BauleyCivic

Welcome to the Honda-Tech Formula 1 2015 Season Thread!!!!

Calendar
01 - Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne) 13 - 15 Mar
02 - Malaysian Grand Prix (Kuala Lumpur) 27 - 29 Mar
03 - Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai) 10 - 12 Apr
04 - Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir) 17 - 19 Apr
05 - Korean Grand Prix (TBA) 01 - 03 May
06 - Spanish Grand Prix (Catalunya) 08 - 10 May
07 - Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo) 22 - 24 May
08 - Canadian Grand Prix (Montréal) 05 - 07 Jun
09 - Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg) 19 - 21 Jun
10 - British Grand Prix (Silverstone) 03 - 05 Jul
11 - German Grand Prix (TBA) 17 - 19 Jul
12 - Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) 24 - 26 Jul
13 - Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps) 21 - 23 Aug
14 - Italian Grand Prix (Monza) 04 - 06 Sep
15 - Singapore Grand Prix (Singapore) 18 - 20 Sep
16 - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka) 25 - 27 Sep
17 - Russian Grand Prix (Sochi) 09 - 11 Oct
18 - United States Grand Prix (Austin) 23 - 25 Oct
19 - Mexican Grand Prix (Mexico City) 30 Oct - 01 Nov
20 - Brazilian Grand Prix (São Paulo) 13 - 15 Nov
21 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina) 27 - 29 Nov

Rule Changes
You can read about the rule changes here, but the main changes are:

Team by Team

Team: Mercedes
Driver 1: #44 Lewis Hamilton
Driver 2: # 6 Nico Rosberg
2014 Review: Mercedes dominated the 2014 season by getting a head start on the new engine regulations and doing a much better job of putting the package together than everyone else. From the start of winter testing, it was clear that they had a massive advantage, and were able to carry it all the way through to the last race. The team bosses kept things interesting by leaving their drivers free to race, and the championship went down to the wire.
2014 Qualifying Battle: Hamilton 8, Rosberg 11
2015 Preview: Mercedes looks to enjoy its advantage for the forseeable future. Discussions over cost cutting and engine regulations seem to be at a stalemate, and unless Honda can pull a rabbit out of their hat I see 2015 looking a lot like 2014 at the front of the grid.


Team: Red Bull Racing-Renault
Driver 1: #3 Daniel Ricciardo
Driver 2: # 26 Daniil Kvyat
2014 Review: The surprises of the season were Ricciardo’s brilliance and Vettel’s demise. After four straight championships, the best Vettel could do was second at the Singapore Grand Prix. Ricciardo was never the fastest man of the weekend, but took advantage of Mercedes’ misfortune to record three stunning victories. He had the upper hand on Vettel all year, and it’s clear that his driving style suits the 2014+ cars much better than Vettel’s.
2014 Qualifying Battle: Ricciardo 12, Vettel 7
2015 Preview: Vettel jumped ship for Ferrari after getting pounded into the ground by his teammate. Red Bull is replacing him with Kvyat who impressed on a number of occasions in 2014, mainly in qualifying. Ricciardo obtained superstar status in 2014 and will look to add to his win total this season.


Team: Williams-Mercedes
Driver 1: #77 Valtteri Bottas
Driver 2: #19 Felipe Massa
2014 Review: My what a difference a year makes. After enduring their worst season since their inaugural campaign in 2013, Williams bounced back to record a number of podiums, the only non-Mercedes pole, and a near-win in the finale in Abu Dhabi. It was a year to remember for the Grove outfit.
2014 Qualifying Battle: Bottas 13, Massa 6
2015 Preview: After a new engine, sponsor, driver, and technical director in 2014, Williams will remain basically unchanged in 2015. Expect more podiums and large point hauls.



Team: Ferrari
Driver 1: #5 Sebastian Vettel
Driver 2: #7 Kimi Räikkönen
2014 Review: Having blown their opportunity to nail the new regulations, Ferrari suffered an embarrassing season. So embarrassing that not one but two team bosses were fired, their star driver left, and head honcho Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is now gone. Alonso managed two podium finishes while thoroughly outperforming Raikkonen.
2014 Qualifying Battle: Alonso 16, Räikkönen 3
2015 Preview: Alonso finally had enough and the lure of McLaren-Honda was too temping to turn down. Flavor of the week team boss Marco Mattiacci was able to sign the disgruntled Sebastian Vettel to take his place. As has been said many times before, Ferrari now employs two drivers who were beaten by their teammates in 2014 and with only a few engine updates allowed for 2015, it will be a miracle if either driver can get on the podium next season.


