2014 was the dawn of a new era in the History of F1. The Plethora of changes posed a huge challenge to all teams. 2015 would be a step higher in technical challenges.
2015 will see the reduction of Allocated Power Units from 5 to 4, minimum weight of the car increasing to 702 kgs, ban on FRIC ( usage stopped from mid 2014 ).
Penalties too have changed for 2015 : ( Source : www.fia.com ) :
- The replacement of a complete power unit will no longer result in a penalty. Penalties will continue to be applied cumulatively for individual components of the power unit, and if such a grid place penalty is imposed and the driver's grid position is such that it cannot be applied in full, the remainder of the penalty will no longer be carried over to the next race, but will instead be applied in the form of a time penalty during the race corresponding to the number of grid spaces remaining in the penalty.
This is a great modification to the rule applied in 2014 as a driver and a team must not be denied a chance at finishing strong in a race where they might be strong due to residual penalties being carried forward thus affecting their race starts.
- In addition to the existing five-second penalty that may be served during a driver's scheduled pit stop, a new ten-second penalty that will have to be served in the same manner, will be introduced.
The definitions of the same are yet to be clarified.
- If a car is deemed to have been released from its pit stop in an unsafe manner, the driver will receive a ten second stop-and-go penalty. Further penalties will be applied if the stewards believe that the driver is aware of this and attempts to drive the car regardless.
I personally believe that the team is equally to blame for an unsafe release. The "Lollipop Man" is the the best judge of the situation and handing out penalties to a driver is a bit harsh.
- The qualifying procedure has been further clarified to cater to different sizes of starting grids: if twenty-four cars are entered for the race, seven will be eliminated after the each of the first two qualifying segments; if twenty-two are entered, six will be eliminated after each qualifying segment and so on if fewer cars are eligible.
F1 is aiming to expand its global audience. The Possibility of a Local Racing Team seems very real. This rule is as clear as it can be.
- The partial ban on pit-to-car communication introduced at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix will be extended to include a blanket ban on sharing technical data between team and driver, such as specific fuel consumption settings.
The aim is to make racing more Driver - Centric. Drivers would have to learn to manage their allocations wisely. Safety advice though is permitted.
- Double points will no longer be awarded at the final event of the championship.
2014 was the only season where we had double points. It didn't go down well with the Fans and rightfully so.
- In light of a regulation introduced in 2014 dictating that a race can not run for more than four hours and following recommendations from the report into Jules Bianchi's accident the previous season, the start times of five Grands Prix have been brought forward by one hour, so that races do not start with less than four hours until dusk. Thus, the Australian, Malaysia, Chinese, Japanese and Russian Grand Prix will start an hour earlier than in 2014.
A Wise Move by the FIA to address safety issues arising out of drastic weather conditions which lead to stoppages in the race.
- In the aftermath of Bianchi's accident, a new procedure called virtual safety car (VSC) will be introduced, obliging drivers to reduce their speed to match the one indicated on their displays on their steering wheels. The procedure may be initiated when double waved yellow flags are needed on any section of a circuit where competitors and officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not as such to warrant deployment of the actual safety car.
This system did see trial runs in the final rounds of the 2014 season. The Effectiveness of the same will be clear in 2015. Clearly a step to increase safety in the sport.
- The safety car procedure was amended. Once the last lapped car has passed the leader, the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap. This is a change of the previous practice which required the unlapped cars to have caught up with the back of the pack before the safety car could return to the pits.
The Pace Car always increases the time duration of a race and changing weather conditions can also cause Safety Car Periods.
The move for the safety car to return to pits after the Last Lapped Car has passed the leader is a good move to finish the full race within the specified time limits.
- If a race is suspended, the cars will no longer line up on the grid but will slowly proceed to the pit lane instead. Pit exit will be closed and the first car to arrive in the pit lane will proceed to the exit with the other lining up behind the first one.
