2015 Formula One World Championship: Hamilton's Third Title in a Mercedes-Led Season

The 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th championship of its kind, contested by twenty-two drivers from ten teams over nineteen Grands Prix. Lewis Hamilton won his third drivers' title with three races to spare, and Mercedes secured the constructors' championship at the Russian Grand Prix. The season was shaped by one team's strength and by a new rulebook that changed the cars.

Mercedes ended the year with a record 703 points, and its two drivers swapped the lead in the standings through the middle of the season. The rules changed the cars' weight, nose shape and power unit allowance, while the calendar lost a German race and gained a Mexican one.

What happened across the 2015 season?

Hamilton entered the year as defending champion after his second title in 2014. He finished the 2015 season with a third title, clinched with three races left, while Nico Rosberg was runner-up, 59 points behind, and Sebastian Vettel took third at Ferrari, 44 points further adrift.

Mercedes began with a one-two in Australia, and Vettel finished third on his first podium for Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo finished a lap down in sixth, which prompted Red Bull to voice frustration with Renault's power. Helmut Marko suggested that Red Bull might leave Formula One entirely if the rules were not changed to level the field or cut costs.

Renault countered with its own threat to pull out as an engine supplier if its reputation continued to suffer. Malaysia produced a comfortable Vettel win, with Mercedes second and third, and after four rounds Mercedes had 159 points while Red Bull had twenty-six. Hamilton had collected 93 of a possible 100 points in that spell.

McLaren's Honda partnership struggled from the first race. Kevin Magnussen failed to reach the grid after an engine failure in Australia, and Jenson Button finished last, two laps down. Honda detuned its power units for the opening races to improve reliability, and Alonso returned to the car from Malaysia onwards.

Manor Marussia arrived in Melbourne after a turbulent pre-season, but its cars could not compete in the opening race because the computers had been wiped of data. The team got its cars running for the second round in Malaysia, and both cars were within 107% of the leading times in practice.

Ferrari came into the season more competitive than it had been the year before. Kimi Raikkonen was second in Bahrain, his first podium since rejoining the team, and Ferrari finished third and fourth in China. By the European rounds, the team was second in the constructors' table, ahead of Williams.

A title won with three races to spare, in a season shaped by one team's dominance.

Which teams and drivers changed for 2015?

Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull for Ferrari, replacing Fernando Alonso, while Alonso joined McLaren. Daniil Kvyat moved up from Toro Rosso to Red Bull, and Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to make a Formula One debut, at 17 years and 164 days.

Vettel's move was announced in an unusual way. Christian Horner first revealed it in an interview with Sky Sports days after Vettel had told him, and Alonso was caught off guard while still negotiating with the team. The episode showed how much the driver market had become a matter of public bargaining.

Alonso then withdrew from the Australian Grand Prix after a testing accident, and Magnussen stood in for him at McLaren. Alonso was cleared to race by the second round in Malaysia, and the team returned to its regular line-up for the rest of the season.

Toro Rosso changed its line-up entirely. Jean-Eric Vergne was not kept, and Carlos Sainz Jr. and Verstappen took the seats. Sauber released Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil, and signed Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, while Alexander Rossi made his debut at Singapore for Manor Marussia.

Caterham and Marussia had both entered administration late in 2014, and their troubles shaped the year. Jules Bianchi, who had been in a coma since the Japanese Grand Prix, died from his injuries on 17 July 2015, and the sport paid tribute to him for the rest of the year.

What rule changes shaped the 2015 season?

The number of power units per driver fell from five to four, the minimum car weight rose to 702 kg (1,548 lb), and a new ten-second penalty was added. Noses were lowered and reshaped, and the FRIC suspension was formally banned.

The power unit allowance changed in the middle of the year. Honda was allowed one extra unit after the British Grand Prix, because it was a manufacturer in its first season back, and manufacturers were limited to half the development permitted in 2014.

Body rules changed to address safety and design. Noses had to be lower, tapered and symmetrical, which banned the twin-tusk shape Lotus had used on its chassis. Anti-intrusion panels were extended beside the driver's head to protect against side impacts, and titanium skid blocks became mandatory, which brought back sparks from the underbody.

