After the inaugural season last time out, it seems there's enough interest to do it all again in 2025
2024 saw We Are Checking top of the pile, hitting the front two months out, and never faltering from then on, despite late pressure from Wax MeStrapOn Racing and Red Bull HR Dept.
F1 2025 starts on 14th March in Australia, the first of 24 races taking us all the way into December.
So let’s make it all a tad more interesting by having some additional bias in every race, by having Drivers, and Teams, you've a vested interest in, as they battle to build your points tally each weekend in my F1 competition.
I like a bit of F1, but I would not confess to be knowledgeable of the sport. (Is it a sport, see immediately I'm confirming my ignorance of potentially critical information).
BUT, underlined and in capitals so must be an important ‘but’, we made a competition out of last year, and I’m sure I can improve on it this.
It's open to everyone, anyone can have a stab at, and hopefully find it makes each race more intriguing, I've also added more in this year to make the 'less favourable' drivers and teams more important, and as a result perhaps add an element of jeopardy to the GuessWork.
What do I need to do then Steve to take part, I hear you asking.
Well let me explain.
Actually before I do, let me confirm that every player that enters will result in around £10.00 going to charity. The competitions I run donate to around 8 different charities, last time F1 supported Prostate Cancer UK, and this season it will support Help For Heroes.
We last supported them for the 23/24 Footy Competition.
I'd expect by the time we're lined up on the grid for the start of race 1, the amounts sent to the charities will exceed £6,000 in less than 3 years, happily making them the biggest winner by far from the competitions run.
How Do You Take Part
Put simply, each race you need to pick a driver you think will do well, and a team you think will do well over Qualifying and the Race. Then, have a go at placing the top five drivers and teams in the correct finish order. In addition you have to 'guess' at a few other things that will happen, all of which will hopefully add you points to the Competition total.
Here's a bit more detail.
Driver Of The Meeting - Each race you name the Driver you think will earn you the most points in both Qualifying and the Race. It may not be as obvious as you think though as coefficients will adjust points won, so, at the start, a win for Max won’t be worth as much as a Win for Charles, and a top 10 finish for Estaban might be worth as much as, or more than either of them!
Team Of The Meeting - As well as naming your Driver, name your team as well, and you don't have to match your driver to a team. You could have Hamilton in a Mercedes, for example 🙄🙄. But again perhaps not as obvious as coefficients kick in. The points collected by both cars in the team will be added to your total.
Driver & Team Race Positions - Place the top 5 Drivers and Teams, in the correct places. Points are awarded for getting them spot on and you'll get halfies if you're one place out, and you can mix and match, so you could have Max in an Alpine in 1st place, or Lewis in a Ferrari in 3rd (as if that's ever going to happen). And yep, coefficients adjust points won.
10th Place and Over Taking - Points are awarded for guessing the driver starting 10th on the Grid (not necessarily qualifying 10th!!) and then for the driver that makes up the most places from the Grid to the end of the race.
DNFs & First Retirement - More points can be collected for guessing not only the first Driver out of the race, but also the number of Drivers that Do Not Finish.
There are also points on offer for predicting the time of the Fastest Lap, and the Winning Margin Time, and points are gained for guessing the TOTAL number of Pit Stops made in the race.
New For 25 - a few more 'Guess' who/'Guess' how many categories will be added, including:
Name the Driver setting the Fastest Lap during the race.
Name the Driver that spends the MOST time in the Pits (that finishes the race)
The Total Number of Times Drivers (that finish the race) will be lapped in The Race
AND, every race there will be additional points awarded decided by where you finish in 'Our' race order.
Also NEW in 2025 ‘Our F1’
I’ve added 'Our Own F1' race table and a 'Team’ table.
The Main Competition is an accumulation of all the points won over the season, the winner of which, is rightly named Champion, whereas 'Our Own F1' table will simply mimic F1, and award points for finishing in the top 20 each race. The winner will get 63 points, second placed 53 down to 1 for 20th
The Player with the most points at the end of the competition, wins. And, you also get to team up with others. Most of you have joined as a result of a nudge from someone other than me, so teams of 2, 3, or more can be built for a Team competition. The Team with the most points wins at the end of the year,
Team positions and points for each race will be decided by the average of all the drivers in the each race.
