Before the season begins, we take a closer look into the team and driver line ups that will contest the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, the F1 Calendar, wrap up of Pre-Season Testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and What to look out for in 2018.

 

 

Team and Driver Line-ups

 

 

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport – Quadruple World Champions Mercedes retains the pairing of reigning Champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for the 2018 season with Pascal Wehrlein returning as the Brackley squad’s reserve driver. The Silver Arrows remain the favourites and the team to beat in it’s quest to claim five consecutive Driver’s and Constructors Championships. Will 2018 deliver a fifth-title for Hamilton or a maiden championship for Bottas?

 

Scuderia Ferrari – Runners up Ferrari also kept their driving line-up stable with four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and the Scuderia’s last World Champion Kimi Raikkonen for another year with former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat brought in as the team’s reserve driver. Can Sebastian Vettel turn things around in 2018 and capture his fifth World Championship crown or Kimi Raikkonen return to the winners’ circle as both driver’s also attempt to end the Scuderia’s 11-year drought without a Driver’s Championship and the 10-year drought without a Constructors Championship. Has Ferrari also solved their reliability issues that plagued them during the second half of the season in 2017?

 

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing – The Milton-Keynes based squad keeps duo Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen for the 2018 season with Sebastian Buemi, the team’s test and reserve driver. Will the Milton-Keynes based squad be back fighting amongst Mercedes and Ferrari in 2018 and force a three-way battle? Could Ricciardo or Verstappen possibly capture their first maiden title?

 

Force India F1 Team (Name Change TBA) – Force India retains Mercedes protégé Esteban Ocon and Mexican Sergio Perez with Canadian Formula 2 driver Nicolas Latifi and Russian GP3 driver Nikita Mazepin as their reserves.

 

Williams Martini Racing – The Grove-based outfit features Lance Stroll, who enters his second year in Formula One and will welcome new team-mate Sergey Sirotkin who is promoted from Formula 2. Robert Kubica returns to the sport as the team’s test and development driver.

 

Renault Sport Formula One Team – The Enstone-based French works squad keep a stable line up with Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz piloting the RS18 racer with ART Grand Prix British Formula 2 youngster Jack Aitken and 2017 Formula 2 Runner up for Russian Time, Artem Markelov as their test and reserve drivers.

 

Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda – A new era with Honda power for the Red Bull sister team. Two-time World Endurance Champion and one time Le Man 24 Hours winner Brendon Hartley partners 2016 GP2 Champion Pierre Gasly.

 

Haas F1 Team – Formula One’s American outfit keep stability in the team with Romain Grosjean once again partnering Dane Kevin Magnussen. American youngster Santino Ferrucci and India’s Arjun Maini, both racing for Trident in FIA Formula 2 are the squads test and reserve drivers.

 

McLaren-Renault F1 Team – It’s a new beginning for McLaren, with Renault as their new engine supplier and the Woking-based squad keeps the duo of two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso and 2015 GP2 Series Champion Stoffel Vandoorne as their drivers for the 2018 campaign. 2017 FIA Formula 3 World Champion and current Carlin Motorsport FIA Formula 2 driver Lando Norris will be the teams test driver.

 

Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team – Iconic Italian Manufacturer Alfa Romeo returns to Formula One as the Hinwil-based outfits title sponsor and on a multi-year technical and commercial deal. The team will be running updated spec-Ferrari engines as it looks to move back up the field after a transitional year in 2017. Marcus Ericsson stays onboard for his fourth year at Sauber and is joined by Ferrari protégé and 2017 FIA Formula 2 Champion Charles Leclerc who replaces Pascal Wehrlein in the C37 racer. Former Ferrari and Haas reserve Antonio Giovinazzi and Colombia’s Tatiana Calderon will be the team’s test and reserve drivers.

 

F1 2018 Calendar

 

 

The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship will feature 21 rounds beginning with the season opening Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Street Circuit in Melbourne from March 22-25 with the championship ending at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from November 23-25.