New Rule introduced, the effectiveness of which is yet to be seen.
- If any team personnel or team equipment remain on the grid after the fifteen-second signal has been shown before the start of the formation lap, the driver of the car concerned must start the race from the pit lane. If the driver concerned fails to obey this, they will receive a ten second stop-and-go penalty.
The earlier rule punished the driver with a Drive Thru Penalty. The Time lost would be considerably more with this change.
- Drivers are no longer permitted to change the design of their helmet in-season.
Cosmetic Change. This would ease the stress of recognising the drivers. As Kimi Raikkonen said : Helmets protect my head!
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team :
Mercedes won the 2014 Titles with a comfortable margin. W06, their latest contender has been blistering the test tracks and rivals are wary of another dominating season by them. Rosberg and Hamilton went about their job in a professional way at the pre-season tests and the team seemed to have addressed the reliability niggles they suffered throughout 2014.
Red Bull Racing F1 Team :
Red Bull lost their 4 Time World Champion Sebastien Vettel to Ferrari. However Daniil Kvyat graduated from Toro Rosso to Red Bull to partner Daniel Ricciardo for 2015. Ricciardo had a brilliant 2014 and will be looking to better his results this year. Kvyat's promotion to the A team is being seen as a little premature. All eyes will be on the Russian who must be on his toes to keep the top bosses at Red Bull happy. Red Bull is the only top runner team for Renault and the engine manufacturer would be hoping to iron out the issues they suffered from last year. Red Bull had a quiet pre-season test and they should be in contention for race victories and podium finishes through the season.
Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team :
Ferrari parted ways with Fernando Alonso at the end of 2014. Sebastien Vettel joined the team fulfilling his dream of following Michael Schumacher's footsteps. Kimi Raikkonen stays with the team and the pairing will be a very healthy one for the team. Vettel and Raikkonen are close friends off the racing track but the battle on track would be an intriguing one. Jean Eric Vergne joins the team from Toro Rosso. Red Bull had sidelined their protegee on 2 occasions and the Frenchman finally took the offer of joining Ferrari as the Reserve Driver. Verge is a great value addition for the team. Gutierrez joins Ferrari as a development driver. The latest challenger SF-15T has shown a lot of promise during the pre-season tests and both drivers are happy with the overall balance; Raikkonen has seen a marked improvement from the 2014 car and is optimistic about bringing home strong results. Ferrari have gone through a restructuring during the break and the new men at the helm would need to produce good results quickly. I hope to see Kimi win races again this year! I hope I can say The ICEMAN COMETH! Raikkonen for the World Championship!!
Williams Martini Racing F1 Team :
Williams have retained Bottas and Massa for 2015. 2014 was a fantastic season for the team bringing in the much needed financial influx for the development of the 2015 challenger. The fastest of the Customer Mercedes teams, Williams should be quick in 2015 too. Pre-season tests haven't been encouraging and the initial reports suggest that Ferrari and Lotus have closed the gap to them. Time will tell though how their fortunes unfold. I feel that Williams would finish a position down ( 4th ) in the Constructors as they might not be able to contain the threat posed by Ferrari. However they should still be the Fastest Mercedes Customer Team.
McLaren - Honda F1 Team :
McLaren enjoyed a great partnership with Mercedes ( Both as Factory and Customer team ) but the two parted ways at the end of 2014. This paved the way for the return of Honda and the rebirth of the relationship that dominated the sport during the Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost years. The McLaren faithful hope to see the glory days of old return and the team have taken steps in the right direction by roping in Fernando Alonso to partner Jenson Button for 2015. Kevin Magnussen, a rookie in 2014 steps down to the Reserve Driver role. Alonso suffered an unceremonious exit from the team in 2007 but wants to make things right this time around. Button would hope to produce good results and make a strong case for himself. Engine Reliability would be a major worry for the team as Honda tries to match upto the pace of its rivals. McLaren had to contend with a lot of issues during the pre-season tests and their chances of a strong finishing position seem bleak. The Team had the least aggregate runs during the tests.
