McLaren will renew their relationship with Japanese manufacturer Honda, twenty-three years since they last competed together. Pictured is the McLaren MP4/6, one of the last cars built by McLaren to use a Honda engine, racing at the 1991 United States Grand Prix.
Lotus will change their engine supplier from Renault to Mercedes.[53] This ended a 20 year involvement of Renault with the Enstone based team, after being an engine supplier to Benetton since 1995, and was the constructor of the team from 2002 to 2010.
McLaren will also change their engine supplier, taking up a deal with Honda, who will supply the team with a V6 engine and Engine Recovery System (ERS).[20]. This will end McLaren's 21 year association with Mercedes, as will as Honda's first race since 2008.
Following crippling financial problems which forced Caterham to miss the 2014United States and Brazilian Grands Prix, their entry in the 2015 season was cast into doubt [54]; however, a provisional entry list that was released in November 2014 included the team.[19]. However, the same list also included Marussia under the original of the team; Manor Grand Prix.[19] However, in November 2014, the administrators announced that the Marussia team would cease operations and close.[55]
However, Manor kept the entry, and subsequently announced on the 4th February that the team would leave administration of the 19th February 2015,[56] of which the did, and subsequently appeared on an update entry list of the 27th February, once again called Marussia. Caterham were dropped from the entry list[33], whose assets will be sold off just days before the opening race.[57][58][59]
Driver Changes
Max Verstappen became the youngest ever driver to enter a Grand Prix, aged just 17 years 166 days when he entered the Australian Grand Prix.
As a result of Vettel joining Ferrari, Fernando Alonso left the team after being with the team since 2010.[17] Alonso decided to return to McLaren, seven years after he last raced for the team. After weeks of speculation, Jenson Button was confirmed as the team's second driver, with Kevin Magnussen retained in a test and reserve role.[23][60] The decision to appoint Button alongside Alonso gave McLaren the single most experienced driver line-up in Formula One history, with the drivers having over five hundred Grand Prix starts between them. However, in pre-season testing, Alonso's McLaren crashed subsequently forcing him to miss the Australian Grand Prix. He was replaced by Magnussen.[22]
Before the Kyvat and Vettel changed teams, Max Verstappen was choosen by Toro Rosso to race for them, making him the youngest ever driver at 17 years, 164 days at the Australian Grand Prix. [30] After Kyvat left for Red Bull, Toro Rosso choose Carlos Sainz, Jr. to be his team mate. [32]Jean-Éric Vergne elected to leave the team before Toro Rosso choose Sainz, Jr. This ended his association with the team after driving since 2011. Vergne later joined Ferrari as a test driver.[61]
After only one season with Caterham, Marcus Ericsson left to join Sauber. [41] He was later partnerned by former Williams test driver, Felipe Nasr. [44] This meant that Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutiérrez, who had driven for the team since 2013. Gutierrez later joined Ferrari as a test driver.[62] However, in March 2015, Giedo van der Garde took legal action against Sauber, claiming that he had a contract to drive for Sauber in 2015.[63] On the 11 March, the court ruled in favour of van der Garde, of which Sauber launched an appeal which was heard on the same day, claiming it would be "unsafe" for van der Garde to race in Australia.[64] However, on the 12th March, it was announced that Sauber had lost their appeal,[65] before van der Garde ultimately waived his right as part of a settlement with a view to finding a more permanent solution later in the year.[66]
The number of power units that a driver may use in a season will be reduced from five in 2014 to four in 2015.[67]
The rules regarding engine development that were introduced in 2014 were changed, with the manufacturers allowed to perform half the development permitted in 2014; the development will be halved again in 2016.[68]
Following the backlash over "ugly" nose designs in 2014, the FIA moved to amend the rules surrounding nose designs for the 2015 season. Noses are now lower than in 2014, retaining a minimum cross section, but they must taper to a point at a fixed linear rate, effectively outlawing the dramatic finger shapes seen in 2014 in favour of a more gradual shape. Furthermore, the design of the nose must be symmetrical and consistent with the centreline of the car, thereby banning the more exotic designs, such as the "twin-tusk" approach used by Lotus on the E22 chassis.[69]
The minimum weight of the cars at all times during an event was increased to 702 kilograms (1,548 lb).[1]
The ban on Front-and-Rear Interconnected suspension systems (FRIC) implemented in the middle of the 2014 season was formalised, with the regulations stating that the front and rear suspension must be designed in such a way that any change in performance must be a direct result of a change in load applied solely to them.[1]
The anti-intrusion panels on both sides of the survival cell have been extended upwards to the rim of the cockpit and alongside the driver's head.[1]
