You already know about the new 2014 rule changes, but how about the teams, drivers and the cars? A few drivers have been swapping teams, but the reigning champion Sebastian Vettel is still driving for the same team that took him to victory since 2010. Ferrari, Mercedes, and Renault will provide the Power Units to the teams and so far the teams that are using Mercedes Power Units performed best during the pre-season testing while Renault Power Units have been facing reliability issues. So which team is using which Power Unit and which driver is driving for which team? Here are the eleven teams and 22 drivers that will compete in this year’s Formula One World Championship.
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Infiniti Red Bull Racing
Having won the constructors championship since 2010 for four consecutive years, it appears that retaining the title in 2014 is not going to be an easy task. Pre-season testing showed that the team are already having problems with reliability issues with their cars. Even the current world champion Vettel only managed to complete the laps during testing at a sluggish pace. Toro Rosso graduate Ricciardo now joins Vettel in Red Bull replacing fellow countryman Mark Webber who left F1 after his six years stint at Red Bull. Despite the problematic car, Ricciardo believes the issues will be sorted within time.
Chassis: RB10
Power Unit: Renault Sport Energy F1-2014
World Championships: 4
2013 position: 1st (596 points)
Drivers:
Sebastian Vettel (1)
Nationality: German
Date of Birth: 3rd July 1987
World Championships: 4
Podiums: 62
2013 position: 1st (397 points)
Daniel Ricciardo (3)
Nationality: Australian
Date of Birth: 1st July 1989
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 14th (20 points)
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Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
While Red Bull seems to be struggling during testing, Mercedes have been leading the way in terms of reliability and progress. Hamilton and Rosberg have been a good pair because they’ve known each other ever since their karting days. Working together in Mercedes since last year, Hamilton has a slight edge against Rosberg even though Rosberg has been with the team longer than Hamilton. Speculations on this year’s car might suit Rosberg’s less aggressive driving style so Hamilton will need to adapt quickly to the new car’s behaviour.
Chassis: F1 W05
Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz PU106A Hybrid
World Championships: 0
2013 position: 2nd (360 points)
Drivers:
Nico Rosberg (6)
Nationality: German
Date of Birth: 27th June 1985
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 11
2013 position: 6th (171 points)
Lewis Hamilton (44)
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: 7th January 1985
World Championships: 1
Podiums: 54
2013 position: 4th (189 points)
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Scuderia Ferrari
The only team this year to have world champion drivers. Dubbed as the “fire and ice” duo, double world champion 2005 & 2006 Alonso together with 2007 champion Räikkönen will be fighting to be on top of each other. Both world champions were told to follow the rules at Ferrari and put the team as priority in order to harmoniously coexist in the same team. The car itself have been performing adequately during testing, suggesting that the team might be secretly not revealing the full potential of their 2014 contender.
Chassis: F14 T
Power Unit: Ferrari
World Championships: 16
2013 position: 3rd (354 points)
Drivers:
Fernando Alonso (14)
Nationality: Spanish
Date of Birth: 29th July 1981
World Championships: 2
Podiums: 95
2013 position: 2nd (242 points)
Kimi Räikkönen (7)
Nationality: Finnish
Date of Birth: 17th October 1979
World Championships: 1
Podiums: 77
2013 position: 5th (183 points)
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Lotus F1 Team
Despite the team’s financial issues, they were at 4th position in last year’s constructors championship. Unfortunately this year some of the key staff members have left Lotus so it’s going to be tough for the team. The new car with the prominent asymmetrical split nose did not get enough test mileage too. Frenchman Grosjean who is famously known for his 2012 incident in Spa is now a better driver achieving six podiums last year. Grosjean will be paired with Maldonado from Williams who only scored a single point last year.
