The 67th season of the FIA Formula One (F-1)World Championship will begin on 20th of march with the first race scheduled to be held in Melbourne Australia . F-1 motor racing championship for Formula One cars is recognised by the sport’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The 67th Season is going to be the biggest season both in the number of races as well as no of team participating, This season sees the return of the German Grand Prix and European Grand Prix. Also This season will see the Debut of Haas F1 Team, a team formed by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Gene Haas. This will be first time in 30 years that an american team is taking part in F-1. Let’s take a quick look at the date sheet of this new season.
2016 PRE-SEASON TEST SCHEDULE
January 25-26: Paul Ricard, Wet-weather running.
February 22-25: Barcelona.
March 1-4: Barcelona.
2016 RACE CALENDAR –
20 March: Melbourne, Australia.
3 April: Bahrain, Bahrain.
17 April: Shanghai, China.
1 May: Sochi, Russia.
15 May: Barcelona, Spain.
29 May: Monte Carlo, Monaco.
12 June: Montreal, Canada.
19 June: Baku, Azerbaijan.
3 July: Spielberg, Austria.
10 July: Silverstone, United Kingdom.
24 July: Budapest, Hungary.
31 July: Hockenheim, Germany.
28 August: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
4 September: Monza, Italy.
18 September: Singapore.
2 October: Sepang, Malaysia.
9 October: Suzuka, Japan.
23 October: Austin, USA.
30 October: Mexico City, Mexico.
13 November: Sao Paolo, Brazil.
27 November: Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Now let’s have look at the team’s engine and the driver turning up for them
MERCEDES-
Race drivers: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Engines: Mercedes.
FERRARI
Race drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
Engines: Ferrari.
WILLIAMS
Race drivers: Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa
Engines: Mercedes.
RED BULL
Race drivers: Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.
Engines: TAG Heuer-branded Renaults.
Race drivers: Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.
Engines: Renault.
Dr. Vijay Mallya (IND) Sahara Force India
TORO ROSSO
Race drivers: Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
Engines: Ferrari (2015 version).
SAUBER
Race drivers: Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.
Engines: Ferrari.
McLAREN
Race drivers: Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.
Engines: Honda.
MANOR
Race drivers: To be confirmed.
Engines: Mercedes.
HAAS
Race drivers: Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez.
Engines: Ferrari.
Mercedes will look to continue Their impressive run this season also and are favorite to walk away with the constructor championship. Their biggest threat comes from Ferrari(last year runners-up), who after many years are looking as a serious contender, with the reports suggesting that they might have got an engine as good as the one of Mercedes.
Looking at other teams Williams would look to do pretty much same as the last time when they finished third. While Red Bull would certainly try an improve after a disappointing last season. Force India would also look to improve but it’s unlikely that they would be able to better their own performance of last year.
Lets have a look at the last year constructor standings.
[tp_table id=14 /]