Cash prizes will be set for both, and confirmed once our final numbers are known
And - Pre-Season Picks.
The final new addition in 2025 will be a separate competition, based on your gut feel for the season ahead, before even a tyre is changed.
Effectively all you need to do is Pick the Drivers and Teams that you think will do best in my competition points, and then best guess the 'numbers'. The closer you get the more points you'll get.
Predictions will wins you points in the following categories (currently, still under consideration and construction). But likely to include.
Best Driver & Best Team (you get to pick two)
Driver & Teams with the most Win points
Driver & Teams with the most Pole points
Driver & Teams with the most Podium points
Driver & Teams with the most DNFs
Driver & Teams with the most Fastest Laps
Total Time for the season driven by the winner of every race
Number of times drivers (that finish the race) will be lapped in the season
Number of Podium Finishes for British Drivers
I’m open to more categories if you’ve got suggestions
5% of all pre-season points won WILL BE added to the Overall Totals in the Main Competition
What Are Coefficients
In an attempt to make the competition more 'even' and certainly last year to make it less of a Max/Red Bull parade, coefficients based on previous year's points are given to Drivers and Teams.
Last year that went too far and were a bit unfair to Max, and needed adjustment mid-season as Lando, Oscar and McLaren started to outperform their original handicaps, massively.
To avoid that his year, coefficients will be adjusted every race. I'm going to average the handicaps from last season, shown here, with the revised ones from 2025, race by race.
For those interested, Australia will work on last years coefficients, Race 2 in China, will have coefficients calculated by taking 23/24ths of the 2024 rating, and 1/24th of 2025's. When, Lewis has won again at Silverstone, we will be 50% 2024, 50% 2025, and, by the time we get to Abu Dhabi it will only be 1/24th from 2024, the rest from the current season.
What Do I Need To Do
All you need to do 'Now', is let me know you want to join in, by completing the form below.
Oh, and send me your money, you will get an invoice emailed to you with details of how to send your £30 sign up fee over, and as mentioned earlier, a percentage of which will go to Help For Heroes. The rest of the pot will be paid out to the winners once the final numbers from Abu Dhabi have been locked in.
Then in late February, I will start chasing for the Pre-Season Picks.
There will be a lot more detail on the website, as we get closer to 'Lights Out' for Race 1, so go on, come and join in.......... Just complete the form (and, for those interested, have a read through the scoring and rules shown below the form!!!)
F1 2025 Driver’s Briefing
So here’s the small print on the points scoring, and the rules (not too many of them).
£30.00 will get you in. Last year we donated £273.15 to Prostate Cancer UK from the signing on fees in this competition, before the balance was paid out to the winners.
This year we will be supporting Help For Heroes.
2025 will have a set of Pre-Season Predictions to be made, and then Forecasts to be made for every race.
Each Race you will pick a Driver & a Team of the Race Meet, they will earn you points depending on where they finish in Qualifying and in the Race.
There will be be a sliding range of points won by all Drivers. The winner will get 63 points, 2nd placed 53, 3rd 46. Then 40, 36, 32, 28, 24,21,18, 15,13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1 with all drivers that finish getting points.
Race Points for the Team will be half the Driver points, but you will pick up points for both cars.
Drivers will score points in the Qualifying Round if they finish in the top 10, 25 points will be awarded to the Driver Qualifying on Pole, 18 to 2nd, 15 to 3rd, 12 to 4th, so mirroring race points from 2024.
Teams will score half points in Qualifying, but both cars will collect points if finishing in the top 10
Sprint races won’t count, only Qualifying for the Main Race, and points will be awarded for where they finish in Qualifying, any grid penalties given for the race WILL BE ignored.
All of these points will be adjusted by coefficients (handicap)
Drivers and Teams will start the season with Coefficients, based on last year’s points. The Coefficients will adjust points upwards.
Max and McLaren will start with a Coefficient of 1
Points won in Race 1 in Australia will be adjusted by the Coefficients from last year.
