10 Bold Decisions to Make F1 More Exciting in 2015
With an intense title battle, plenty of subplots and no shortage of twists and turns, the 2014 Formula One season was one of the most exciting campaigns in recent memory.
The biggest regulation changes the sport had ever seen were set either to inject it with a new lease of life or push it further into insignificance.
F1, fortunately, passed the test with flying colours—but there is still room for improvement.
After the joy of 2014 comes the difficult second season of the new-look F1, when it will either be expected to match or surpass the excitement levels of a campaign that ended with Lewis Hamilton claiming his second world championship.
Here are 10 decisions that can be made by the FIA, the governing body, and some of the teams to ensure that Formula One will be even more compelling in 2015.
Keep Things Even at Mercedes
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Mercedes' comfortable pace advantage over the rest of the field in 2014 gave the Silver Arrows the freedom to let Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton fight equally for the championship.
It was the chief reason why the campaign will be remembered as one of the best in Formula One history, but all could change in 2015.
Should Red Bull, Williams, Ferrari and, indeed, the great unknown that is McLaren-Honda mount a sterner challenge next season, Mercedes could prioritise one driver over the other to aid the chances of retaining their drivers' and constructors' titles.
Though playing it safe would go some way to killing the rivalry that has blossomed since Hamilton and Rosberg became team-mates in 2013.
Drop the Korean GP Before It's Too Late
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Eyebrows were raised earlier this month when the Korean Grand Prix was included on a 21-race calendar for the 2015 season.
The event was previously thought to have been consigned to history having not been present on the 2014 schedule, but a May 3 date was set for its return in 2015.
Not only would it present a logistical nightmare for the teams—the grand prix takes place less than a week before the teams travel to Spain to commence the European season—but the Korean GP was also one of the dullest events on the calendar in its previous coming.
With a lack of spectators, a boring track layout and no identity, the Yeongam race was an event to simply tick off the list, rather than one to savour.
Although Andrew Benson of BBC Sport shed some light on its inclusion on the calendar—it is claimed that a 21-race schedule will aid teams in getting around an engine usage regulation—the Korean Grand Prix remains a 2015 fixture for now at least.
Move the Russian GP from Sochi to Moscow
3 of 10While we're culling the boring venues, the Sochi Autodrom can also disappear from the calendar.
The site of the 2014 Winter Olympics hosted its first grand prix in October, which was arguably the most tedious of the season with a runaway winner and a desperate lack of on-track action.
With the track essentially a recreation of the dire Valencia street circuit, why not accept Sochi as a failed experiment and switch to a purpose-built venue?
The Russian Grand Prix has the potential to become a leading Formula One event, and a race at the Moscow Raceway—a venue much closer to the capital—would help the sport make a name for itself in its own right in Russia.
True, the track, on the evidence of the above onboard footage, might not look like the most thrilling ribbon of tarmac, but the circuit announced via its official website shortly after the Russian GP that it had received an FIA Grade One license, allowing it to stage F1 races.
A coincidence? Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
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McLaren Must Not Pander to Fernando Alonso
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One of the reasons why Fernando Alonso's previous spell at McLaren ended in acrimonious circumstances was the team's failure to offer preferential treatment to the Spaniard.
In giving Lewis Hamilton, a 22-year-old rookie, the same opportunities as a two-time world champion in 2007, the team soon alienated their marquee signing, and Alonso left after just one season.
Now they've lured him back to Woking, there may be a feeling within McLaren to go the extra mile in their efforts to keep Alonso onside.
Casting Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, in the guinea pig role previously held by Felipe Massa would be one way of pleasing Alonso, but it would be a disservice to the sport if a pecking order were introduced at McLaren.
And if the team's chairman Ron Dennis truly believes that McLaren—as he told BBC Sport's Andrew Benson—has "the best driver line-up in F1," he'll ensure that both Button and Alonso will fight on even ground.
Points for Pole
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With 11 pole positions out of a possible 19, Nico Rosberg became the inaugural winner of Formula One's "Pole Trophy" in 2014.
But—even after the FIA's annual "Prize-Giving Gala" in Qatar earlier this month—does anybody have a clue what the Pole Trophy actually looks like?
