Formula 1: Which team will win the 2019 constructor championship?

The 2019 Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway one week from today. Which team will end up winning this year’s constructor championship?

With roughly three and a half months of the offseason between the 2018 and 2019 Formula 1 seasons behind us, the 21-race 2019 season is scheduled to get underway in one week with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.

A total of 20 drivers are set to compete in the 2019 season, and these drivers are set to represent 10 teams, as two drivers are set to drive for each team. Mercedes are set to enter the season having never failed to win a constructor championship since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in the 2014 season. They are set to enter the season as five-time reigning constructor champions.

Will Mercedes win their sixth consecutive constructor championship in the 2019 season to become just the second team in Formula 1 history to win six consecutive championships, or will another team win the constructor championship for the first time since Red Bull Racing won it for the fourth consecutive season in the 2013 season?

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Scuderia Ferrari put up the toughest fight that any team has given the Silver Arrows during the V6 turbo hybrid era in the 2018 season. They finished just 84 points (655 to 571) behind them in second place in the constructor standings, and there are several reasons to believe that they will improve in the 2019 season.

First of all, they have lost a lot of points as a result of unforced errors by Sebastian Vettel over the past few seasons. In fact, Vettel has cost himself a chance to compete for the driver championships in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons and thus cost Ferrari several points in the constructor championship battle because of these unforced errors.

That said, 2019 season will be a huge season for him in terms of capitalizing on his opportunities and not making nearly as many mistakes as he has made in recent seasons, especially since he will likely be pressured by his new teammate to perform at a higher level.

Secondly, Charles Leclerc, whose rookie season driving for Alfa Romeo Sauber was nothing short of ultra-impressive, is set to be that new teammate. He is set to replace Kimi Raikkonen, and many people believe that he can be an immediate championship contender.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, finished in the top three in the driver standings just once since he returned to Ferrari ahead of the 2014 season, and he earned just one victory in his five seasons driving for the team since then, so the production from Vettel’s teammate should increase as a whole in the 2019 season.

Red Bull Racing’s switch from Renault engines to Honda engines could also make things at the top of the constructor standings more interesting given the fact that this switch is projected to result in better reliability and more power from their engines.

However, it will take a lot more than a key driver change and an engine manufacturer switch to dethrone the five-time reigning constructor champions this season.

2019 constructor championship prediction: Mercedes

After winning 16 of the 19 races in the 2014 season, 16 of the 19 races in the 2015 season and 19 of the 21 races in the 2016 season, Mercedes’ production has undoubtedly decreased. They won 12 of the 20 races in the 2017 season and 11 of the 21 races in the 2018 season.

But the fact that their worst season of the V6 turbo hybrid era thus far is a season during which they still won more than half of the season’s races and nearly doubled the win total of the second place team in the constructor standings shows just how dominant they still are.

Think about this. Ferrari’s win total of six in the 2018 season is the highest single-season win total among a team not named Mercedes in the V6 turbo hybrid era thus far. As stated, Mercedes’ lowest single-season win total of this era is 11.

Yes, Ferrari have improved over the past couple of seasons, and yes, both they and Red Bull Racing will likely improve again throughout the 2019 season. But that doesn’t mean that the five-time reigning constructor champions will suddenly stop improving and simply let Ferrari and Red Bull Racing overtake them. They didn’t get to be five-time reigning constructor champions by not making marked improvements.

Add to this the fact that Mercedes still have five-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has won four of the last five driver championships, done so comfortably each time and never finished behind a non-Mercedes driver in the driver standings since the V6 turbo hybrid began. He is pursuing the all-time Formula 1 championships and wins records and has become nearly impossible to stop, especially over the course of an entire 21-race season.

Mercedes also still have Valtteri Bottas, who should be more motivated than ever to perform at a high level in the 2019 season after a disappointing 2018 season, especially since he knows that he is at risk of losing his ride to Mercedes reserve and test driver Esteban Ocon for the 2020 season.

While I do believe that the 2019 constructor championship battle will likely result in the closest winning margin of the V6 turbo hybrid era and I do believe that there is even a good chance that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing could all finish within the current closest winning margin (84 points) of this era in the constructor standings, I cannot see Mercedes being dethroned quite yet.

Will Mercedes continue their reign of dominance in Formula 1 by winning their sixth consecutive constructor championship in the 2019 season? If not, which team will become the first team other than Mercedes to win the constructor championship since Red Bull Racing won it in in the 2013 season? The 2019 season is scheduled to begin with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, March 17. To view the full 2019 schedule, click here.