Weight also rose, to 702 kg (1,548 lb), a difference of 10 kilograms (22 lb) from 2014. The increase answered concerns that the lighter limit had forced taller drivers to become unhealthily slim, a debate that had grown during the previous year.

Engine penalties were also reshaped after the British Grand Prix. Demotion to the back of the grid became the maximum penalty for an engine change, and additional time penalties during races were abandoned. Those changes limited the damage a team could suffer from replacing components.

Penalties were tightened. A car released unsafely from a pit stop earned a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, and the new ten-second penalty gave the stewards a further option. Drivers also lost the ability to change the design of their helmet during the season.

Start times moved forward. Five Grands Prix, including Australia, Malaysia, China, Japan and Russia, started an hour earlier than in 2014, so that races would not begin with less than four hours until dusk.

Safety procedures were revised. The Virtual Safety Car obliged drivers to match a speed shown on their steering wheel displays, and the safety car returned to the pits once the last lapped car had passed the leader. Radio advice on start torque settings was banned from the Belgian Grand Prix, which added to a partial radio ban from the previous season.

Which races shaped the title fight?

Mercedes won most of the decisive rounds. Rosberg took Spain and Monaco early on, Hamilton won Belgium, Italy and the United States, and Vettel's wins in Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore kept Ferrari's challenge alive. The late-season results decided the championship.

Rosberg's early wins cut Hamilton's lead sharply. At Monaco, Mercedes pitted Hamilton with a 19-second lead during a safety car period, while Rosberg and Vettel stayed out and passed him. That call cost Hamilton the win, and his lead over Rosberg was cut to just ten points.

Hamilton's season recovered in the middle. Mercedes finished first and second in Canada, Austria and Britain in successive races, and Hamilton's win in Belgium came with his tenth pole of the season, which also secured the FIA Pole Trophy.

Vettel's position at Ferrari was steady, although he was never far from the title race. He won Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore, and he finished the year third in the standings, 44 points behind Rosberg. Ferrari's improvement over 2014 was clear from the first race.

Hamilton's final push came in Japan and the United States. He passed Rosberg on the opening corner in Japan, and his win in America sealed the third title with three races to spare. Rosberg then won the final three races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, which secured second place but not the championship.

Rosberg's late-season form was strong. He won the final three races, and his results in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi made the closing rounds close, even though Hamilton had already secured the title in the United States.

The selected results show how the lead changed hands. Rosberg's wins in Spain and Monaco put him ahead early, Vettel's three wins kept Ferrari in the fight, and Hamilton's late wins gave him the title before the season's last rounds.

Who won the 2015 Drivers' Championship?

Lewis Hamilton won his third World Drivers' Championship, clinching it in the United States with three races still to run. He also won the FIA Pole Trophy for the most pole positions, with 11 across the season, and the DHL Fastest Lap Award.

Hamilton's season combined pole positions with consistency on race day. Rosberg was the runner-up, 59 points behind, and Vettel was third, 44 points further adrift. Mercedes' record 703 points reflected how thoroughly the team had dominated the constructors' table.

The Pole Trophy confirmed Hamilton's pace over a single lap. The award goes to the driver with the most pole positions in the season, and his tenth pole, at Belgium, had already settled the matter before the year ended.

What the 2015 season left behind

The season left Red Bull and Renault in a difficult position. Marko's threat to leave the sport and Renault's counter-threat showed how far the engine supply relationship had soured, and Red Bull's results in the first half of the year were well short of the team's own expectations.

Hamilton's third title came after his second in 2014, and it confirmed his place among the sport's leading champions. The three-race margin at the finish meant his title was not in doubt for the final weekends.

Ferrari's new era under Vettel began with podiums and a clear improvement over 2014, and the team won the inaugural DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award. Verstappen's first season, which earned him three post-season awards, pointed toward a long career at the front of the field.

Several teams made changes to their engine and team arrangements through the year. Lotus ended its association with Renault in favour of a deal with Mercedes, while McLaren ended its long partnership with Mercedes-Benz and returned to Honda power.

Teams that had entered administration struggled to survive. Caterham folded and its assets were auctioned, while Marussia was rescued and re-entered as Manor Marussia, a change that allowed the team to continue after a difficult pre-season.