Wet conditions in Melbourne meant the first two practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix yielded few clues about who is going to be competitive in the season ahead.
That’s going to make life a bit more difficult for everyone playing the Predictions Championship this weekend. Now in its eighth year, the championship offers the ultimate bragging rights for the F1 fan who can best predict the outcome of each race.
Thanks to our prize suppliers F1 Fanatic is offering a new and fantastic line-up of prizes for this season. Top of the list is a very special item: a table crafted from a race-used F1 car wheel and signed by two drivers who will be on the grid on Sunday.
This year’s runner-up prize is a limited edition, five-volume set of Formula One portraits. The top twelve players at the end of the year will all win prizes, as will the top two in every race weekend.
The F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship is free to enter and open to everyone – so join in now:
Make your predictions
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First place – Signed Force India F1 wheel table
Supplied by Memento Exclusives
The top-scoring player in the 2016 championship will win a very special prize courtesy of Memento Exclusives: A table built from a race-used Force India F1 wheel rim, signed by current drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.
The wheel saw race action during the 2012 season. It has been powder-coated in matt black and re-styled with a toughened glass top to transform it into a practical drinks table.
The smoked-glass top gives a designer look to the table, whilst still showing off the spokes of the wheel rim beneath it. The finishing touch on the smoked glass is the laser-engraved ‘#FeelTheForce’ slogan.
Worth £499, the table comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
The Memento design team uses only the best materials to create beautiful sports memorabilia, which will be admired for generations to come. Authenticity of memorabilia is of absolute importance. For this reason, Memento Exclusives works directly with the teams to guarantee the heritage of every item.
Second place – The Great Challenge signed limited edition F1 portrait book set
Supplied by Rainer Schlegelmilch
Rainer Schlegelmilch began photographing grand prix racing in 1962. This five-volume collection cover the eras of five giants of the sport as seen through his camera lens.
“The Great Challenge” series recounts the great races and their heroes from 1962 until end of 2006. Expressive portraits are interspersed with thrilling racing scenes and photos documenting the spirit of the age.
The encyclopaedic works which are elegantly presented in slipcases bearing the distinctive colours of Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark.
The runner-up in this year’s competition will win a set of all five books, from a limited print run of 1,800, presented on a high-quality glass bookend. The books are signed by publisher Dieter Streve-Mülhens and photographer Rainer Schlegelmilch.
Third place – An F1 painting of your choice
Supplied by Rob Ijbema
Rob Ijbema’s striking artwork captures the colour, speed and passion of motor racing with a vividness which leaps from the canvas.
Not only will the third-place finisher in this year’s competition receive an original example of these fine pieces – but they will get to pick the subject too.
Simply name your racing car – it doesn’t even have to be Formula One – and Rob will create a one-of-a-kind piece just for you.
Fourth and fifth place – F1: The Knowledge book
Supplied by David Hayhoe
Described as “the most comprehensive book on facts, figures, records and trivia for Formula One motor racing, F1: The Knowledge promises to be an indispensable reference work for F1 fans.
Spanning over 400 pages, F1: The Knowledge includes over 1,000 sections on drivers, the cars, the engines and the circuits and performance records of every driver, every constructor and every engine make to have taken part.
It also cover F1’s ever-changing rules with a summary of regulation changes since the world championship and detailed insight into the variety of qualifying procedures throughout the years.
The players who finish fourth and fifth in the championship this year will each win a copy.
Sixth to twelfth place – LEGO® Technic Race Kart
Supplied by Lego
This LEGO® replica race kart features a detailed engine with moving piston, fuel tank and huge exhaust pipes.
Tilt the sleek orange racing seat to reveal the working transmission. Then jump aboard and check out the working steering, two-speed gearbox and foot pedals.
Interactive instructions are available to build the kart plus a second track car model. Seven players will win one of these kits.
Race winners – F1 2015: the official game
Supplied by Codemasters
At every round of the championship the top-scoring player will win the official Formula One game published by Codemasters for their choice of platform.