 

The French Grand Prix returns to the Formula One calendar for the first time since 2008, with the race returning to the Paul Ricard Circuit which last hosted the French Grand Prix in 1990 before moving to the Circuit Magny-Cours. The French Grand Prix will be run in June while the Azerbaijan Grand Prix gets pushed up to the fourth round near the end of April to avoid clashes with the celebrations of the Azerbaijani Republic.

 

The German Grand Prix also returns to the calendar after a one-year absence with the Hockenheimring hosting the event.

 

The Malaysian Grand Prix which was part of the championship from 1999 to 2017 was discontinued after not renewing their contract and the Russian Grand Prix moves from April to September to fill Malaysia’s slot on the calendar.

Round 1: March 22-25 2018 – Formula 1 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park Street Circuit, Melbourne, Australia.

Round 2: April 06-08 2018 – Formula 1 2018 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain.

Round 3: April 13-15 2018 – Formula 1 2018 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China.

Round 4: April 27-29 2018 – Formula 1 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan.

Round 5: May 11-13 2018 – Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana 2018, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

Round 6: May 24-27 2018, Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco 2018, Circuit De Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Round 7: June 08-10 2018, Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada 2018, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada.

Round 8: June 22-24 2018, Formula 1 Grand Prix De France 2018, Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France.

Round 9: June 29-July 01 2018, Formula 1 Grosser Preis Von Osterreich 2018, Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.

Round 10: July 06-08 2018, Formula 1 2018 Rolex British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Great Britain.

Round 11: July 20-22 2018, Formula 1 Grosser Preis Von Deutschland 2018, Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany.

Round 12: July 27-29 2018, Formula 1 Magyar Nagydij 2018, Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary.

Round 13: July 24-26 2018, Formula 1 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.

Round 14: August 31-02 September 2018, Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken D’Italia 2018, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy.

Round 15: September 14-16 2018, Formula 1 2018 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore.

Round 16: September 28-30 2018, Formula 1 2018 VTB Russian Grand Prix, Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia.

Round 17: October 05-07 2018, Formula 1 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Japan.

Round 18: October 19-21 2018, Formula 1 2018 Pirelli United States Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, United States of America.

Round 19: October 26-28 2018, Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken De Mexico 2018, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico.

Round 20: November 09-11 2018, Formula 1 Grande Premio Heineken Do Brasil 2018, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Round 21: November 23-25 2018, Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

 

 

Pre-Season Testing Wrap

 

First Test

 

Lewis Hamilton set the first Formula 1 pre-season test on fire for the Silver Arrows as an early warning shot in their quest to win a fifth consecutive championship.

 

The Briton, who only completed 25 laps prior to an afternoon running on the final day, set his best effort on the white-branded Medium compounds, a tyre that Mercedes used more than the others during the week.

 

However, the first test was less representative than this year due to three days of severe weather wreaking havoc at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

 

Teams had to deal with wet conditions at various times on three of the four days running, and freezing temperatures made much of the dry-running very meaningless.

 

The morning of the third day was delayed for three hours due to heavy snow, but on the final day of the first test, temperatures increased, and teams were back to work once the track dried out following overnight rain.

 

Ferrari finished the test as the closest challenger to the Silver Arrows, with Sebastian Vettel’s second day topping time on the yellow-marked soft tyre, three tenths off Hamilton’s effort, which was set in warmer conditions.

 

 

Stoffel Vandoorne took a surprising third overall after ending the fourth day second quickest, although the Belgian’s best times were all set using the new softest rubber, the pink-marked hypersoft tyre, which McLaren used more than its competitors.

 

That pace allowed the Woking-based squad to end the first testing week on a positive, after its new era with Renault-power began with Fernando Alonso losing a wheel on the opening day and Vandoorne being restricted to 37 laps on the second day when a $2 problem caused the MCL33 racer’s exhaust to come loose, causing heat damage under the bodywork.

