Driver of the season
Driver of the season: Lewis Hamilton. He was the dominant racer of the year whether it was leading from the front or clawing his way back from yet another setback. He was less of a force than usual in qualifying, where he overcooked things slightly, but it should still not have gone to the final race of the season because he had the edge over the dogged Nico Rosberg in terms of pure speed and race craft. His blinding speed disguises the fact that he is now a mature and very accomplished driver. Paul Weaver
The world champion, Hamilton, and his defeated rival dominated the title fight but their car was the class of the field and they are experienced, highly skilful drivers who delivered exactly what was expected of them. Hamilton was a deserved champion but Daniel Ricciardo was a revelaton. Only three years after his competitive debut – in 2011 he was driving a lowly HRT – he stepped into one of the biggest seats in F1 and made it his own. Unfazed by sharing a garage with a four-times world champion, he has outqualified (12-7) and outraced (11-3 finishes ahead, 3-0 wins) Sebastian Vettel and in doing so displayed nerve and verve on the attack, not least in Hungary. There in an extraordinary move he scythed past Hamilton on the outside of turn two and subsequently Fernando Alonso for the win. The first Aussie to win at Spa since Jack Brabham in 1960 he is an extraordinary talent accompanied by an absolutely infectious, beaming grin. Giles Richards
Team of the season
Mercedes. A lot of the work was done in the year or two leading up to 2014, for which the former team principal, Ross Brawn, deserves much credit. But this time they really nailed it. Their bold commitment to the team carried them ahead of all their competitors. They got their heads round the new regulations better than anyone else. And then they copied, basically, what Red Bull had done and threw vast resources of money and manpower at the project. The smaller Williams team were magnificent too. PW
Mercedes clearly built the best car but their real achievement was letting their drivers race it. After finally boasting a title-winning contender after four tough years back in F1, a conservative approach towards both championships might have been expected. Far from it. Hamilton and Rosberg were let off the leash from the off and the team not only encouraged but insisted they race as long as they did not take one another out. That they stuck to the policy to the end ensured that what might have become a procession at the front has been gripping to the last. Adding two brilliant drivers to the endearing, barking, post-race honesty of Niki Lauda and the teutonic terminator Toto Wolff’s rare openness made for great entertainment. Seeing Williams back at the sharp end was invigorating but Mercedes had the whole package. GR
Race of the season
Bahrain gave us the best real racing between Hamilton and Rosberg all year. But the Hungarian Grand Prix in July just edged it for overall drama. A combination of heavy rain less than an hour before the race, which made rubber selections tricky, and the early introduction of the safety car spiced everything up nicely. The safety car neutralised Rosberg’s pole advantage and revived Ricciardo, who was the deserved winner. But the best drive was Hamilton’s, starting from the pit lane to finish third, ahead of Rosberg. PW
Hungary was an absolute thriller. Hamilton charging through from the back row after a fire in qualifying – and having damaged his front wing in a first-lap spin on a wet track – to take a magnificent third place. In the process his refusal to move over for his team-mate added another level of intensity to the title fight. Accidents and safety cars played their part in mixing up the pack and ensuring the winner was undecided until the final moments when Ricciardo came haring up from fourth at his last pitstop, making moves where there should have been none, all on a track ill-suited to a last-minute blitz. GR
Moment of the season
Rosberg crashing into Hamilton at Spa and ultimately bringing the British driver’s race to a premature end. Hamilton said it gave him the spur to win the next five races on the spin. Rosberg was given a dressing down by the team and the incident, combined with Hamilton’s winning streak, appeared to leave him a demoralised and beaten man before he showed his character by coming back to dominate in Brazil. PW
Sadly Jules Bianchi’s terrible accident at Suzuka still overshadows the brilliant racing of 2014. It was a stark reminder that, despite going 20 years without a driver fatality, F1 remains an inherently dangerous sport. That Bianchi’s condition has since improved is hugely encouraging as are the investigations that followed the incident. The accident raised very serious questions over safety but the FIA was right in not leaping to any knee-jerk responses. Lessons have been learned but the introduction of changes are being carefully weighed against maintaining the excitement on track. #ForzaJules. GR
Overtaking move of the season
Ricciardo at Suzuka’s Esses comes quickly to mind. It was a double-overtake really as he swooped and swept ahead of both Williams cars, passing first Felipe Massa and then Valtteri Bottas to maintain a string of impressive performances at this track. Ricciardo has probably been the most impressive overtaker all season and he surprised Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in Budapest. PW
