Formula One: The sport's major issues ahead of 2015

Daniel Ricciardo

MORE: F1 scraps double points for 2015

The Sound


Fan complaints over the quieter engines started in Melbourne and echoed until the mid-season European leg of the calendar.  By the end of the 2014 season, the whinging seemed to fade.
The reality is that the new V6 turbo engine are here to stay. F1 will not go backwards. The new hybrid technology cost too much to implement.  

Is Jules Bianchi on the mend?

The Marussia driver is no longer in an artificial coma but remains unconscious. He could still become the first driver to die following a crash since Ayrton Senna 20 years ago, and that would plunge the sport into a new crisis.


Jules Bianchi is still in a critical condition following his crash at the Japanese Grand Prix on October 5. Photo: Getty

Is the sport safe enough?

Bianchi's failure to slow down enough has been blamed as the main cause of his horrific crash in the Japanese Grand Prix, the major investigation into his accident has found.
The Italian "did not slow sufficiently" under double yellow flags to avoid losing control and prevent his head-on collision with a recovery tractor at a speed of nearly 80mph, the 10-person panel said.
Crashes happen in motorsport, especially in wet conditions. Is the deadly design of the recovery tractor  not the real issue in the Bianchi crash? With so much effort put into preventing head injuries, why use a tractor with a chassis base the same height as a driver's head?     

MORE: Bianchi 'did not slow sufficiently'

Another season of Mercedes dominance?

Sadly engine rivals Renault and Ferrari appear unlikely to close the gap to dominant Mercedes before the start of next season.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race in 2014. Let's face it, those two Red Bull victories were born of Mercedes errors, and had little to do with race speed.
Ferrari and Red Bull have lobbied to have restrictions on mid-season engine development lifted. But relaxing those rules would place too much pressure on smaller teams.
Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda responded to Red Bull and Ferrari's appeals by saying: "Why didn't they start already in Melbourne, when they knew how far behind they were?"


Red Bull team principal Christian Horner wants F1 to consider using last year's V8 engines in 2015 as a cost-reducing measure. Photo: Getty

Will Marussia and Caterham compete next year?

Caterham and Marussia both went into administration last month, with hundreds of staff made redundant.
The future appears bleak for Marussia. The team's 1 cars and assets will be auctioned off this month, and unless a new owner can be found, the Russian outfit appears doomed. In fact, its cars and other equipment will be auctioned later this month.
The news is slightly more positive at Caterham which will be allowed to compete next season with this year's car if they find a buyer to keep them in business.
That special dispensation is still to be fully ratified, but would mean there is less immediate pressure on Caterham, since they will no longer have to design and build a new car in time for the start of the 2015.

What's wrong with Ferrari?

The prancing horse is the sport’s biggest and most glamorous player and the fact it has been a non-contender for several season in a row is hurting F1's marketability.
Parting with one of F1's leading drivers, Fernando Alonso, does not immediately make sense.  But Ferrari had to do something to pull itself out of its rut. Landing four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel might give legion of fans across the globe something to cheer about.


Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel will drive for success-starved Ferrari in 2015. Photo: Getty 

What will become of Force India, Sauber and Lotus?

Although each has been locked in for 2015, the future of these three 'also ran' teams remains in doubt for the longer term.
Owners are at loggerheads with Bernie Ecclestone over equalisation. The seemingly unbridgeable performance gap from the title-contending teams is the point of dispute.
The teams are asking for a more equitable distribution of funds but meetings in Brazil last month apparently resolved nothing.

The fans are turning away

You get the sense F1 is mainly concerned with appealing to rich over-70s men, rather than younger generations who follow sport on social media ever more.
Crowds and sponsors declined in 2014, so did television ratings.

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