 

Alonso was the only driver to post a time on a wet and snowy third day, clocking 11 laps as McLaren ran simple performance checks and despite its issues, the Woking-based outfit ran 52 more laps in the opening week of testing than it did during last year’s horrendous opening test with Honda.

 

It was positive days for Honda after its post-McLaren era, with new ally Toro Rosso on top of the lap count chart on the opening week.

 

It put the Faenza-based squad ahead of senior team Red Bull on mileage, as two fuel leaks hampered Dutchman Max Verstappen and a trip into the gravel on the final day halted the RB14 racer’s early running.

 

However Red Bull still showed decent pace with Daniel Ricciardo quickest on the first day, and he and Verstappen completed the opening week of pre-season testing fifth and seventh in the combined times respectively despite not heading out on the final afternoon when the Catalunya circuit was at its warmest.

 

Renault’s works team duo Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz split Alonso in the middle of the field, with Williams Martini Racing’s Lance Stroll behind them. The Canadian was quickest of the three Williams drivers as he shared the Mercedes-powered FW41 with new Russian teammate Sergey Sirotkin and reserve Robert Kubica.

 

Force India, who are one of the teams planning a major upgrade for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park had a quiet first week of testing, with the Silverstone-squad having limited mileage that put it bottom of the lap completed count.

 

A sensor issue restricted development driver Nikita Mazepin to just 22 laps on day one when the VJM11 was launched, while reserve Nicolas Latifi was too ill to hop in the car on the final day of running.

 

Regular Sergio Perez took his place, as the Mexican did not get any running during the week due to severe weather and got the 17th quickest time, behind teammate Esteban Ocon.

 

Of the regular drivers, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson, who both brought red flags out during the week after spinning into the gravel trap, ended the test at the rear of the field, only beating Mazepin’s effort from his short running on day one.

 

Second Test

 

 

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel smashed the unofficial lap record as the Scuderia dominated the timesheets in the final week of pre-season testing at the Spanish Grand Prix circuit.

 

As weather disrupted the season-opening test, topped by Lewis Hamilton and the Silver Arrows, it gave the teams more work to their testing programmes in the last four days of the final test before the season opening Australian Grand Prix next weekend.

 

Vettel hammered the unofficial lap record on the Thursday in his final day of running with a 1:17.182, that blitzed the previous quickest lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya by 1.2 seconds.

 

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen showed more of the Scuderia’s promise getting within 0.039 seconds of the German to top the timesheets on the last day of testing.

 

Vettel was also the most active driver on track clocking up 425 laps, due to Raikkonen giving up his first morning of the final test due to illness.

 

Vettel urged caution not to look too much into the times, especially as the Silver Arrows focus was on long runs and ended up 1.3 seconds adrift.

 

“I think it’s the wrong conclusion to look at the time sheet,” explained Vettel. “There’s more to it than a good lap.”

 

The Scuderia were comfortably clear of the field, surprisingly headed by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.

 

Reliability problems plagued the Woking-based outfit as Alonso stopped twice in the same place on day two and the final day of running in the start of McLaren’s new era with Renault power.

 

McLaren replaced the engine after each stoppage as Alonso came out late on Friday afternoon to give the team some relief as the Spaniard posted the third-fastest time, 0.602 seconds behind Vettel’s best effort on the pink-branded hypersoft compounds.

 

This meant McLaren was the fastest Renault-powered team, with Alonso ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull and Carlos Sainz’ works outfit as all three teams completed the top five and were split by three tenths on the time charts.

 

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen was sixth-fastest overall and gave the Kannapolis based team some pre-season confidence as the Dane was the only driver in the top six to set his best lap on the red-marked supersofts, as the rest of the field used the new hypersofts.

 

Toro Rosso’s new alliance with McLaren’s former partner Honda continued to show more promise with the Faenza-squad clocking up more laps than everyone except Mercedes and Ferrari over the two weeks of running.

 

Showing strong pace and reliability, Pierre Gasly fired a quick lap near the days end to drop reigning champion Lewis Hamilton to eighth in the overall timesheet.