Much like the silverware handed to the title winners, the Pole Trophy seems to be an award for awarding's sake.
An invisible prize, the Pole Trophy bears no significance to anyone—so why not reward pole-sitters with meaningful world championship points instead?
The idea of points for pole is nothing new and, admittedly, it could significantly distort the course of a title battle, but handing an extra 10 points only to drivers who convert pole position into victory wouldn't be a bad thing.
Points for Fastest Lap
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Like points for pole, the idea of rewarding the driver who sets the fastest lap of a race has been mooted for some time, but it has never come into effect.
Yet its appeal cannot be denied.
A host of drivers are normally in contention for the prize, with Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez, for example—whose on-track successes in 2014 were limited—setting fastest-lap times in Monaco and Austria, respectively.
The rule may also have the effect of encouraging drivers to race flat-out, even in the latter stages of grands prix, which would maintain interest at a time when cars are usually in conservation mode.
It could even lead to some drivers making costly mistakes as they push to the limit, generating excitement against the backdrop of the race itself.
If F1 is determined to hand out extra points, surely rewarding drivers for the fastest lap would be more productive than the doomed double-points rule.
Ferrari Have to Give James Allison Freedom
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Just like football's Premier League needs a competitive Manchester United, Formula One needs a strong Ferrari.
It all seems so much more worthwhile when one of the sport's legendary teams is at the sharp end of the field, and that will be truer than ever in 2015, when Sebastian Vettel's arrival will signal a new era at the Prancing Horse.
Yet the four-time world champion's arrival will count for little if the team's 2015 car proves to be as dysfunctional as their 2014 effort.
That is why Ferrari must give technical director James Allison, one of the sharpest engineers in F1, the freedom to produce a car that will let the team fight at the front.
In May, the 46-year-old was quoted by Autosport.com's Ben Anderson as bemoaning a lack of "space" at the famously political team, which was having an adverse effect on their competitiveness.
And if his superiors have been listening, Allison—the man behind Lotus' race-winning cars of 2012 and 2013—will be allowed to work his magic, which can only be good news for Ferrari, Vettel and the 2015 season.
Prevent a Marussia, Caterham Return
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When both Marussia and Caterham entered administration in October, it was feared how an 18-car grid would be received by race promoters, sponsors and spectators.
Those concerns were laid to rest within one race, however, with an action-packed United States Grand Prix ensuring that the backmarkers were not missed.
If anything, their absence sparked a greater interest in the racing toward the rear of the field as more competitive teams like Sauber and Lotus targeted a rare top-10 finish.
Although Caterham did return for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix—albeit only after a crowd-funding exercise—their presence added little to the Yas Marina race, and there is nothing to suggest that will change if they made a full-time return in 2015.
F1 can live without them.
Thaw the Engines
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An in-season engine freeze in 2014 prevented Renault and Ferrari from making improvements to their power units and, therefore, prevented them from from challenging Mercedes.
And with engine power now the biggest difference between the cars in terms of performance, it would make sense to relax or even cancel the freeze to make F1 both more competitive and exciting.
Autosport.com's Jonathan Noble reported in November that discussions had taken place with a view to changing the homologation restrictions—which currently see a token system used for limited improvements during the off-season—for 2015, but an agreement could not be reached.
Yet something has to be changed to guard against F1 being dominated by one manufacturer next year and beyond.
Leaner Penalties for Power-Unit Misdemeanors
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The latter stages of the 2014 campaign saw ridiculously heavy penalties handed to drivers who were forced into using a sixth power unit element of the year.
Sebastian Vettel, for example, told F1 journalist James Allen of his threat to sit out qualifying for the United States Grand Prix with a pit-lane start hanging over him. Meanwhile, Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was given a 20-place grid drop in Abu Dhabi—even though only 18 cars were present at the race.
Not only do these severe punishments ruin drivers' weekends before they even begin, but they also deny fans the pleasure of seeing their favourite stars in action.
In a season that saw in-race penalties relaxed considerably and with great success, these overly harsh punishments were out of place.
The FIA, in recognition of this, announced (h/t Formula1.com) that penalties "will be applied cumulatively based on the individual components of each power unit" in 2015, although it remains to be seen whether these changes will be reasonable.
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