Whilst Red Bull have had a much better pre season in 2015 than they did in 2014, it hasn't been the smoothest of rides for the 4 times world champions. Renault clearly have a much better engine but they were plagued with reliability problems during the Jerez test, which Renault said was down to 'stupid parts'. Despite this, the car looked good on track and Daniel Ricciardo was fastest on the second day of the first Barcelona test and managed well over 100 laps that day. Danill Kvyat did not have the best of starts to his Red Bull career, damaging his front wing on his first day in the car at Jerez and, with the team lacking a replacement, spend the whole day without a front wing doing only slow installation laps.
He soon made up for it though, piling in the mileage and showing good pace in the car. The star rookie from 2014 needs to make sure he carries that good momentum from last year into this season, to take the fight to 2014 sensation Ricciardo. Despite losing Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari the team have two very strong and fast drivers and still look in good shape, but Renault are clearly still quite behind Mercedes, which, no matter how good the RB11 chassis is, is not what Red Bull want to hear. The team though will no doubt try its best to take the fight to Mercedes, although with Ferrari and Williams more than likely making good steps forward, staying best of the rest will be that little bit more difficult this year, for Red Bull.
McLaren-Honda
Drivers: Jenson Button & Fernando Alonso
I could lie and say the reunited partnership of McLaren & Honda has brought a lot of promise and the team has had a great pre season but the truth is, that's not been the case. Whilst the team are still trying to remain upbeat about there chances, nothing escapes from the fact that they had a terrible first and second test. Over the course of the first test they managed only 69 laps, although its a damn sight better than the 20 or so Red Bull managed last year. In the second test the team had a very promising second day with Alonso managing 59 laps without the car breaking down. The team even managed to do a full afternoons work of aero testing.
However the test was blighted by Alonso's crash on the final morning of the test, which left Fernando in hospital in three days and Jenson Button, who was due to drive that afternoon, didn't get the chance to drive as the team ended running for the day. Alonso is fine but has gone at home to rest before Melbourne, meaning that Kevin Magnussen drive the car in the final test. Despite all these setbacks,caused mainly by small issues that all teams had last year in testing, the team are still confident that they can improve enough to be competitive sometime this year and Honda, don't forget, aren't stupid. They know how to build a good engine. Keep an eye on McLaren, they still may have a good season.
Lotus F1 Team
Drivers: Romain Grosjean & Pastor Maldonado
One this is already clear from Lotus's pre season testing. They are a lot quicker than they were this time last year. That's partly down to the fact they now have the Mercedes power unit but also down to the fact the E23 Hybrid is a much more reliable and complaint car than the twin tusk E22. Both Grosjean and Maldonado were much happier after actually running at Jerez, unlike in 2014, and the team topped three of the four days of the second test at Barcelona. Sure, these times were set on the soft and super soft tyres, when Mercedes, Williams etc were yet to run those tyres. But the team has clearly made a big step forward relative to last season, and will surely be in the mix for solid points, with maybe the odd podium. Fighting Williams may be quite unlikely, giving the car does not look the easiest to drive on track (it is much better however than the E22), but the team can still be optimistic about its chances.
Maldonado and Grosjean should both be smiling a lot more this season. The Venezuelan is still misunderstood, but he still has the talent that took him to that remarkable win with Williams at Barcelona in 2012, so if the car is at least decent, expect him to be able to show that talent for the first time since the 2012 season. Romain will be hoping for more performances akin to the second half of 2013, where he and the Lotus team were Red Bulls closest challengers, despite there modest budget. Don't expect Lotus to reach those heights this year, but do look out for a revival for the well loved Enstone team.
Sahara Force India
Drivers: Nico Hulkenburg & Sergio Perez
Force India finally launched there 2015 car on the second day of the final test in Barcelona and the car performed very reliably straight out of the box, with Nico Hulkenburg managing 77 laps over the course of the day. The team had ran the 2014 VJM07, with Pascal Wherlein and there regular drivers at the wheel, to gain information on the 2015 tires. Amid speculation on the finances of the team, it was with some relief from fans and the team itself that the car ran well straight out of the box. With no real information on the cars performance so far, lets hope the VJM08 goes as well as it looks.
Sauber F1 Team
Drivers: Marcus Ericsson & Felipe Nasr
Sauber endured the worst season in there history last season, with no points scored and being beaten to ninth place by the Marussia team (who are now ever closer to a return to the grid as Manor Marussia F1), so a revival is desperately needed. A well as a smart new paint scheme, the new C34 appears to be a much better car than the C33, with some headline grabbing times at all of the tests so far, with Felipe Nasr even topping day three in Jerez, although this was set on the soft tires and does not mean that Sauber are championship contenders in 2015. The car is really an updated 2014 car, with a 2015 nose but its tidy and very driveable, which is what Sauber needs. A good base car for the year ahead to hopefully get them back into the points. Felipe Nasr finished third in the 2014 GP2 championship and, despite bringing big backing from Banco Do Brasil, is a talented racer who pushed Jolyon Palmer hard for the GP2 title. He spent 2014 as Williams reserve driver,gaining plenty of mileage in the FW36 so is clearly ready for the season ahead.
Marcus Ericsson has joined from the now sadly folded Caterham F1 Team, meaning that Sauber,whilst it does not have two rookies, does have two young drivers in its cars. Ericsson was repeatably slated as a pay driver in 2014 but from Singapore onward's seemed to realize he was actually a racing driver, beating both his team mate Kaumi and Kobyashi and the Marussias of Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi both in Singapore, Japan and Russia before Caterham entered administration. Hopefully 2015 will show that Marcus is more than a mere pay driver, and he can do that by beating Nasr as much as he can. If he fails to beat his team mate, the pay driver comments will no doubt return.
So its a new look and line up for the Sauber team. With a much improved Ferrari power unit in the back of the car, things are really looking up for the squad from Hinwili but don't expect podiums, expect Sauber instead to be aiming for consistent points. Predicting where they may finish the season is tough, but based on 2014, it has to be the lower end of the constructors table. Lets just hope that, with the team also struggling financially, its not second to last.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers: Max Verstappen & Carlos Sainz Jr
Toro Rosso have the youngest and most inexperience driver line uon the grid in Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr. This could cause some issues during the season, as two rookie drivers might not really be the way to go forward, even if you are Red Bulls young driver feeder team. However, both drivers are exceptionally talented, with Verstappen holding the honor of being the youngest driver ever to drive in Formula 1 at just seventeen years of age, and with the FIA's new super license rules for 2016 dictating a driver must be 18 before they can race, he may well hold that record for all time.
The STR10 received a major upgraded in the final test, James Key describing it as 'virtually a new car'. The first iteration of the STR10 was just a base model to allow the drivers to gain track time and to sort out any electrical issues etc. The team now has the car that they will race in Melbourne and they have ditched the long, Ferrari style nose for a short, Williams style nose, a sign that the Oxfordshire squad has a design that others are envious of?
Whether it putting two rookies in its cars is a mistake or not we shall have to wait and see, but if the car is good enough, then don't be surprised if Verstappen and Sainz both shine and bring home some solid results for Toro Rosso.