 

World Champions Mercedes were still optimistic at the end of testing, after once again completing the most mileage out of the field, with a total of 1040 laps making the Brackley-based squad the only team to reach over quadruple numbers over the two testing weeks, with Ferrari (929) over 100 laps less than the Silver Arrows.

 

Both Mercedes-powered teams Williams and Force India helped keep Mercedes on top of engine manufacturers’ count too and over 161 laps ahead of Ferrari from 2,570 to 2,409.

 

Renault’s lap count was setback by McLaren’s reliability woes, Red Bull’s occasional gremlin and a gearbox-hampered final day for the works outfit, but the French manufacturer still completed 2,000 laps.

 

Honda’s improved mileage running with new partner Toro Rosso was a decent total of 822 laps, which was well in line with the other competitors as its manufacturing rivals are supplying three teams.

 

What to look out for this season

 

 

Mercedes to continue record breaking? Mercedes have a long way to go before they equal Ferrari’s run of six Consecutive Constructor’s Championships, achieved between 1999 and 2004. Another championship will give the Silver Arrows it’s fifth in succession and will surpass Red Bull’s title-run of four consecutive championships (2010-2013). Their quest for a fifth crown may be the toughest for all as they face the toughest task of all. Red Bull finished hot on the Silver Arrows heels while Ferrari will stop at nothing until they end the drought and become champions again. It has been ten years since the Scuderia’s most recent triumph in 2008 and the demand for success at Maranello has never been higher. Both teams may be friends off the track but the rivalry off it is intense.

 

Hamilton v Vettel battle for fifth title or a Ricciardo/Verstappen maiden title? Hamilton v Vettel was the story of the 2017 season. For the first time ever, Formula One will feature two four-time World Champions on the grid making it one of the most anticipated battles and it all begins again at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Although a fight between Hamilton and Vettel in 2018 seems likely, there are no assurances on whether it will happen again. Valtteri Bottas who ended the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on a high is another possible contender. Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are another possibility. The sport would be craving a triple-threat battle between Formula One’s top three teams.

 

McLaren back among the giants? Anything lower than fifth-place in the Constructors Championship will be another massive hit to the Woking-based outfit’s reputation in it’s post-Honda era as it enters a new dawn with Renault power. With the French manufacturers powertrains which also helped Red Bull to score victories last year, anything less than regular podiums for McLaren will be a catastrophe and another big dent in it’s reputation than it endured during the Honda era. Fernando Alonso’s promise in testing, posting the third quickest time hinted at good potential, but the Woking-based squad still encountered reliability problems. Can McLaren bounce back?

 

Nine youngsters featuring on the grid. In the 2018 season, there will be nine drivers aged 25 or younger. Lance Stroll (19), Charles Leclerc (20), Max Verstappen (20), Pierre Gasly (21), Esteban Ocon (21), Sergey Sirotkin (22), Carlos Sainz (23), Kevin Magnussen (25) and Stoffel Vandoorne (25). Eight teams of the 10 will be filled with a youthful presence. How will this fountain of youth playout in 2018? Will we see more crashes? Aggressive track action or youngsters who talk like an older person with experience? There will be six drivers on the grid over the age of 30 at the start of the 2018 season, with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton as the third oldest. The two veterans on the grid Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are possibly in with a shout of being the oldest in 2019 should one of them remain for another year in motorsport’s pinnacle.

 

Honda’s year of resurgence? The 2018 championship will be the year that we learn if it really was the Japanese manufacturers fault for holding McLaren back for the last 3 seasons. What 2018 will reveal for both remains to be seen, but Honda have shown promising signs with new partner Toro Rosso ending the pre-season tests with the seventh quickest time and completing the third most laps. Red Bull are closely watching their junior team’s progress, could 2019 be the year that Honda also power the senior squad? This 2018 season could be the Japanese manufacturers most important yet.

 

How will things unfold? It all begins again at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park next weekend.