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The back-end to the 2014 Formula One season oversaw some critical moments in terms of how the grid would be shaped in 2015.
Major names such as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel opted to have a change of scenery for the New Year, while teams Caterham and Marussia didn’t even survive the financially testing season.
With only 18 drivers representing nine teams, featuring three rookies with the youngest being only 17 years-old, here is look at how the grid will look for the 2015 season.
Mercedes AMG
44. Lewis Hamilton/6. Nico Rosberg
The reigning world champions are only one of four teams who had elected to maintain their line up from the previous year. And why wouldn’t they?
Having won a record 16 out of the 19 races along with 18 pole positions between them, dual-world champion Lewis Hamilton and runner-up Nico Rosberg will be back, presumably at the front for 2015.
With no indication yet of where their rivals will rank this year, it is safe to tip that the Silver Arrows will again be the team to beat, while Hamilton will be the clear favourite to retain the title.
Red Bull Racing
3. Daniel Ricciardo/26. Daniil Kvyat
With the departure of their four-time championship winner Sebastian Vettel, the energy drink giant saw to elevating one of their own once again to the prized seat left vacated by Vettel.
Daniil Kvyat, who made emphatic debut in 2014 with the Toro Rosso squad, will drive for the multi-championship winning constructor in only his second season in Formula One.
The young Russian will be partnered by the three-time race winner in Daniel Ricciardo, who emerged early on last year from Vettel’s shadow to become Red Bull’s new leading light.
A youthful line up coupled with what will be Adrian Newey’s last chassis in Formula One, could see Red Bull challenge Mercedes AMG on regular occasions.
However the question is begged upon whether power-unit supplier Renault can match the might of Benz.
Williams
19. Felipe Massa/77. Valtteri Bottas
After breaking through back on to the podium on regular occasions, the Williams renaissance is set to continue this year with their young prospect Valtteri Bottas and the reinvigorated Felipe Massa.
Between the pair, came nine podiums as well as a pole position. Overall the squad finished third in the constructors’ standings for the year.
Williams this year will be relying on a strong aerodynamics package to complement their Mercedes-Benz power-unit, in order to be to challenge the works Mercedes AMG squad regularly for race wins.
Ferrari
5. Sebastian Vettel/7. Kimi Räikkönen
While the arrival of Sebastian Vettel and departure of Fernando Alonso is quite a large change for Ferrari, there have been a myriad of changes across the board at Maranello during the off-season.
Engineering director Pat Fry and chief designer Nikolas Tombazis find themselves no longer part of the team, as well as former team principal Marco Mattiacci who only was appointed as the boss at the fourth race of 2014.
New team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has set his team a clear target of a ‘minimum two wins’ for 2015; one for Vettel and one for Kimi Räikkönen.
As the fabled Scuderia have admit themselves, this year will be one of ‘reconstruction’ as they look towards the future of the team, with their four-time world championship winning driver.
McLaren
14. Fernando Alonso/22. Jenson Button
The legendary outfit from Woking caused the biggest stir in the 2014 silly season, having left the announcement of their 2015 drivers until quite late in the year.
However while claiming that their choice of drivers is for the ‘long term’, McLaren will field two of the most experienced drivers on the grid in Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.
The choice of experience over potential (Kevin Magnussen or a Stoffel Vandoorne) will allow both drivers to hone in and get the new Honda powered MP4-30 off to a competitive start.
Only time will tell whether the return of Honda will return McLaren to their winning ways, however if so, they do have the right drivers in place to deliver the results.
Force India
11. Sergio Perez/27. Nico Hulkenberg
Force India are another team that opted to retain it’s 2014 drivers for the season and considering the optimism around the team for the new year, the consistency will be key.
Sergio Perez who scored the team’s maiden podium of the year in 2014 will be joined once again by Nico Hulkenberg who for the first time in his Formula One career will be driving for the same team two years in a row.
With the ability now to utilise the ex-Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, the team will be pushing again for podiums this year and potentially even on a consistent level.
Toro Rosso
33. Max Verstappen/55. Carlos Sainz Jr
The Red Bull junior outfit will field two new drivers for 2015, and it will be also one of the youngest line ups in Formula One history, with 20-year-old Carlos Sainz Jr and 17-year-old Max Verstappen.
Sainz Jr, who has been a member of the Red Bull family for quite some time now, will finally make his Formula One debut after a dominating season in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2014.
The Spaniard won seven races en route to becoming the youngest ever champion in the series’ history.
While the youngest driver on the grid for 2015; Verstappen, achieved 10 victories and 16 podiums in maiden year in the European F3 championship.
Lotus
8. Romain Grosjean/13. Pastor Maldonado
The black and gold boys and girls from Enstone will see their 2014 drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado roll out the new Mercedes-Benz powered E23 Hybrid come the first of the season in Melbourne.
Grosjean will enter his fourth full-time season with the Lotus team, while Maldonado will embark on his second outing with Lotus, with the optimism that the Mercedes-Benz power plant will put Lotus back up the grid.
Having had such a lacklustre 2014 season, Lotus parted ways with long-time engine supplier Renault, who look to focussing on their operation with Red Bull Racing.
Sauber
9. Marcus Ericsson/12. Felipe Nasr
Having had their first point-less season in 2014, Sauber have brought two drivers to the table in hopes that they can break back into the points in 2015.
Ex-Caterham driver Marcus Ericsson will be on the grid again after the dramas he endured in his debut season last year.
He will be paired with the former Williams test driver Felipe Nasr, who as well as had numerous Friday outings with the Williams team, finished third in the GP2 Series last year.
Both drivers also bring healthy sponsorship for the team, who have over the last two years been in financial strife.
And that concludes this preview of all 18 drivers and nine teams competing in the 2015 Formula One championship.
Pre-season testing commences on February 1 at the Jerez circuit in Spain and that will be followed up by two more tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from February 19-22 and February 26-March 1.
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