2014 featured the biggest technological changes to Formula One in many, many years, by far the biggest in the five years I've been a motorsport fan. Gone were the high-revving, naturally-aspired V8 engines whose screamed stirred something primal in the hearts of all those who heard. In their place were low-revving, smaller-displacement, turbocharged V6 engines equipped with so much hybrid battery technology that broadcasters weren't even allowed to talk about "engines" anymore, just "power units." Gone also was the high-pitched wail that was synonymous with F1; in its place was a sickly throb, a low-pitched gurgle that, if anything, sounded like a tugboat motor struggling under load. I never realized how crucial the aural component—that aforementioned stirring scream—was the the grand prix experience until it was gone. Early in the new are, there was talk of lawsuits by event promoters against Formula One Management (the S.P.E.C.T.R.E.-link company that owns the commercial rights to F1; honest-to-goodness, F1 "supremo" Bernie Ecclestone is the real-world analog of a Bond villain) for breach of contract, because race-attending fans were so disappointed by the power units' distinctly un-banshee-like sound.
There was also a distinct lack of competition throughout '14. Only two teams won any races: the Mercedes A.M.G. factory team & Red Bull Racing (Renault). The "Silver Arrows" of Mercedes won sixteen of the nineteen grands prix; Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull won the other three, all of which saw the Mercedes handicapped by mechanical woes. Mercedes won sixteen of nineteen & the season wasn't even as close as that; Mercedes's drivers recorded eleven one-two finishes. Williams, also using Mercedes-Benz engines, were the only other team to claim pole position in qualifying. This was far & away the least amusing year since I've been an F1 fan, dating back to the Monaco Grand Prix in '09. Unless something changes, this new era augurs ill for the future of the sport.
The only real competition was betwixt the Mercedes drivers, '08 World Champion Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg. Rosberg won five grands prix to Hamilton's eleven; the competition for the World Drivers' Championship went down to the final race only because of a gimmicky awarding of double points for that race, which kept Rosberg in with a mathematical chance long after he should have been eliminated, & because Hamilton suffered the worse of the technical faults. Lewis Hamilton, considered the finest driver of his generation until Sebastian Vettel rattled off four consecutive drivers' titles with Red Bull, thus became the winningest British driver in F1 history & a double World Champion: a picture is worth a thousand words-link.
Formula One World Championship
Round 1
Australian Grand Prix
Sunday, 16 March 2014
1st Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2nd Place: Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (Mercedes)
3rd Place: Jenson Button, McLaren (Mercedes)
Round 2
Malaysian Grand Prix
Sunday, 30 March 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 3
Bahrain Grand Prix
Sunday, 6 April 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Sergio Pérez, Force India (Mercedes)
The early notices here at The Secret Base were not favorable: Wayback Machine.
Round 4
Chinese Grand Prix
Sunday, 20 April 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
Round 5
Gran Premio de España
Sunday, 11 May 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 6
Grand Prix de Monaco
Sunday, 25 May 2014
1st Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2nd Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3rd Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 7
Grand Prix du Canada
Sunday, 8 June 2014
1st Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Renault)
The first grand prix won by any team other than Mercedes & the first grand prix in which two out of the three drivers on the podium drove non-Mercedes-powered cars.
Round 8
Großer Preis von Österreich
Sunday, 22 June 2014
1st Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2nd Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3rd Place: Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Mercedes)
Round 9
British Grand Prix
Sunday, 6 July 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Mercedes)
3rd Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 10
Großer Preis von Deutschland
Sunday, 20 July 2014
1st Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2nd Place: Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Mercedes)
3rd Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Round 11
Magyar Nagydíj (Hungarian Grand Prix)
Sunday, 27 July 2014
1st Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
2nd Place: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
3rd Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
The first grand prix in which neither Mercedes driver, neither Hamilton nor Rosberg, finished at least second.
Round 12
Belgian Grand Prix
Sunday, 24 August 2014
1st Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Mercedes)
Round 13
Gran Premio d'Italia
Sunday, 7 September 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Felipe Massa, Williams (Mercedes)
Round 14
Singapore Grand Prix
Sunday, 21 September 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Renault)
3rd Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 15
Japanese Grand Prix
Sunday, 5 October 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 16
Russian Grand Prix
Sunday, 12 October 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Mercedes)
Round 17
United States Grand Prix
Sunday, 2 November 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3rd Place: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Renault)
Round 18
Grande Prêmio do Brasil
Sunday, 9 November 2014
1st Place: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2nd Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3rd Place: Felipe Massa, Williams (Mercedes)
Round 19
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Sunday, 23 November 2014
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2nd Place: Felipe Massa, Williams (Mercedes)
3rd Place: Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Mercedes)
There was not a single podium all season long that did not feature at least one Mercedes driver, & the majority (twelve out of nineteen) featured both. Here's hoping Renault, Ferrari, & new engine-supplier Honda (to power McLaren) are able to close the gap to Mercedes, & that the other Mercedes-powered teams are able to close the gap to the factory squad, or 2015 could be even more stultifying than 2014.
The '15 season began last weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. "This Week in Motorsport" coming soon.
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