, I just think the McLaren will be no match for the Mercedes. We agree that Perez will come seventh, doing the role he did this season as Verstappen’s teammate and like Sainz team orders won’t help his case.
We then agree on most of the midfield, with Ricciardo coming a respectable 8th but we don’t think it’ll be his best season. We think Gasly is on for another amazing year, and Alpine have apparently made a huge change to their car, and they look like they will have a very good season. I think the experience of Alonso will let him edge past his young teammate Ocon. I think Vettel will have a similar season to his old championship rival Alonso with his experience carrying him through the midfield. However, I think the Aston Martin will be a very bad car and only Seb’s brilliance will take the team past Williams in the constructors.
I think Albon will be the standout in the lower midfield, proving he deserves his seat for many years to come and regularly challenging for points with his amazing overtaking. We can’t see Tsunoda having a great season, again overshadowed by his brilliant teammate Gasly, but I think we will see flashes of a great driver again this season, which was on display in Abu Dhabi last year. While Bottas is still undeniably a great driver, given the nearly impossible task of beating the second-best driver ever, I think the Alfa Romeo will be one of the worst cars on the grid, but Valterri will prove there is still a great driver in him.
We both think Stroll will have a very lackluster season, fighting at the back with the back markers, not being able to get the best out of what we think will be bad machinery. We both don’t think Latifi or the only rookie, Zhou will have good seasons, that doesn’t mean they’ll have bad seasons, I just can't see the pair of them doing anything groundbreaking. I think everyone will agree that the Haas will have another poor season, and I think they will need a crazy race to score some points.
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Credits:
Created with images by LUM3N - "a book training paper" • Bokskapet - "headphones clapper clapperboard"