Alonso suffered a serious crash in the final test which led to the Spaniard being hospitalized. He even suffered from Retrograde Amnesia and on Doctors' advice, has elected to sit out the opening round in Australia. Kevin Magnussen will be his replacement.
One positive team can draw encouragement from is that Car has been quick on single lap pace. If McLaren can address the engine's reliability problems then we have a serious contender on our hands
Lotus F1 Team :
Lotus have switched from Renault to Mercedes engines for 2015. 2014 was a dismal year for the team and reliability issues riddled their performances throughout the season. However a switch to the faster and more reliable Mercedes engine should do their prospects no harm. Lotus have retained Grosjean and Maldonado for 2015. Jolyon Palmer, the current GP2 World Champion joins the ranks and I hope to see him impress the bosses and possibly earn a race seat. Lotus has been a team close to my heart and I really want to see them succeed this year. Pre Season tests have been promising. GO LOTUS!
Sahara Force India F1 Team :
Sahara Force India had a fantastic 2014 and were narrowly beaten by McLaren in the Constructors. Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez have formed a formidable partnership and are more than capable of helping the team move up the grid. Financial influx is of paramount importance for 2015 if the team wants to sustain its challenge till the end of the season. Ferrari and Lotus seem stronger from the Pre Season tests so Force India definitely have a tough fight on their hands. Preseason tests have brought mediocre results but a lot can change on race weekend.
Scuderia Torro Rosso F1 Team :
Toro Rosso had an average 2014 and will feature a completely new yet inexperienced lineup in 2015. Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr., both graduates from the Red Bull Drivers' Program have taken the big step into F1 but are they ready? Red Bull has reiterated their faith in the duo but electing 2 young drivers who have leapfrogged the feeder series is a big gamble. Verstappen will become the youngest driver to make his Formula One debut at the age of 17 years. I hope the duo produce some good results for the team in 2015. Renault stays as the engine supplier for the team.
Sauber F1 Team :
Sauber have released Gutierrez and Sutil and signed Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr for 2015. Ericsson would be hoping to impress in his 2nd year in F1. Nasr who finished 3rd in the 2014 GP2 series earned himself a seat in F1 which is quite ironic as the Reigning GP2 World Champion is only a test driver at Lotus F1.
Sauber had a dismal 2014 and would hope to finish better in 2015. Both Drivers enjoy a good financial backing and the funding should help the team to stay above board in 2015.
Caterham F1 Team and Marussia F1 Team went into administration at the end of 2014. Caterham made a return to the grid in the Final Race at Abu Dhabi but that turned out to be their final race. The assets of Caterham were scheduled for auction by the company'sadministrators and the team was not included on the final entry list.
Marussia appeared on the provisional entry list under the name "Manor F1" and in November 2014, administrators announced that the Marussia team would cease trading and close down,while the parent company Manor retained the entry. In February 2015, new investment was secured and the team left administration after an agreement with creditors was reached.
Following the financial struggles faced by Marussia and Caterham in 2014, the FIA approved the use of 2014-specification chassis in 2015. However a request by Manor F1 to use the Marussia 2014 Car was later rejected by the other teams.
Subsequent regulation changes allowed the team to use the 2014 model of Ferrari power units in their 2015 chassis instead of the 2015 specification power units used by Ferrari and other customer teams.
Manor have roped in the services of Will Stevens and are yet to confirm their 2nd Driver.
2015 is the 2nd year in the New Era. Reliability should be better, Cars should get Faster and Racing should be more exciting.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 might still turn out to be dominant but the rivals are not going to be knocked out before landing a Punch or Two....or is it going to be a turnaround of fortunes for the strugglers of 2014?
We are days away from the start of the 2015 F1 Season! F1 returns and so does sanity! Bring it on!! We are ready!!