The new F1 regulations are expected to level the playing field, for a while at least, which means that we should see closer racing and perhaps the end of Red Bull’s domination of the sport.
There are 11 teams contesting this year’s drivers’ and constructors’ championships but, despite entering a new era, the usual suspects should be at the front of the grid and on the podium as the season progresses.
Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, are most people’s favourites for the title and do appear to have got to grips with the new engines and the associated car development issues better than most.
Red Bull appear to have suffered serious problems during the pre-season winter testing sessions, but with technical genius Adrian Newey on board you can expect them to improve dramatically before too long.
Sebastian Vettel has a new team-mate in Daniel Ricciardo after Mark Webber retired from the sport at the end of last season. Ron Dennis is back at the McLaren helm and they can’t do any worse than last season when they failed to win a single race.
This will be an highly emotional season for Jenson Button after the tragic death of his father John who was his constant companion. His team-mate is rookie Kevin Magnussen, a Dane who is tipped to do great things. He replaces Mexican Sergio Perez who failed to live up to expectations and has moved to Force India where he will be hoping to prove that McLaren were wrong to ditch him.
This is also a big year for Ferrari who have been forced to play second fiddle to Red Bull for the past four seasons. The pressure is on team principal Stefano Domenicali to deliver the title particularly as he now has the most exciting and potentially volatile partnership on the grid with Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen driving their cars.
The surprise package of the winter testing programme has been Williams, who appear to have made huge strides forward.
Frank Williams has seen his team fade into almost obscurity in the past few years and it will be fascinating to see if they can restore the glory days of the eighties and nineties when they dominated the sport.
Here is a look at the teams and drivers:
RED BULL
Sebastian Vettel – GER
Daniel Ricciardo – AUS
The dominance, for now, is over. Red Bull have had a turbulent winter season in which they have struggled for reliability with the Renault engine and completed just 1,711-kilometres on the track.
But, as Lewis Hamilton has pointed out, they have the best-looking car on the grid – which is normally a sign of a good aerodynamic package so, while they may struggle initially, expect them back to the fore before long.
The dominant force of F1 in recent seasons makes it understandable that team boss Christian Horner hit back in the build-up to Australia saying “we’ve not become idiots overnight”.
Verdict: Championship contenders again once they iron out their reliability gremlins.
MERCEDES
Lewis Hamilton – GBR
Nico Rosberg- GER
There is no denying that currently the Mercedes power unit – the PU106A V6 to give it its official title – is the quickest and most reliable in equal measure so, as the factory team, it is clear they have an advantage over the rest of the grid with three times the running over Red Bull under their belt in winter testing.
The German manufacturer has long been touted as the resurgentforce for 2014 and so it has proved in winter testing with both drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, seemingly quick in a car which is also reliable, bar a few problems in Bahrain. The inter-team battle between their drivers will once more be an intriguing one.
Verdict: As things stand, Merc should win the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
FERRARI
Fernando Alonso- ESP
Kimi Raikkonen – FIN
Most F1 fans have been salivating at the prospect of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen as team-mates. Both like to portray themselves as cool customers but they are ultra-competitive personalities who are not afraid to vent their frustrations if they don’t get their way. There is a suggestion that the Ferrari V6 engine might be more thirsty than the rest, which could provean issue, while the team will also be determined to rectify their recent lack of qualifying pace.
The fact that they seem to be about a second a lap off Mercedes pace is far from ideal, but their development budget is such that they’ll believe they can catch up.
Verdict: Qualifying struggles and race wins but just off the pace in the championship.
MCLAREN MERCEDES
Jenson Button- GBR
Kevin Magnussen – DEN
After a nightmare 2013 season, Ron Dennis is back overseeing proceedings and he will be determined to restore the glory days. Under Dennis, McLaren were undeniably a winning machine and he believes that ethos was somewhat lost with his successor Martin Whitmarsh, who appears to have been shunted to the sidelines.
The early signs have been promising in that the car has both speed and reliability although more issues seemed to creep in as testing continued. There is an intriguing driver combination with former world champion Jenson Button and rookie Kevin Magnussen, who appears to have slotted into the car with aplomb and looks to be the rookie to watch.
Verdict: It’s overdue but they’ll be back to winning races. However, from where they were last year, a title push may just be too much.