F1 2015 is built on a new game engine, designed from the ground up for the latest consoles and PCs to allow players to experience Formula One in unprecedented detail.
It features all the new details from the 2015 season including the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico plus the entire 2014 season roster of drivers, cars and tracks as a bonus.
Race runners-up – F1 2015 season review video
Supplied by Duke Video
The official video review of the 2015 world championship captures every important moment from the 19 rounds.
Featuring in-depth coverage enhanced with previously unseen footage and team radio, That’s What Champions Do tells the story of the season from start to finish.
The second-placed player in every race this year will win a copy (Blu-Ray and DVD formats available).
Rules and how to enter
You have until the scheduled start time for qualifying on Saturday to make your predictions for each round. Reminders will be posted during the weekend on F1 Fanatic, the F1 Fanatic Twitter account, F1 Fanatic Facebook page and F1 Fanatic Google + page.
To enter, predict the pole sitter and the top five finishers in the race. You can also enter a prediction for the pole position lap time which this will be used in the event of a points tie between prize-winners.
Enter your pole position lap time prediction in the following format: MM:SS.ccc For example, for a lap of one minute, 23.450 seconds you would enter 01:23.450
You must log in using an F1 Fanatic account to make a prediction. Registration is free and quick:
After submitting your prediction you will receive an email confirming your entry. If this does not happen, or you are concerned your prediction has not been received, please get in touch using the contact form.
Competition terms and conditions
1. Maximum one entry per household.
2. The competition is not open to employees, friends or family of F1 Fanatic, Memento Exclusives, Car-a-Day, Codemasters, LEGO® or Duke Video.
3. In each round players are invited to predict (a) who will be on pole position and (b) what the top five finishers will be (five different drivers) and will accumulate points in each round as follows up to a maximum score of 50:
a. Correctly naming the pole sitter: 2 points
b. Correctly naming one/two/three/four/five driver/s who finish in the top five: 1/2/3/5/8 points
c. Correctly predicting where one/two/three/four/five driver/s finish: 2/6/14/24/40 points
4. Whoever scores the most points in every race counting towards the championship wins the grand prize.
5. In the event of a tie on points the winner will be determined by who is closest to predicting the pole position time correctly. If that fails to produce a winner the editor will choose a means of deciding who has won.
6. Predictions must be entered using the form above. If you have trouble submitting your entry via the predictions form please prediction using the contact form. Predictions will not be accepted via any other means of communication.
7. In the event of a dispute the editor’s decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
8. No cash alternative is offered for any of the prizes.
9. Players who have won prizes will be notified by email within 14 days of the winners being announced, so they can select their prize options and supply a postal address. Once this has been done prize delivery may take up to 28 days.
10. For further information see the disclaimer
Legal notes
LEGO® and the LEGO® logo are trademarks of the LEGO® Group. ©2016 The LEGO® Group
George (@george)
18th March 2016, 18:46
Hopefully I’ll be up in time for FP3 so I actually get some clue as to the running order!
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
18th March 2016, 19:33
Is Rainer Schlegelmilch any relation of the Latvian Formula 3 driver Harald Schlegelmilch?
mateuss (@mateuss)
18th March 2016, 21:16
I doubt there is any direct relation, though there might be some very, very remote historical connection due to many people in Latvia having German surnames (like myself) due to our German-Latvian history.
John G (@jfever78)
19th March 2016, 0:27
Rule #6 appears to have an error. There’s clearly something missing, maybe the word “complete” in between “please” and “prediction”?
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
19th March 2016, 1:30
Shot in the dark really… Won’t be able to watch live probably, so I’ll have to stop myself from reading the news!
Cliffery (@cliffery)
19th March 2016, 5:36
No confirmation emails this year Keith?
Dirk (@dirksen)
19th March 2016, 9:13
I also didn’t receive any. Is it possible to get these back? It’s an easy way to see the predictions.