The good and bad of Formula One in 2015

Christmas time and the trees are up, carolling concerts are bidding for Dennis Walter’s talents, and Coles and Woolworths have taken delivery of 2016 Easter decorations in preparation of 26 December.

But best of all – better than having early access to crème eggs – is it’s list time because, let’s face it, everyone’s on holiday.

The Good: Max Verstappen
It’s difficult to walk the fine line between describing just how impressive Max Verstappen is and overhyping his rookie season, but we’d have awfully little to talk about without the Dutchman spicing up Formula One in 2015.

It’s easy to be swept up into the Verstappen-future-champion idea when his arresting on-track style, laden with aggression, was put on full display after an unbelievable single season of Formula Three before his Formula One debut.

Although comparisons with teammate Carlos Sainz are unfair given the Spaniard’s poor reliability luck, the 49-18 points difference paints a powerful picture.

Thrillingly, terrifyingly, he’ll only get better from here.

Ferrari (and Sebastian Vettel)
Nowhere one year, omnipresent the next – Ferrari’s resurgence after being written off as a 2015 threat by so many, including itself, was impressive, to say the least.

When Ferrari’s doing well Formula One is doing well – or so the saying goes – but fighting in the Scuderia’s popularity corner is Sebastian Vettel, who himself is bouncing back after a deeply uninspiring 2014 season at Red Bull Racing.

Combined the pair have all the makings of the Schumacher-Ferrari magic of the early 2000s. With Maurizio Arrivabene as the team’s charismatic leader and with the affable James Allison directing the technical team, the red cars used 2015 to make a statement: Ferrari’s back.

Mexican Grand Prix
It’s rare a new grand prix is so enthusiastically adopted by the home populace and the sport’s core fans alike, but the return of the Mexican Grand Prix ticked all the boxes.

More than 300,000 people packed into Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez over three days, and 135,000 cheered on the field on Sunday alone – and circuit officials limited ticket sales in the first year to ensure they weren’t overwhelmed. With worldwide attendance figures shrinking, Mexico was a massive shot in the arm.

What’s more, Mexico proved that the Formula One show is immeasurably improved when conducted in front of a passionate crowd. The likes of Bahrain or Baku might pay top dollar, but money is cold comfort when spurned fans turn their back on the sport for good.

More Mexicos, please.

The bad: Sauber legal drama
Sauber arrived in Melbourne with a litany of contracted drivers. Courtroom chaos ensued when Giedo van der Garde demanded his contract be honoured ahead of designated drivers Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.

Without endorsing the team’s questionable attempt at keeping its bottom line respectable, it is an indictment on Formula One – a nearly $2 billion business – that it is unable to foster a financially sustainable environment for one of its longest-serving teams.

With the recent Caterham collapse and Manor/Marussia near-death experience emphasising the financial precariousness of much of the field, Sauber and Force India made their problems public with a complaint to the EU Commission over the sport’s commercial structure.

Such an investigation may force the team to realign its distribution model in favour of fairness, but it is sad that such an ugly process may be required to save Formula One from itself.

McLaren Honda
Few expected the Honda power unit to be quick out of the box, but no-one expected for it to be quite so bad. The reunion of the iconic McLaren-Honda brand was an unmitigated disaster.

Both reliability and performance were woeful. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso needed a combined 23 internal combustion engines, almost three times more than the rules allow, and thus were regular recipients of heavy grid penalties.

But watching the historic McLaren team flail with recalcitrant power units was not nearly as painful as seeing two great champions of the sport struggle in subpar machinery. This was particularly in the case of Fernando Alonso, whose move to McLaren is just the latest in a long line of poorly timed career moves.

With McLaren haemorrhaging prize and sponsorship money and with the faith of drivers and fans wavering precariously, another season like 2015 could prove devastating for the once great team.

The calendar
Notwithstanding the success of the Mexican Grand Prix, the 2015 calendar was further evidence of the sport’s lack of strategic direction.

The season began with the dropping of the German Grand Prix after the owner of the Nürburgring couldn’t justify the sport’s financial demands, and it ended with the United States Grand Prix losing a portion of its state funding and having future put in serious doubt.

Meanwhile, negotiations between Bernie Ecclestone and the Monza circuit for a contract extension of the historic Italian Grand Prix beyond 2016 stalled, and then, as if to emphasise the point, the 21-race 2016 calendar confirmed that the infamous grand prix in Azerbaijan would clash with the Le Mans 24 hour race.

A serious look at how Formula One does the international business of race logistics is urgently needed for both the sport’s image and to keep team personnel from dangerously burning out.

What were your best and worst memories of 2015? Leave a comment below.

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