FORCE INDIA
Nico Hulkenberg – GER
Sergio Perez – MEX
Force India look to have a reliable car, which will be a key factor, but they have struggled with in-season development. Nico Hulkenberg is back from Sauber while Sergio Perez has what seems like a last chance to prove himself after a troubled season at McLaren, where his reputation took a dent after several impressive displays with his previous employers Sauber.
Another team powered by Mercedes, they should fair well and the engine failure in Bahrain was not an indicator of potential struggle, just down to the sheer volume of miles Hulkenberg had done.
Verdict: Points will be the focus and with a Mercedes engine a podium is not beyond the realms of possibility early in the season.
LOTUS:
Romain Grosjean – FRA
Pastor Maldonado – VEN
Lotus have struggled with reliability over the winter and would have liked more testing – it’s worth noting that no team has done less running than them. But with an astute technical team, they ought to rectify any problems fairly rapidly. There are issues, however, behind the scenes. The team are reportedly heavily in debt plus team principal Eric Boullier, seen as a key and steadying figure over their good form last season, has jumped ship and moved to McLaren.
Like Ferrari, they have a potentially volatile driving partnership although the dodgem days of both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado appear to have dissipated somewhat.
Verdict: A marginal drop back from last season but still in the mix.
TORO ROSSO
Jean-Eric Vergne – FRA
Daniil Kvyat – RUS
Toro Rosso clocked the quickest lap of the winter of all the Renault runners, its parent Red Bull team included, which hints at the potential that’s there although it’s unclear what level of fuel Jean-Eric Vergne had on board when he did so. As with any Renault-powered team in 2014 to date, there were problems, but Toro Rosso still managed more laps than most.
How much the team will miss Daniel Ricciardo’s raw pace remains to be seen. Vergne admits the pressure is on him as the team leader while a few eye-brows were raised when Daniil Kvyat was given the second race seat ahead of some more hotly fancied Red Bull academy drivers.
Verdict: Arguably a step up on last season with more consistent points finishes.
SAUBER
Adrian Sutil – GER
Esteban Gutierrez – MEX
The reality is that Sauber have a bit of an uphill struggle to perform this season. They were fairly innocuous during the 12 days of testing, and it is clear that they lack the pace of their rivals with the Ferrari power unit strapped to the back. In addition, the braking system appears to be their Achilles heel. Making it to the finish line of the early races could be a problem.
However, in Adrian Sutil they have an experienced head well versed in jumping in a car and quickly performing well. As for Esteban Gutierrez, the rookie will be looking to back up some occasionally promising performances of the last season.
Verdict: As things stand, Sauber will need others to have reliability issues if they want to finish in the points.
WILLIAMS
Felipe massa – BRA
Valtteri Bottas – FIN
There was a time when Williams dominated but that era seems a long time ago. However, the suggestion from winter testing is that the British team have a car and two drivers capable of steering them back to the top. Claire Williams has recruited well for her father’s eponymous team, and the signing of Felipe Massa looks to be an astute one because of his experience but also his good form at the end of the season for Ferrari, when he regularly eclipsed team-mate Alonso.
Alongside him, Valtteri Bottas is no slouch. Pat Symonds behind the scenes will also be a key figure in how the FW36 fares.
Verdict: A championship challenge is a very realistic possibility, Grand Prix victories are the initial goal.
MARUSSIA
Jules Bianchi – FRA
Max Chilton – GBR
There is a genuine belief that Marussia are turning the corner. The cars of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton are powered by the Ferrari V6s and the team appears to have eked out genuine pace from the power unit. Understandably, there have been a myriad of reliability issues but their performances have been strong enough over some 200 testing laps to suggest that this is Marussia’s year to make a big leap forward.
With what could be something of a war of attrition in the early races with teams predicted to drop like flies in the races, Marussia could genuinely aspire to a first point.
Verdict: Marussia should edge the backmarker battle and could squeeze the odd point out of the early races.
CATERHAM
Marcus Ericsson – SWE
Kamui Kobayashi – JPN
Of all the Renault runners, intriguingly Caterham appear to have had the least issues in terms of reliability in testing. That said, they don’t have the pace of others and the general consensus is that they will be bringing up the rear for much of the season. They completed enough testing laps without technical prob-lems to suggest they will finish races, devoid of the overheating issues experienced by others.
But there is a sense that the team are treading water rather than throwing themselves forward, although it is good to see Kamui Kobayashi back in F1 alongside Marcus Ericsson.
Verdict: It could be a season of struggle for Caterham even though they might finish the majority of their races.