Team: McLaren-Honda
Driver 1: #14 Fernando Alonso
Driver 2: #22 Jenson Button
2014 Review: McLaren started strong with a double podium in Melbourne, but didn’t see the top three for the rest of the season as Red Bull and Williams caught up and surpassed them. A couple of fourth places for Jenson at the end of the season in Russia and Brazil were enough for him to retain his seat this year.
2014 Qualifying Battle: Button 10, Magnussen 9
2015 Preview: McLaren is the big question mark for 2015. Alonso had to be impressed with what he saw at both the McLaren and Honda factories or he wouldn’t have signed up, and new chief engineer Peter Prodromou’s last spell at McLaren ended with the very successful MP4/20. However, the first test with the Honda power unit was a disaster to say the least. Who knows where they will be when the lights go out in Melbourne.


Team: Force India-Mercedes
Driver 1: #27 Nico Hülkenberg
Driver 2: #11 Sergio Perez
2014 Review: Force India did another splendid job with a relatively low budget. Sergio Perez scored their first podium in 5 years at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and Hulkenberg was in the points on all but four occasions.
2014 Qualifying Battle: Hülkenberg 12, Perez 7
2015 Preview: Force India looks to spend another year in the midfield. They don’t seem to be in any financial trouble, and were reasonably competitive throughout the duration of the season. Perhaps Hulkenberg can finally snag his first podium this season?


Team: STR-Renault
Driver 1: Max Verstappen
Driver 2: Carlos Sainz
2014 Qualifying Battle: Vergne 7, Kvyat 12


Team: Lotus-Mercedes
Driver 1: Romain Grosjean
Driver 2: Pastor Maldonado
2014 Qualifying Battle: Grosjean 11, Maldonado 8


Team: Sauber-Ferrari
Driver 1: Marcus Ericsson
Driver 2: Felipe Nasr
2014 Qualifying Battle: Sutil 9, Gutierrez 9

And of course...our favorite section...

Top Posters from 2014



rota92 - 2,102
...esteban - 2,101
Tim2179 - 2,055
falcongsr - 1,897
Outrun - 1,062
TAParker - 843
BauleyCivic - 701
FitStir - 679
Spade - 635
blue8g - 493

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

And he stays.

92cxyd

3rd... the only time I'm ever close to the podium.

falcongsr

HAM '15 WDC

quote this post next november

92cxyd

Williams '15 WCC

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

In!

TAParker

I'm here.........mid pack already!!!!

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

giving you guys a head start. 4 posts and the jump.

SleeperGSR

Alonso wanted in on the soda cookies!!!

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

pretty much.

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

No need. He will kill himself.

FitStir

In on page 1. lols....

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

599! I called it!

...esteban

Poor KMag. I would say his friends will make him feel better, but...

1158

The fix is in!

FitStir

Kmag is still in the team, just relegated to a test/back up driver, right?

At least he didn't get Checo'd.

...esteban

Thanks for the new thread Bauley.

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

12/11/2014 10:35am PST. We will hit 600 in 2015.

1158

One addendum to the now locked 2014 thread.

I agree MS could still drive well enough to be worthy of a top team. His pole in Monaco proved that in my mind. He just wasn't the dominant MS we all know and love and what I meant by past his prime. I think he most definitely could have been competitive in a good car.

Of course that can never be proven and is only what I THINK. Thus ends that discussion. Onto 2015.

Can we do 600 pages in 2015? An extra race might allow it to happen!

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

^^^^

Talk about a nail bitter! Rita took Etsy by a single post! That might be the smallest margin in HT F1 history folks!

hungrygreen_gsr

WOOT WOOT! Fresh start.

1158

I didn't realize there was a competition going on in here lol. I usually just lurk the F1 seasonal threads but I may have to get involved more!

Is it any/all posts or do they weed things out?

More importantly is there a phone book sized rule book filled with FIA speak?

93allmotorcoupe

I pulled a Kobayashi last year. Looking to finish in the points in '15.

Looking forward to another season with you gents

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

Ferrari or McLaren Honda.

Who wins a race first? Will we have to wait til 2016 to see how that pans out? 2017?? Both laid goose eggs in 2014.

...esteban

@Eddie: Just don't be a Massa for Rita, that's all I ask.