Revving up for F1

The announcement by McLaren earlier this week of their driver line up for 2015 means that, with the exception of Maron (Marussia) and Caterham - two teams that have gone into administration and are yet to confirm their participation - we now know who will be racing next season.

With many expecting Mercedes to again walk away with the titles much of the focus has been on McLaren and its new partner, Honda. Well, not quite new, more of a revival as these two enjoyed huge success while racing together between 1988 and 1992.

Ayrton Senna won all of his three World Championships under the McLaren-Honda partnership.

This could also be seen as a revival of sorts for the first driver they announced, Fernando Alonso, leaves Ferrari as the first driver to depart without a title since the 1990s.

While it is not expected that they will be fast immediately, many hope that Honda will produce a strong engine that can compete with Mercedes.

Alonso’s earlier relationship with McLaren ended in acrimony as his revelations in the ‘spygate’ scandal cost his employers GBP50m. However, depending on which reports you read, this move is either his last chance to find a competitive car and deliver a third world title, or it’s a stop-gap situation until a possible seat appears at Mercedes in 2016. Perhaps it’s a little of both!

However, he is still considered to be the best driver on the grid and has helped paper-over the cracks at Ferrari for 96 races, during which he achieved results better than the car deserved. It is this belief that has persuaded Dennis to bury the hatchet.

In confirming that Jenson Button will drive alongside Alonso, Ron Dennis, the principal of McLaren has continued a trend of trying to secure the best talent available, irrespective of how well they get on with each other or the management!

Think Lauda and Prost, Prost and Senna, Alonso and Hamilton, Hamilton and Button.
There was a tremendous debate raging about the identity of the driver who will line up alongside Alonso for some weeks, perhaps unfairly for those concerned.
 
However, while Kevin Magnussen has plenty of talent and will no doubt be seen driving an F1 car again in the future, he has missed out although has been retained as a reserve and test driver. Remember way back to the first race of the season in Australia, where the Dane secured a podium finish on his debut, thanks to a stunning qualifying stint in poor conditions.

It appears that the delay in the announcement was due to Dennis attempting to secure sponsorship in Denmark. While not ideal, that is the way that F1 currently works.

This should not take away from the quality that Button brings to the team. He is a former World Champion, secured for Brawn GP, which was effectively the remnant of the Honda team.

This will be his 16th season in F1 and with this experience he brings an ability to develop and set-up the car. Ironically, perhaps mirroring their respective driving styles, while Alonso chose to praise Senna’s exploits, it was his teammate, Alain Prost, that Button elected to praise. The Briton is also famously fit, regularly competing in triathlons.

Button is also the only driver to out-perform Lewis Hamilton as a teammate, who in-turn, famously left Alonso in his rear-view mirror. It will be intriguing to see whether the Spaniard is given the preferential treatment he craves.

Ferrari has replaced Alonso with the most successful current driver in F1, Sebastian Vettel. Boasting 39 career wins and four world championships the German needs a strong season having failed to secure a victory in the whole of 2014. With Lewis Hamilton only six race wins behind in the career stakes, few would suggest that the Mercedes would not take the lead during the next season.

Vettel will partner Kimi Raikkonen, at 35 the oldest driver on the grid, although he has fewer years driving in F1 than both Button and Alonso.

Red Bull has placed its faith in Daniel Ricciardo, the young Australian who miraculously out-performed the world champion while racing for the same team. Ricciardo was the only person other than Hamilton and Rosberg at Mercedes to win a race last season, securing victories in Belgium, Canada and Hungary. Each win was opportunistic and achieved through controlled aggression and some impressive overtaking maneuvers.

He will be partnered by Danil Kvyat who has been promoted to the Red Bull team after a successful debut season with Torro Rosso, resulting in him receiving the Rookie of the Year Award, validating their decision to thrust him into the premier class of motorsport, bypassing GP2 after winning GP3 in 2013.

Other teams likely to succeed are those with the Mercedes engine. Most popular will be the resurgence of Williams who comfortably claimed third position in the Constructor’s Championship. Felipe Massa’s second-place finished in Abu Dhabi was his third podium of the year and bodes well.

He will be again joined by Finnish-born Valtteri Bottas who claimed fourth place in the individual table. His efficient driving style and consistent results also mark him as a threat and one to watch.

Another team hoping for greater success will be Lotus. Strong performances in 2012 and 2013 marked resurgence for the team although they dramatically slipped this season, finishing with a meager 10 points for the entire season. However, a switch from the under-performing Renault engines to the more powerful Mercedes engine should see a rapid improvement, particularly as the new engine appears to be better suited to their rear cooling system.

Others to watch out for in 2014 are Nico Hulkenberg, who will be combining his F1 drive with Force India with racing in the World Endurance Championship – meaning that we may see Nico in Bahrain at least twice next year!

Another is the youngest driver on the grid, Max Verstappen. Many argue that 17 years of age is too young to race in F1 so he will have much to prove to fans as well as his Torro Rosso bosses.

However, as we have seen, F1 is a team sport and significant changes have occurred behind the scenes.

With Adrian Newey announcing that he will now act as a consultant to Red Bull to allow him time to build a yacht for Ben Ainslie the team will be effectively losing one of the most successful engineers in the sport.

Ferrari has been a merry-go-round reflecting a disastrous performance when they have failed to win a single race for the first time since 1993. However, the team is determined to return to the glory days with Sergio Marchionne taking over as President and Maurizio Arrivabene as team principal.

In addition to recruiting the most experienced drivers, McLaren has also been enhancing their power in the design department. The restructure commenced with the addition of two new aerodynamists (from Sauber and Lotus) although most significantly they have persuaded Peter Prodromou to leave his post with Red Bull to join as Chief Aerodynamicist.

Even so, it’s difficult to look past Mercedes for the title again. Lewis Hamilton is again a strong favourite although will need to improve his qualifying, while Nico Rosberg will be seeking to reproduce his one-lap speed more consistently throughout the race.  Hamilton will hope for greater reliability earlier in the season to save him from having to come from behind so often!

While 21 races are in the provisional calendar, Korea is not expected to host F1 in the foreseeable future … and don’t forget, 20 per cent discount early-bird tickets are available for the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for April 17-19 next year.