The 2014 Formula 1 season was a hotly contested one, but only for two drivers who raced for the same team. Mercedes had made a big leap with its engine and the only candidates for the title were Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, with the former being crowned champion.
What’s worse is the fact that the new 1.6-liter V6 turbo engines and the FIA regulations concerning aerodynamics made the cars slower than 2013 – not to mention that the sound was nothing as exciting as the one from the normally aspirated V8s of the past.
Still, sole F1 tire supplier Pirelli expects a big step in performance from all the teams for the upcoming season, both in terms of engine output and aerodynamic performance, and has developed its 2015 tires accordingly.
“Even if we took the same compound choices everywhere as in 2014, what was conservative might start becoming aggressive because the pace of evolution for next year is going to be pretty dramatic”, Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery told ESPN. “We saw big improvements towards the end of the season. We can expect quite a big jump again in performance, and if we are talking a second or two seconds a lap speed improvement then that dramatically changes the way the tires are used, so we have to be wary of and follow that.”
Hembery also believes that, in spite of Mercedes walking away with both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles, last year wasn’t as bad as most people think: “It was very interesting with lots of battles and a lot of in-team battles – we haven’t seen a lot of them in recent years. If you take away the Mercedes dominance, it has been pretty tight with the group behind and the racing has been good.”
With none of the teams having unveiled its 2015 car yet, we’ll have to wait for the first race of the year to see if Pirelli’s estimates are correct. Oh, and having close fights in the back is all nice and good, but not even close to see more than one team fighting for the championship.
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