Next Thursday, March 13, will be the start of F1 2015 season. We were able to follow pre-season tests and present a preliminary analysis of what might happen on teams, drivers and more. Let’s take a look.
Mercedes has not showed its full potential, but it was still the fastest and most reliable of all the teams. Everything indicates that they will repeat last year’s performance or even better and Hamilton will win his third world title, having Rosberg as vice champion, again.
Williams seeks victories, but we believe that this will only occur if the silver arrows have a problem. The same goes for Ferrari.
McLaren follows in his ordeal with Honda and still will not have Alonso in the opening race. Bad news for the team from Woking.
Sauber has evolved, there is no doubt and certainly will return to scoring. The same can be said about Lotus.
Max Verstappen in the STR did well in practice at Jerez. The team will be the major opponent of Sauber. Force India should be on the same level but will take a little while.
Red Bull is a mystery: no one is sure where they belong at this moment and the main question is: “What if Kvyat beats Ricciardo?”.
Finally, Manor like a phoenix has reborn and deserves our respect by winning such tough fight.
The calendar is still confused with two races under threat: South Korea and Germany. That means could be 19, 20 or 21 races, nobody knows till now.
Each team can use up to four engines per car with the right to a limited number of changes during the year called “token”. Suppliers are Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Honda, with the latter having a smaller number of “tokens”.
The tires have a softer compound and Pirelli prediction is that the cars will be two to three seconds faster by lap in some circuits.
In any case, the general prediction is that it will be a more balanced season between the other teams and Mercedes will race solo, up front. Let’s see.
Ialdo Belo
