Among fans of F1 and the first race that will take place in Melbourne (Australia), only the last pre-season tests that will take place on February 26, 27, 28 and March 1 stand in the way. On the 13th, 14th and 15th the first official sessions of the season will be held.
Well, in this article we anticipate the calendar with the races that will be played, which we will be commenting on and analyzing during the season, as well as a summary of certain aspects of the sports regulations that have changed compared to last year. Among them the famous and still unknown virtual Safety Car system to avoid accidents like Jules Bianchi's. We will also analyze some changes in the teams, official drivers and circuits.
Although initially the calendar had 21 races, due to the return of Korea, finally there will only be 20 GPs, since Korea will not be included. The season starts in Australia and ends in Abu Dhabi, once again snatching the end of the championship from Brazil. Another unknown was the possible cancellation of the German GP due to economic problems, although in the end it will not be like that.
Five of the grand prizes have been moved up an hour so they have at least 4 hours until dark and improve race safety. This decision was made following the report on Jules Bianchi's accident at the 2014 Japanese GP. Those 5 races that are brought forward are: Australia, Malaysia, China, Japan and Russia.
F1 2015 race calendar
| Site | Free 1 and 2 | Free 3 and Classification | Career | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne (Australian GP) | Winners will be announced in March | Winners will be announced in March | Winners will be announced in March | |
| Sepang (Malaysian GP) | Winners will be announced in March | Winners will be announced in March | Winners will be announced in March | |
| Shanghai (Chinese GP) | April 10 | April 11 | April 12 | |
| Sakhir (Bahrain GP) | April 17 | April 18 | April 19 | |
| «Montmeló | Barcelona» (GP Spain) | May 8 | May 9 | May 10 |
| Monte Carlo (Monaco GP) | May 21 | May 23 | May 24 | |
| «Gilles Villeneuve | Montreal» (Canada GP) | 5 June | 6 June | 7 June |
| «Red Bull Ring | Spielberg» (Austrian GP) | May 19 | 20 June | 21 June |
| Silverstone (Great Britain GP) | 3 July | 4 July | 5 July | |
| Hockenheimring (German GP) | 17 July | 18 July | 19 July | |
| «hungaroring | Budapest» (Hungarian GP) | 24 July | 25 July | 26 July |
| Spa-Francorchamps (Belgian GP) | 21 August | 22 August | 23 August | |
| Monza (Italian GP) | September 4 | September 5 | September 6 | |
| Marina Bay (Singapore GP) | September 18 | September 19 | September 20 | |
| Suzuka (Japanese GP) | September 25 | September 26 | September 27 | |
| Sochi (Russian GP) | October 9 | October 10 | October 11 | |
| Austin (US GP) | October 23 | October 24 | October 25 | |
| Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico GP) | October 30 | October 31 | November 1th | |
| Sao Paulo (Brazilian GP) | November 13th | November 14th | November 15th | |
| Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) | November 27th | November 28th | November 29th |
As you can see, the new prize for Mexico appears and Russia returns for the second time after entering the 2014 calendar. The German GP also varies, it should be the turn of the Nürburgring, but will finally be held at the Hockenheimring.
La situation of motorists has changed, Mercedes has lost McLaren with the arrival of Honda but has won Lotus, so it continues to power 4 teams. On the other hand, Renault went from having 4 clients to only 2, due to the withdrawal of Caterham and the change from Lotus to Mercedes. Ferrari remains with the same clients until next year, when Haas F1 joins, which it will also motorize.
The photograph that immortalizes the drivers at the end of last season has little to do with the one that will be taken at the next Australian Grand Prix. Some faces will not be present, others will have changed uniforms... As for pilots the situation would be, in the absence of confirming the second pilot of Manor F1, as follows:
- Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton / Nico Rosberg
- Red Bull (Renault engine): Daniel Ricciardo / Daniil Kvyat
- Williams (Mercedes engine): Valtteri Bottas / Felipe Massa
- Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen / Sebastian Vettel
- McLaren (Honda engine): Fernando Alonso / Jenson Button
- Force India (Mercedes engine): Nico Hulkemberg / Sergio Pérez
- Toro Rosso (Renault engine): Carlos Sainz Jr. / Max Verstappen
- Marussia (2014 Ferrari engine): Will Stevens / TBC
- Lotus (Mercedes engine): Romain Grosjean / Pastor Maldonado
- Clean (Ferrari engine): Marcus Ericsson / Felipe Nars
By the way, a curious fact, Lewis Hamilton has the possibility of continuing his dorsal 44 or change to number 1 for being the champion. If he decides to stick with the number 44, it will be the second time in Formula 1 history (the previous one was in 1994) that no driver wears the 1.
Finally, analyze the regulatory changes which have been introduced as a novelty this 2015. This year it is prohibited for pilots to change their helmet design, they can only use one helmet per season. The minimum weight of the vehicle is increased to 702 kg due to the protests of some teams during the last season.
This year the engines are also reduced to 4 engines per pilot, instead of last year's 5. This average should not affect Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault, who have achieved stability in terms of reliability thanks to last season, although they have made some improvements, as I say, it should not be a problem. But it is a big inconvenience for Honda, it is their first season and they will only be able to use 4 power units without being penalized…
This year there will be no double points in the last race, so the championship will not be greatly altered by this controversial move. Regarding restrictions on radio messages, it seems that the FIA has also backed down to allow them normally.
But the biggest and most innovative measure is in the new system VSC (Virtual Safety Car). The virtual safety car is a safety measure to avoid accidents like Jules Bianchi's at the Japanese GP. It was tested in the Abu Dhabi race and in subsequent tests, agreeing with the teams and the FIA for its integration.
El VSC operation it is simple and will be launched in circumstances where double yellow flags are needed in a sector and the drivers or marshals are in danger due to some event or incidents that have occurred previously, but it is not serious enough to justify the start of the safety car .
El VSC protocol will try to show luminous panels to the pilots with the initials VSC and the pilots will not be able to go through the pits for any other purpose than to change the tires, nor will they be able to overtake and they will have to stay above a minimum time that the FIA will establish as it sees fit ( something like area radars). Whoever does not comply with these rules within the area defined as VSC, will be sanctioned by the stewards.