Drivers guide for the 2015 F1 world championship

FP Staff • March 11, 2015, 19:36:56 IST

Sebastian Vettel has made it a tradition to name his cars. Vettel invites his team members to dinner when they arrive for the first race of the season and shares what the new car will be named. The car he drove for his first full season in 2008, the Toro Rosso STR3, was named Julie, followed by Kate and Kate’s Dirty Sister, Luscious Liz and Randy Mandy, Kinky Kylie, Abbey and Hungry Heidi. Vettel’s car for 2014, the Red Bull RB10, was baptized “Suzie”.

Kimi Raikkonen is nicknamed the “Iceman” for his calm, cool and calculated moves on the track.

Nico hulkenberg was the 2009 champion of the GP2 Series, and is a previous champion of both the Formula 3 Euro Series and A1 Grand Prix, as part of A1 Team Germany. He is one of three drivers since 2005 to win the GP2 series championship in his debut season, the others being Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Sergio Perez’s helmet design is based on a Mexican flag. It changes every season. He also is a humanitarian, in November 2012, Pérez unveiled the Checo Pérez Foundation to support orphans and children with cancer

Frenchman Grosjean continues with the Lotus F1 Team for a fourth consecutive season.

Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Lotus F1. Before making his Formula One début with the Williams team in 2011, he won the 2010 GP2 Series championship. He became the first Venezuelan to win a Formula One Grand Prix when he won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, for Williams, from his first pole position.

Will Stevens raced for Caterham F1 in the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, replacing Marcus Ericsson for the double points race.

Fernando Alonso is planning to return to Formula One in Malaysia later this month after he crashed into a wall during pre-season testing in Barcelona .

Jenson Button has revealed that he contemplated swapping his steering wheel for a tri suit to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 2009 Formula One world champion considered a switch to triathlon when his place on the grid was under threat at the end of last season.

Lewis Hamilton is the 2008 and 2014 Formula One World Champion.

During the 2014 season he had five wins, fifteen podiums, eleven pole positions and fifteen front row starts. Nico Rosberg kept his championship hopes alive until the final race, arriving with a 17 point deficit to Hamilton and although he qualified on pole position, problems with his car caused him to finish the race in 14th place, while Hamilton won the race and the championship.

In his first season with Red Bull in 2014, Ricciardo finished third in the championship with his first three Formula One wins, in Canada,Hungary,and Belgium.

Brazilian Felipe Nasr is set to make his F1 debut for a revitalised Sauber team at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. Nasr impressed as Sauber showed encouraging speed and reliability in pre-season testing, going fastest on the second day of the first test in Jerez and completing a mammoth 159-lap session on his last day of testing in Barcelona before heading to Melbourne.

At the 2014 United States Grand Prix, Sauber announced that it had signed Ericsson for 2015, due in part to his substantial financial backing, but also for his strong last races of the 2014 season and the fact that he stayed cool despite 2014 being a frustrating season for him.

The critics continue to talk about Max Verstappen and his age during this first year of his F1 career. Many say 17 is too young to be behind the wheel in the pinnacle of F1.

On 28 November 2014, it was announced that Carlos Sainz Jr. will drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the 2015 Formula One season.

Massa started his Formula One career with Sauber before joining Scuderia Ferrari as a test driver for 2003. He returned to Sauber for 2004 and 2005 before rejoining Ferrari where he won two races in 2006 including his home Grand Prix becoming the first Brazilian since Ayrton Senna to win the Brazilian Grand Prix.

VAltteri Bottas had a breakthrough season last year, scoring six podiums and finishing fourth in the drivers’ championship as Williams returned to form.