Will Mercedes’ dominance be ended in 2015?
This Formula One has been absolutely decimated by Mercedes. They exerted their dominance in the first race of the season and have refused to relinquish their grip since. Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull is the only other driver who seems capable of ruining Mercedes’ fortnightly parties, and he only crashes them on the rarest of occasions.
So far this season Mercedes have had nine 1-2 finishes and all but three races, the times when Ricciardo has crashed the party, have been won by their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It is therefore little surprise that the German side have won their maiden Constructors’ Championship with three races to spare - they are 223 points ahead of second place Red Bull.
The only thing that has kept this season watchable is Mercedes stance on not siding with a particular driver. While this may infuriate both drivers, for us, the fans, it has been an absolute pleasure to see Hamilton and Rosberg go at each other every other weekend, giving us some of the best wheel-to-wheel racing in recent memory. Their battle in Bahrain will be remembered for years to come. With the lead in the Drivers’ Championship changing between the two on a near-constant basis Hamilton has managed to carve out a decent lead and is now the favourite with Betfair to win what would be a second Drivers Championship, although whether he will be celebrating in Brazil is another matter.
While it has been great seeing this two do battle, we don’t want F1 to be a one-team only competition. We want it to be an open battleground. So will that happen next year? Can teams put a check on Mercedes’ dominance?
McLaren
Jenson Button
This season has been another to forget for McLaren, who currently find themselves fifth in the Constructors’ Championship. So what reason would there be for them to be able to take on the might of Mercedes? Just one, but it is a biggy… it is of course the return of Honda, who will be providing their engines from next season onwards.
McLaren currently are tied in with Mercedes, a partnership that is going on near 20 years, but use their engine nowhere near as well as their German counterparts. Last time McLaren and Honda were together they were unstoppable; in their five year partnership they won four Constructors’ and four Drivers’ Championships, it really was the golden era for McLaren.
From the available test data that the Japanese company have released the signs are promising. Insiders have said that the turbo hybrid engine is looking very good in the test-bed. Honda also have a succinct advantage by being able to analyse the current Mercedes engine and see what they need to improve.
Fernando Alonso is leaving Ferrari, and although there is some talk of a sabbatical it looks more than likely that he will end up at McLaren. Bar Hamilton, there is no faster driver on the asphalt than Fernando Alonso. If the Honda engine is as good as early murmurs suggest then Alonso will be in a very competitive car, something that the Spaniard has not had for some time. In a fast car Alonso wins titles. If this McLaren can hold its own against Mercedes then Alonso will be competing with Rosberg and Hamilton from Australia to Brazil.
McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier has stated that the return of Honda makes McLaren a more attractive side than Red Bull.
Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will be leaving to take Alonso’s seat in Ferrari, that much has been known for the past two years. Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat takes his place in the Red Bull team.
This season has been far removed to what Red Bull have been used to. No longer are they at the top looking down, they are now trying to keep Mercedes in sight. The Renault engine used has been a hindrance all year. It pales in significance when compared to the engine produced for Mercedes. Worryingly then for Red Bull fans is the fact that the French company will be providing the engines for the 2015 season. The 2016 season has been muted as the season where Red Bull start racing with engines manufactured by themselves. Until then it is another season with the unreliable Renault.
The emergence of Daniel Ricciardo is the saving grace of this season. Free from the shackles of having to support a title push, Ricciardo has bettered Vettel at nearly every opportunity. What he have witnessed from Ricciardo this season is his fearlessness.
A driver capable of overtaking in positions that would be deemed impossible, Ricciardo has that reckless abandon that makes for title winning drivers. If the engine is improved significantly next season then at least Red Bull have a driver capable of winning races.
Ferrari
The signing of Vettel has just papered the cracks. Ferrari are a side in disarray. This season has seen Stefano Domenicali leave his position of Team Principal, a position he had held since 2008, while their chairman of 30 years, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, has also walked away from the side. Acquiring Vettel is going to do nothing to help the internal strife that currently plagues Ferrari.
Away from the inner workings of the company, it seems unlikely that Ferrari will be able to make decent cars. The past few seasons has seen the company churn out uninspiring car after uninspiring car, getting away with it only due to the problems teams around them found themselves in. It is a pretty bold statement to make, but, right now, Ferrari appear to be incapable of making a decent car.
Next season expect it be even more misery for the Italian team.
To conclude, Mercedes should again be the dominant side in Formula One. Right now they have the right mix, and that is including the hazardous relationship between Hamilton and Rosberg. It will be interesting to see how McLaren do. The return of Honda could really make them competitive but may also see them run into teething problems. You have to worry about Red Bull when they are using Renault engines, while Ferrari are no longer a title contender - for the time being anyway.
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I don't know who has written the article, but I think it is rather short-sighted to assume that no catching up can be done by the other teams!
The Scuderia and RBR will be much closer to the teams powered by a Merc PU!
Even with the restricted modifications , Renault and Ferrari PU's will be much closer!
Furthermore as for the rest of their cars, their improvement made could be considerably more important than the Silver Arrows!
Look for example what happened to Williams compared to their 2013 challenger.
I therefore strongly believe that it is a wrong assumption to write-off the rest of the field for the 2015 season!
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