Coefficients will evolve as the season progresses, Race 2 in China will have Coefficients set by taking 23/24ths of last seasons Coefficients and 1/24th from 2025 tables.
By the time Silverstone has finished, half of the coefficient will be as a result of the 2024 positions, and half 2025. By Abu Dhabi only 1/24th will relate to 2024, the rest the current year.
You will also predict the First 5 Drivers and Teams for the Race Only. Qualifying is not included in these points.
Driver points will be awarded as follows. 50 points for 1st, 30 for 2nd, 20 for 3rd, 10 for 4th and 5 for 5th.
Drivers will earn you half points if you’re one place out. If the Driver finishes higher, you’ll get half the points of the position you predicted, if he finishes one place lower, you’ll get half the lower points
For example If you predict Hamilton will finish 2nd, and he finishes 1st, you get half the points for 2nd place, IF he finishes 3rd, you get half the 3rd place points.
The Team Points are half the Driver Points, but you can place both cars. So you could have Red Bull 1st & 4th, and it doesn’t matter which of their drivers is 1st or 4th.
And you don’t have to have your Driver choice in the correct car. So you could have Hamilton 1st for example, but in a McLaren rather than a Ferrari
BUT, you only get points for being spot on with the Teams, no halfsies for being a place out.
Coefficients will, again, enhance points won.
Finally, there will be points awarded to the first ten players in our Competition every Race. They will be the same as the points for the Driver in 4(a) above, with the winner getting 63 points, second place getting 53, down to 1 point for 20th. There's nought for finishing outside the top 20 .
And then there will be other scoring opportunities to earn ‘Random’ points.
There will be 30 points available for predicting the number of DNFs, The points will be shared by the players getting the number correct.
There will be 30 points on offer for predicting the 10th Placed Driver on the Starting Grid, shared by all the players naming the Driver correctly (it will be starting on the grid, not necessarily Qualifying 10th)
There will be 30 points on offer for predicting the driver that makes up the most places from Grid to the Race End, shared across those naming the driver.
In the event there’s a tie (2 drivers gain 5 places) the higher placed Driver is the one that will win you the points.
There’s 30 points on offer for naming the Driver with the Fastest Lap time, again shared by all naming them.
There will be 30 bonus points on offer for predicting the TOTAL number of pit stops made in the race. BUT if you're not spot on then 15 points are on offer, adjusted by how far you're away from the correct answer you are. So if there are 30 Pit Stops, and you guess 25, then you get 83.33% of the 15 points on offer, so 12.5 points. Guess 40, and there's 30, you get 75%, so 11.25, and so (guess 50, you'll get 9.)
There will be points on offer for guessing the total number of times ALL Drivers are lapped, by the time the Chequered Flag falls. Yep, it's 30 points for getting it spot on. And it's the same share of points for being close for everyone else as the Pit Stop Prediction above 8(e).
There will be bonus points on offer for guessing the time of the Winning Margin of the race. 30 points on offer for being within a second of the correct time, all other predictions will be adjusted in the same way as the Pit Stop points. So 15 points adjusted by how far out you are.
By guessing the Fastest Lap, the same calculation will take place as the winning margin above
30 points are on offer for naming the Driver that spends the most Time in The Pits, shared by those guessing that Driver.
And, lastly, points are up for grab if you can correctly guess the first retirement in the race. Agains shared across all players naming the driver.
In the event of two cars going out at the same time through contact, the Driver causing the contact will be deemed the First Retirement.
When you send in your ‘Guesswork’ for each race, you can request a copy of your thoughts to be emailed to you, and once ALL have sent in, then all the entries will show on the Guesswork page on the website.
Your FIRST Guesswork entry for the Australian Grand Prix, will be saved as a Default Selection for the rest of the season. If for any reason you miss the Deadline for a Race, or don't get round to sending it in, these defaults will be entered for you.
New will be the Pre-Season Competition, and 'Our F1' Player and Team Competitions
The Pre-Season Competition will need you to make your Predictions for the season in a number of areas.
