Australia - F1 prediction league 2013

The start of the 2013 F1 season is almost upon us so it's time to join the best free F1 prediction league around!

The league consists of two parts, firstly season picks (see the original rules/post - 50 points maximum - and the template at the end of this post) and secondly weekend picks, where every race weekend you need to pick on four categories (25 points maximum each race):

1. Your predicted winner of qualifying (Qualifying)
2. Predicted race winner (Race)
3. Predicted team who will score the most points (Constructors)
4. Random category - this changes every week and is designed to create variety

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Random Category for Australia

Which teammates will be closest over the entire weekend?

Pick the teammates who you think will be closest across the whole weekend, this is made up of each of the seven sessions (Practice 1, Practice 2, Practice 3, Qualifying 1, Qualifying 2, Qualifying 3 and Race) and the fastest lap. This will be measured by differences in position (not time). 

So if Ricciardo finishes 16th in P1 and Vergne 14th then you would score 2 points for that session. The team with the fewest points across all 7 sessions + fastest lap will score a player 3 points, 2nd fewest points will give 2 points etc.

Other stipulations: If one/both of the drivers in the team you pick don't take part in a session then a 5 point penalty will apply. So before picking think about Marussia and Caterham who most likely won't take part in Q2 and Q3 therefore a 10 place penalty would apply.

Example:

As you can see, for every session where a driver hasn't taken part they have scored 5 points (e.g. Toro Rosso - Q2 where Vergne did not take part). The teammates who finish the closest over the weekend are the ones with the lowest point total, in this case Williams (22).

If these were the only four teams, the Williams pickers would score 3 points, Red Bull (25) 2, Toro Rosso (27) 1 and lastly no points would be given to Ferrari (33) pickers. This is in line with the points totals below.

Hopefully that is relatively straight forward but if you have any questions please leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Points for Race Weekend

For qualifying and race the following points distribution applies:

For constructors:

For random:

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Suggested Format for Picks

Race Weekend

Pole:

Race:

Constructors:

Random:

e.g.

Pole: Nico Rosberg

Race: Fernando Alonso

Constructors: Lotus

Random: Maldonado/Bottas

Season Picks (full details of each category and points on offer here)

World championship
1st –
2nd –
3rd –

Constructors Championship
1st – 
2nd –
3rd –

Most season session points:

Driver v. Driver:
Vergne/Ricciardo
Maldonado/Bottas
Di Resta/Sutil
Rosberg/Hamilton
Pic/Van der Garde
Button/Perez
Raikkonen/Grosjean
Vettel/Webber
Alonso/Massa
Hulkenberg/Gutierrez

Team v. Team
Ferrari/Red Bull
McLaren/Lotus
Williams/Sauber
Force India/Toro Rosso
Marussia/Caterham

Most team retirements:

Least team retirements:

Random categories:

Will there be 2 or more mid-season (from 15/03/2013) driver replacements? (Yes/No)

Will there be 5 or more races in the season where three champions (Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Button and Vettel) stand on the podium together? (Yes/No)

Will there be a race with 7 or more retirements? (Yes/No)

Will there be a race with 0 retirements? (Yes/No)

Will there be 5 or more different race winners? (Yes/No)

Will a rookie (Gutierrez, Bottas, Chilton, Van Der Garde, Bianchi) or a returning driver (Sutil) stand on the podium during the year? (Yes/No)

Will there be a race with 3 or more safety cars? (Yes/No)

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Other Interesting/Important Information

Every weekend players will be placed on a podium like in real F1, this applies to those with the three most points from that weekend. If there is a tie, the following deciders will apply: race > constructors > qualifying > random > time picks posted. These results will be saved in the hall of fame so you can see how you stack up against everyone else.

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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Why have I only scored 3/5 points when my pick is on pole?

Non-performance penalties e.g. a 10-place grid drop for a crash in the last race will not affect the qualifying result. So if someone qualifies fastest but starts 11th then you'd score 8 points for them. However if someone qualifies first because of a technical infringement then that's different.

I don't understand the random category or what I need to pick on?

Please post a comment in the post or e-mail me and I'll do my best to explain.

What happens if I pick later than the deadline of Thursday 23:59 GMT?

There are no penalties as long as you pick by the beginning of free practice 1. In Australia this is Friday 01:30 GMT. If you post after this then you'll only receive 50% of the points you would have done otherwise. Any picks on Saturday or Sunday will not count so you'll score 0 points that weekend.

Where's the random category for a specific race?

It's probably not been published before, I'll endeavor to post the random category and the race post just after the previous race weekend. Get in contact with me if there are any issues.

What happens if I want to pick on a race but I'll be away? 

I'll invest some time in releasing a season-long random category later in the year so every race has a set-up random category, if anyone needs to pick well in advance of the race they will then be able to. Similarly if someone wants to post default picks for every race in advance please go ahead.

What happens if I miss a race? 

You'll still be able to pick in the following races and you'll still be in the championship. Awards at the end of the year will go to the player who scores the most points on average during a weekend. If you miss a race weekend you may not win the championship but you still might get the award.

How will you get my mini champs prize to me if I win the league?

We'll arrange something nearer the time, I'll sort out the postage but we'll have to wait until a minichamps car is released for the season before I'll be able to fulfill my commitment.

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Deadlines and submission of picks

Deadline for Australia and season picks is Thursday 14th March 2013 (23:59 GMT). If anyone picks after P1 begins then they will only receive 50% of their full points. Any picks made on Saturday or Sunday of a race weekend will not count.

Please post your picks in the comments section below or email them to me before the deadline.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the league. Good luck!