Following the financial struggles faced by Marussia and Caterham in 2014, the FIA approved the use of 2014-specification chassis in 2015 provided that teams showed cause and received an individual dispensation to compete with their old chassis.[70] However a request by Manor F1 to use their 2014 car was later rejected by the other teams.[71][72] Subsequent regulation changes allowed the team to use the 2014 model of Ferrari power units in their 2015 chassis instead of the 2015 specification power units used by Ferrari and other customer teams.[73]
Sporting Regulations
The replacement of a complete power unit no longer results in a penalty. Penalties continue to be applied cumulatively for individual components of the power unit, and if such a grid place penalty is imposed and the driver's grid position is such that it cannot be applied in full, the remainder of the penalty is no longer carried over to the next race, but is instead applied in the form of a time penalty during the race corresponding to the number of grid spaces remaining in the penalty.[1]
In addition to the existing five-second penalty that may be served during a driver's scheduled pit stop, a new ten-second penalty that has to be served in the same manner, was introduced.[1]
If a car is deemed to have been released from its pit stop in an unsafe manner, the driver receives a ten second stop-and-go penalty. Further penalties are applied if the stewards believe that the driver is aware of this and attempts to drive the car regardless.[1]
The qualifying procedure has been further clarified to cater to different sizes of starting grids: if twenty-four cars are entered for the race, seven are eliminated after the each of the first two qualifying segments; if twenty-two are entered, six are eliminated after each qualifying segment and so on if fewer cars are eligible.
Double points will no longer be awarded at the final event of the championship.[1]
In light of a regulation introduced in 2014 dictating that a race can not run for more than four hours and following recommendations from the report into Jules Bianchi's accident the previous season, the start times of five Grands Prix have been moved one hour earlier, so that races do not start with less than four hours until dusk. Thus, the Australian, Malaysia, Chinese, Japanese and Russian Grands Prix will start an hour earlier than in 2014.[74]
In the aftermath of Bianchi's accident, a new procedure called virtual safety car (VSC) was introduced, obliging drivers to reduce their speed to match the one indicated on their displays on their steering wheels. The procedure may be initiated when double waved yellow flags are needed on any section of a circuit where competitors and officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not as such to warrant deployment of the actual safety car.[1]
The safety car procedure was amended. Once the last lapped car has passed the leader, the safety car returns to the pits at the end of the following lap. This is a change of the previous practice which required the unlapped cars to have caught up with the back of the pack before the safety car could return to the pits.[1]
If a race is suspended (red-flagged), the cars no longer line up on the grid but instead slowly proceed to the pit lane. Pit exit is closed and the first car to arrive in the pit lane proceeds to the exit with the others lining up behind in the order in which they arrive, regardless of race standing or garage location. Severe circumstances may still require cars to stop immediately on track.[1]
If any team personnel or team equipment remain on the grid after the fifteen-second signal has been shown before the start of the formation lap, the driver of the car concerned must start the race from the pit lane. If the driver concerned fails to obey this, they receive a ten second stop-and-go penalty.[1]
Drivers are no longer permitted to change the design of their helmet in-season.[75]
The Mexican Grand Prix is scheduled to return to the Formula One calendar for the first time since 1992. The race is to be held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit located in the centre of Mexico City, which also was the location of all of the Mexican Grands Prix in previous decades.[77] The circuit will be substantially reconfigured to accommodate the sport's return.[78]
The German Grand Prix was set to return to the Nürburgring, in accordance with the event-sharing agreement established between the Nürburgring and the Hockenheimring in 2008.[81] The Nürburgring had previously hosted the race in 2013 and so was scheduled to host it again in 2015, but the venue was left off of the provisional calendar,[82] leaving the event-sharing agreement at a stalemate.[83][84] With both venues unwilling to host the event,[85][86] the race was ultimately cancelled, leaving the country off the Grand Prix calendar for the first time since 1960.[87]
The Indian Grand Prix was cancelled for the second consecutive year following tax disputes between the FIA and the Uttar Pradesh government.[88]
The Korean Grand Prix was scheduled to return to the Formula One calendar after being removed in 2014,[1] but the plan was ultimately abandoned.[89]
