Formula 1 - 2015 season

[Kaotik]

2014 is over, grats to Hamilton & Mercedes for the championships

Known changes so far:
- 4 engines per driver per season (was 5 in 2014)
- Teams can use only one wind tunnel the whole season, 65 hours a week
- The nose designs of the cars will change to be more aesthetically pleasing. The noses have to be symmetrical and in center line of the car.

Currently signed drivers & their engines etc:
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, Mercedes:
6 Nico Rosberg GER
44 Lewis Hamilton GBR

Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Renault:
3 Daniel Ricciardo AUS
26 Daniil Kvjat RUS

Williams Martini Racing, Mercedes
19 Felipe Massa BRA
77 Valtteri Bottas FIN

Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari
7 Kimi Räikkönen FIN
5 Sebastian Vettel GER

McLaren Honda, Honda
TBA
TBA

Sahara Force India F1 Team, Mercedes
11 Sergio Pérez MEX
27 Nico Hülkenberg GER

Scuderia Toro Rosso,
38 Max Verstappen, NED
TBA

Lotus F1 Team, Mercedes
8 Romain Grosjean, FRA
13 Pastor Maldonado, VEN

Sauber F1 Team, Ferrari
9 Marcus Ericsson, SWE
40 Felipe Nasr, BRA

Caterham F1 Team, Renault
TBA
TBA

Preliminary race calendar:
1. Australian GP, Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, 13.-15. March
2. Malaysian GP, Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur, 27.-29. March
3. Bahrain GP, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, 3.-5. April
4. Chinese GP, Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, 17.-19. April
5. Spanish GP, Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló,, 8.-10. May
6. Monaco GP, Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, 21.-24. May
7. Canadian GP, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, 5.-7. June
8. Austrian GP, Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, 19.-21. June
9. British GP, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, 3.-5. July
10. German GP, Nürburgring, Nürburg, 17.-19. July
11. Hungarian GP, Hungaroring, Mogyoród, 24.-26. July
12. Belgian Grand Prix, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa 21.-23. August
13. Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, 4.-6. September
14. Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore, 18.-20. September
15. Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, 25.-27. October
16. Russian Grand Prix, Sochi International Street Circuit, Sochi, 9.-11. October
17. United States Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, 30. October - 1. November
18. Mexican Grand Prix, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City 6.-8. November
19. Brazilian Grand Prix Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Sao Paolo, 13.-15. November
20. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi , 20.-22. November

--
Previous threads:
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

 

[DJ12]

Pretty sure Hamilton will have number 1 next year.

Why break tradition? Dave should start these threads.

Only one of your links works.

 

[Kaotik]

Should be fixed now, still getting used to xenforo

 

[Phil]

Pretty sure Hamilton will have number 1 next year.

He wont. Confirmed on Sky post race that he 'begged Mercedes' to keep racing under #44 next year.

IMO, nice that he does. That is his number that no one can take away from him, unlike #1. #44 FTW.

 

[Dave Baumann]

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/2015-marussia-f1-design-revealed/

Supposedly shots of the now defunct work-in-progress 2015 Manor F1 (Maurissa) car. However, it at least give some indications as to the design directions of the new nosecone rules.

 

[Dave Baumann]

http://en.espnf1.com/mercedes/motorsport/story/186125.html

That a new article concerning Hamilton wanting to retain 44 on his car. That's got to be a tough pill for Mercedes to swallow as they would want the promotional shots with "1" on their car.

 

[Davros]

I thought last year they brought in a rule drivers could choose their numbers to stay with them throughout their career. Vetel won the title so he got first pick

 

[Kaotik]

I thought last year they brought in a rule drivers could choose their numbers to stay with them throughout their career. Vetel won the title so he got first pick

Yes, except that number 1 can't be chosen, it's still reserved for the champion, though now it's optional if you want to use it or not. Vettel's chosen number is 5, he used 1 because he was reigning champion

 

[Phil]

They did. #44 is Lewis's, even if he drives under the #1 in 2015. I'm with Dave on this one - I hope that internally, Mercedes are okay with Lewis's choice, and if they are full respect to them for allowing that kind of freedom. The openness of Mercedes must be quite a big difference to what he was used to during his McLaren days.

 

[Dave Baumann]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30272621

Caterham given special dispensation to run their 2014 car under the 2015 rules if a buyer is found. A potential issue for finding a buyer is that their 2015 project would be too far behind to actually get it to the grid.

 

[Davros]

Caterham Sports, the British company which designed and built cars for the Caterham F1 team, was sold for just $1.60 (£1)

Thats just ridiculous I would of offered double that amount

 

[Tahir2]

And of course you would be burdened with their debts.
When a team is offered for such a low price the buyer usually attemps to strip the assets and makes a gain that way.

 

[Rys]

Seb testing the 2012 car at Fiorano recently. Mostly a media-friendly look at him working with the team, but he does rag the car a bit so it's interesting nonetheless.

 

[DJ12]

Probably rejoicing at the ebd, he's missed it.

 

[Lightman]

I love it when on every other shot he is on different tyres (sarcasm!)

Soft, hard, full wet! This car or Vettel has triple personality issue right there!

I hate it when stupid people doing these PR videos think we can't notice stuff like that and ruin the whole thing. Same goes for movies ...

 

[Bludd]

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/bell-to-ferrari-tombazis-out/

As many suspected when Bob Bell left Mercedes, he's now surfaced at Ferrari, while Nikolas Tombazis, the chief designer of many years, has been replaced by his deputy.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30328327

Well it's starting to look like my boy Jenson is getting the other seat
There was still some rumblings during the week about Alonso perhaps not driving there next year, I guess we'll hear the final outcome soon enough though.

 

[-tkf-]

Jenson confirmed alongside Alonso, Kevin to be the spare driver and a GT driver in Japan.

Well then, i am looking forward to seeing GT racing on danish television! http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30430564

Of course this raises the question of why they should replace Button with Kevin at any point and i guess that was Kevins F1 career..

 

[Kaotik]

"We signed Fernando a little while ago, but we decided not to announce the fact until we had also re-signed Jenson as his team-mate. For many reasons our negotiations with Jenson took quite a long time"
http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/tea...s-fernando-alonso-and-jenson-button-for-2015/
Anyone wanna bet those negotiations took longer than expected due Alonso's infamous clauses about his priviledges over the teammate?

 

[Dave Baumann]

No, in fact I'm sure Alonso would have preferred Button - he's a known entity to him and his engineering knowledge and Honda relationship will inevitably aid him, overall.

The thought is that this was more about McLaren ownership with Dennis supposedly seeking significant backing from some Danish financial sources such that KMag would be kept on and he could secure a greater shareholding in McLaren and achieve overall control. Seems that this did not happen, which leaves questions over the state of the boardroom relations at McLaren.