F1 2015: Calendar, Drivers, Rules and Preview Ahead of Australian Grand Prix

The 2015 Formula 1 season is finally upon us and this weekend brings with it the Australian Grand Prix curtain raiser, where the cream of the crop will begin their journey anew in pursuit of world domination.

Lewis Hamilton is the man to be shot at as he bids to defend his crown, but pre-season testing suggests his Mercedes team once again boasts the best car ahead of the new campaign.

Below we provide an overview of the season ahead, as well as a brief review of the latest rule changes employed for the 2015 season and a look at how these transitions promise to affect the Formula 1 landscape in 2015.

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	Australian Grand Prix	Australia Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne	15 March
2	Malaysian Grand Prix	Malaysia Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	29 March
3	Chinese Grand Prix	China Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	12 April
4	Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	19 April
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona	10 May
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Canada Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	7 June
8	Austrian Grand Prix	Austria Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	21 June
9	British Grand Prix	United Kingdom Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	5 July
10	German Grand Prix	TBC	19 July
11	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungary Hungaroring, Budapest	26 July
12	Belgian Grand Prix	Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	23 August
13	Italian Grand Prix	Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	6 September
14	Singapore Grand Prix	Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	20 September
15	Japanese Grand Prix	Japan Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	27 September
16	Russian Grand Prix	Russia Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	11 October
17	United States Grand Prix	United States Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	25 October
18	Mexican Grand Prix	Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	1 November
19	Brazilian Grand Prix	Brazil Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	15 November
20	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	29 November

Driver	Team (Constructor)
Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen	Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari)
Sergio Perez	Sahara Force India F1 Team (Force India-Mercedes)
Niko Hulkenberg	Sahara Force India F1 Team (Force India-Mercedes)
Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1 Team (Lotus-Mercedes)
Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1 Team (Lotus-Mercedes)
Will Stevens	Sahara Force India F1 Team (Marussia-Ferrari)
Roberto Merhi	Sahara Force India F1 Team (Marussia-Ferrari)
Kevin Magnussen	McLaren Honda (McLaren-Honda)
Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda (McLaren-Honda)
Jenson Button	McLaren Honda (McLaren-Honda)
Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team (Mercedes)
Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team (Mercedes)
Daniel Ricciardo	Infiniti Red Bull Racing (Red Bull-Renault)
Daniil Kyvat	Infiniti Red Bull Racing (Red Bull-Renault)
Marcus Ericsson	Sauber F1 Team (Sauber-Ferrari)
Felipe Nasr	Sauber F1 Team (Sauber-Ferrari)
Giedo van der Garde	Sauber F1 Team (Sauber-Ferrari)
Max Verstappen	Scuderia Toro Rosso (Toro Rosso-Renault)
Carlos Sainz Jr.	Scuderia Toro Rosso (Toro Rosso-Renault)
Felipe Massa	Williams Martini Racing (Williams-Mercedes)
Valtteri Bottas	Williams Martini Racing (Williams-Mercedes)

Ten-Second Penalties

The regulation changes in 2015 aren't quite as drastic as the overhaul of 2014, but there are still a number of tweaks and tune-ups that promise to affect the sport tremendously.

Per the official Formula 1 website, stewards now have the option of handing out 10-second penalties "for minor infringements" after five-second penalties were introduced last year.

These penalties are applied during a driver's pit-stop, but can be added on at the end of a race in the event that isn't possible.

Power Unit Practicality

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Perhaps the most significant change to this season's approach will be how teams treat their engines, with the permitted number of power units dropped from five in 2014 to just four in 2015.

This means a team will have to make each engine last five races on average across the 20-race campaign, with Honda even announcing that their engines had joined the world of social media:

Although some teams will knowingly take on the resulting grid penalties, new structures have been put in place to ward teams away from running over the power-unit limitations.

The main difference this year will be that a complete power-unit change no longer results in an automatic penalty. Also, if a driver is unable to take a full grid penalty given their grid position, the remaining penalties will instead convert to time penalties instead of rolling over to the next race, outlined as such:

Remainder of grid penalty	Race penalty
1-5 places	Five-second time penalty
6-10 places	Ten-second time penalty
11-20 places	Drive-through penalty
20 or more places	Ten second stop-go penalty

Therefore, teams who experience fewer engine issues and are more settled with a consistent design are at less risk of incurring such setbacks.

Design Changes

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Aesthetically, Formula 1 has been all about the nose in 2015 and the tip of front end of each teams' car designs account for the biggest visual changes this year. 

Following last season's diversely interpreted take on nose designs, allowances on this section have been tightened in 2015. An explanation on the official Formula 1 website reads as follows:

"

The new rules require a low nose tip with a cross sectional area of at least 9,000mm2. Just 100mm behind the tip the nose must broaden to at least 20,000mm2.

[...]

As per the regulations, this is much slimmer than their 2014 solution. The main challenge for all teams is to compensate for the big aerodynamic impact of the changes, as the newly mandated nose section creates a blockage, robbing the front of the car of downforce.

"

The statement also explains that numerous teams have opted for differing designs to their stub or tip of the nose, but the main objective is to see cars comply with the aerodynamic changes.

Furthermore, Formula 1 cars have been subject to more stringent crash tests this year, with safety understandably the overriding priority before any technological advancement.

For a comprehensive look at Formula 1's rules and regulation changes for 2015, visit the official Formula 1 website.

Preview

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Heading into the 20th Australian Grand Prix, reigning constructors' champions Mercedes are looking likely to once again feature among the power players of the 2015 campaign.

Shaking off illness, Lewis Hamilton recovered to register some impressive times in pre-season testing, as did team-mate Nico Rosberg, who's aiming to defend his Melbourne title on Sunday, per Mercedes AMG F1:

The Mercedes pair are predicted to once again be among the top contenders for this year's title, but the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and Lotus each showed positive signs in pre-season and are looking to slow Mercedes' streak.

Ferrari's official Twitter account insists drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who hold five world championships between them, are ready to get their seasons underway: 

One who will be missing at the first race of the year, however, is McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who was pulled after the medical team decided not to risk his health following his crash in Catalunya several weeks ago.

And despite finishing with the fewest pre-season laps of any driver, stand-in driver Kevin Magnussen says he's up for the battle in Melbourne, per Crash.net:

"

I'm really pleased to be behind the wheel with McLaren-Honda at Melbourne again. Of course, the reason I am here is an unusual one, but my job is to do the best job I can for the team while Fernando is out of the cockpit, and that's what I'll do. 

Although I didn't expect to be sitting in the cockpit in Australia, I've spent the winter preparing as I would normally for a race season, so I feel fit and ready for the task ahead of me and to do the best I can for the team. It's a fantastic opportunity for me to get more mileage under my belt in the MP4-30, and this will in turn benefit the team over the coming months as I work with them back in Woking.

"

An unexpected twist of events in last year's Australian Grand Prix saw Magnussen claim a shock second-place finish on his Formula 1 debut, and another case of strange events surround his 2015 attempt.

This time the 22-year-old Dane has a greater sense of expectation upon his shoulders, but looking at the bigger picture, the main pressure resides with defending champion Hamilton.