As the races progress through the year, your wisdom will be rewarded (or not) as your predictions become reality (or not)
All the categories and points on offer will be fully confirmed HERE closer to the start of the 2025 season
The Winner will get a cash prize, to be confirmed in the first race weekend.
All the points won, will be the points awarded in 'My' Competition, not by F1
You get to pick two Drivers and Two teams to register wins, and you will get the points they win in the race in the main competition for those wins
The Driver and Teams you pick to get the most Poles will get awarded the points they win for finishing in Pole Position
Drivers and Teams finishing on the Podium will get the points for the race they win, 66% of the points they win in second place, and 33% of the points they win for finishing third
Drivers and Teams selected to DNF win points if they, DNF. The points are equal to the average of all the drivers or teams that do finish the race.
When you Drivers or Teams set the Fastest Lap, the time in minutes to complete the lap are awarded as points. But these are adjusted by the race position they finish in. Finish first, they will win you 100% of the seconds taken to complete the lap, finish 5th, 80% of the seconds. Finish 20th, just 5% of the time taken.
The Driver you pick for the top ten finishes will similarly get the points they win, but reduced by 10% for each place lower (100% for 1st, 90% for 2nd down to 10% for 10th). The Drivers to choose from are the 'less' favoured ones
The B List of the Teams Podium finishes, are also from the 'less favourable teams, and score points as per 8(g) above
The Total of ALL the Winning Times from every race could win you 750 points. You've got to be spot on to get that. But be within 10% of the correct answer and you will get points based on how close you are, be 5% out you will get 95% of the points. But the points drop, if you're within 10-20% of the time, the points are based on 500 points, be more than 20% out, your points are based on 300 points.
A similar number of points are on offer for how close you are to the Number Of Times Drivers have been Lapped in the season, and the number of DNFs there have been during the season. The total of all the Winning Margins from all 24 races will also be totted up, and the closer you are to being spot on here, again will get you closer to the 750 points.
You'll need to guess how many points British Drivers will collect for Podium finishes throughout the year. 3 points for first, 2 for second and 1 for third. Points will be awarded similar to the lapped numbers.
Finally, for the final race there's a chance to predict the total of all the driver coefficients on the grid at Abu Dhabi. If it's any help, I haven't a clue what it will be, but it will be more than 20 and less than 70!! And a whopping 750 points on offer again here, as per the previous categories
AND 5% of all the points won in the Pre-Season will be added to the Main Competition.
'Our F1' Player table is a lot more straight forward (well I think so). It awards you points for finishing in the top 20 every race in the Main Competition. The points on offer are the same as the 20 Drivers will receive for finishing in each Race in this competition (see Rule 4(A) above)
The points will accumulate over the season.
The Winner will get a cash prize. Final cash prizes will be confirmed before Race 1 is underway.
There will also be a 'Team' Competition and Cash Prize.
You will be able to pick who you want to team up with. Players not picked, will be allocated to a team prior to the first Race getting underway.
Teams will be a minimum of two Players, and the points won each race will be the average of the points won by the Players in each race. (A team with Players finishing 2nd, 8th and 19th would win 53, 24 and 2 points so the Team would finish on 26.33 points for the race)
Bonus points are then awarded for the finishing position, 10 for 1st,, 7 for 2nd then 5, 2, & 1 for the top five teams
The Winning 'Team' would have collected the most points across all the races
There's a few 'General Rules' that came out of last season, and as required others will be added
Reserve Drivers
When named before the deadline, you will be allowed to change any replaced drivers.
After the Deadline, the Reserve Driver will be counted as the Driver you originally picked.
In the event of cars not even ‘getting through’ Qualifying, and not making it onto the grid, they will be regarded as Did Not Start (DNS), not DNF, and sadly not worth a point!
The Final Cash prizes on offer will be confirmed once the total number of players have been confirmed.
Prizes will be paid out to the Winner and Runners Up of the GuessWork Table
Prizes will also be paid out to the Winner and Runner Up of the Pre-Season Table
Cash prizes on offer for the 'Our F1' Driver & Team
I think that’s it. It probably isn’t, there’s probably a few bits I’ve missed, but I will have time to add before we get going, I’m sure…….
Commentaires