You cannot overtake at Monaco goes the mantra and it is largely true, nowhere more so than through the tight right-hander, Portiers, that precedes the tunnel. Force India’s Nico Hülkenberg, however, had not read the rule book. Coming up behind the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen, which had lost a little momentum allowing Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso back through, Hülkenberg sniffed a chance and coming down the hill into the 90-degree corner, he dived up the inside. Having the solid steel cojones to make the split-second decision to go for the move there when every instinct, of the racing and basic human survival variety, would have been screaming at him to back off, was extraordinary. He had his nose in front at the entrance to the tunnel and by its exit was clear. Breathtaking. GR
This season was great because …
… we had a classic confrontation between the two leading drivers that evoked memories of some of the greatest head-to-heads of the past, even Senna v Prost. It was a clash of personalities as well as driving styles and the fact that they were driving the same car made it all the more real. There were also consistently impressive performances from Ricciardo who became an immediate star once he jumped into a red Bull, and Bottas at Williams. PW
Fans have long clamoured to see two evenly matched drivers go wheel to wheel for the title and this year, after Vettel’s recent dominance, they were rewarded with exactly that. It was a battle given an added frisson by Hamilton’s and Rosberg’s differing characters and approach, where heart and raw pace vied with poise and calculation. But equally the midfield tussles have been gripping. Williams’s return to form has been a tonic and the fights between the Grove team, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren provided as good racing as we have seen in many a year. Alonso’s and Vettel’s carve-up at Silverstone was worth the price of admission alone. GR
This season was disappointing because …
… no one was competitive enough really to push Mercedes. Red Bull and Williams were good enough to cause some inconvenience on occasions but nothing serious. And away from the track F1 was a total mess, a 200mph nervous breakdown. The season started in Australia with F1 bosses – but not the fans – bellyaching about a lack of engine noise and finished with almost civil war between the teams. Nothing damages F1 as much as F1 itself. PW
Double points. This ill-informed concept, reviled by almost everyone involved in the sport and its fans, has loomed over the entire season, lending all the drama and thrills a lurking sense of disquiet. That the championship was not ultimately decided by an arbitrary distortion of benefit only to the promoters of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was good fortune for the whole sport. Supporters found it insulting and none of the drivers was in favour but, worse still, the public as a whole saw through the ruling for the entertainment-based artifice it was and their respect for the formula fell accordingly. F1, like any modern sport, simply cannot afford to alienate potential fans. Good riddance. GR
Wish for next season
That Formula One gets its act together. That it promotes and markets the sport properly (this £1.5bn business does not even have a marketing department). That it proves itself worthy of the actual racing which was often terrific in 2014. That the teams think a little about the sport instead of just themselves, that leading shareholders, CVC, sell up and Ross Brawn replaces Bernie Ecclestone to give a much-needed fresh sense of leadership to Formula One. PW
Mercedes’ advantage over the rest of the field is such that they will likely retain it to some extent next year. But, if the other teams significantly narrow or even bridge the gap next year, it would be a boon. Two or even three teams running within the same three-tenths with the current line-up of driver talent would be marvellous. Equally, it may be wishful thinking but, should Honda hit the ground running with a quick engine, a strong McLaren at the front of the grid is an element that could not help but enrich the mix. If Jenson Button were the driver to share a potentially revitalised and competitive McLaren-Honda with Alonso that would also be welcomed. GR
Fear for next season
The feeling that comes from experience – and just a little cynicism – that none of the above will happen. That things will go on in the same myopic way with no coherent financial structure and more teams going to the wall, that good venues will become endangered, with the possibility of disappearing from the calendar, while more bad ones will be added, with more white-elephant stadiums being built in some far-flung desert and, sadly, no one to fill them. PW
The reality is that F1 is not in a crisis despite the loss of two teams this year but it does need to address its finance issue. The difficulty is that the two biggest beneficiaries of the sport’s wealth have no urgent vested interest in resolving the distribution of funds towards the smaller teams. The owners, CVC, are a private equity firm in the business of making money; they will not wish to see their extraordinarily lucrative profits dented with more payouts to the grid. Equally the big teams are just as self-interested; voluntarily lowering their share of the pot would be of detriment only to themselves while helping potential rivals. It is a short-term financial impasse that threatens the sport’s long-term stability. Bernie Ecclestone’s recent, increasingly erratic statements suggest a change at the top may be needed in order to address it. Dealing with the issue next year is crucial but only in such a way that new entrants can be competitive. Having teams that are way off the pace simply to make up the numbers brings nothing to the sport. GR