Chassis: E22
Power Unit: Renault Sport Energy F1-2014
World Championships: 2
2013 position: 4th (315 points)
Drivers:
Romain Grosjean (8)
Nationality: French
Date of Birth: 17th April 1986
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 9
2013 position: 7th (132 points)
Pastor Maldonado (13)
Nationality: Venezuelan
Date of Birth: 9th March 1985
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 1
2013 position: 18th (1 point)
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McLaren Mercedes
2013 was touted as their worst season in a long time, failing to secure even a single podium finish. As a result, they were at 5th in the constructors championship last year. Finishing ahead of Perez last year, 2009 champion Button still gets to drive for McLaren. Button will be joined by a Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion Magnussen. Pre-season testing results show a very promising prospect for the team this year while Ron Dennis is back as the group chief executive promises to take McLaren back on track.
Chassis: MP4-29
Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz PU106A Hybrid
World Championships: 8
2013 position: 5th (122 points)
Drivers:
Jenson Button (22)
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: 19th January 1980
World Championships: 1
Podiums: 49
2013 position: 9th (73 points)
Kevin Magnussen (20)
Nationality: Danish
Date of Birth: 5th October 1992
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: –
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Sahara Force India F1 Team
Force India will still be using Mercedes Power Unit this year. Releasing Paul Di Resta at the end of 2013, Force India grabs another driver that has been released by another team. After a disappointing year with McLaren, Perez found himself a seat with Force India. Perez will need to use this as an opportunity to repair his reputation after his unsatisfactory results at McLaren last year. Also coming from another team last year, Hulkenberg returns to Force India after a year driving for Sauber.
Chassis: VJM07
Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz PU106A Hybrid
World Championships: 0
2013 position: 6th (77 points)
Drivers:
Sergio Perez (11)
Nationality: Mexican
Date of Birth: 26th January 1990
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 3
2013 position: 11th (49 points)
Nico Hulkenberg (27)
Nationality: German
Date of Birth: 19th August 1987
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 10th (51 points)
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Sauber F1 Team
Sauber have been in F1 since 1993 but has yet to win a world championship title. Being in the midfield and cash-strapped, the team still believes in Gutierrez to perform this year. Relatively-new Gutierrez has yet to claim a podium, and he still has a long way to go in F1. Sutil might be new to the team, but he have been in F1 since 2007. Similar to his teammate, Sutil also has yet to claim podium spot but his best result was 4th at Italy in 2009. The team’s results have been pretty stagnant in the past few years, only time will tell when the team is going to break the midfield curse and move up as one of the front runners.
Chassis: C33
Power Unit: Ferrari
World Championships: 0
2013 position: 7th (57 points)
Drivers:
Esteban Gutierrez (21)
Nationality: Mexican
Date of Birth: 5th August 1991
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 16th (6 points)
Adrian Sutil (99)
Nationality: German
Date of Birth: 11th January 1983
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 13th (29 points)
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Scuderia Toro Rosso
A switch from Ferrari to Renault Power Unit this year might sound like wrong timing. Initial problems were found during the early stages in testing as with other Renault-powered teams, but they claimed that they have better understanding of their car now and in a good shape to start the season. Vergne didn’t get to go to Red Bull thus keeping his seat in Toro Rosso but eyes will be on the rookie Russian teenager Kvyat who won last year’s GP3 Series.
Chassis: STR9
Power Unit: Renault Sport Energy F1-2014
World Championships: 0
2013 position: 8th (33 points)
Drivers:
Jean-Eric Vergne (25)
Nationality: French
Date of Birth: 25th April 1990
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 15th (13 points)
Daniil Kvyat (26)
Nationality: Russian
Date of Birth: 26th April 1994
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: –
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Williams Martini Racing
With the new Mercedes power and the iconic Martini livery making a comeback, Williams is set to turn their luck around this year. For a team with nine world championship titles and a long history in F1, they can only hope that the new changes will be a revival for them. Seasoned driver Massa did a fastest time in Bahrain during testing, and he will try to lift the under-performing team back to its glory days. Meanwhile Bottas is confident that this year’s car will provide him a platform to show his true potential.
Chassis: FW36
Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz PU106A Hybrid
World Championships: 9
2013 position: 9th (5 points)
Drivers:
Felipe Massa (19)
Nationality: Brazilian
Date of Birth: 25th April 1981
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 36
2013 position: 8th (112 points)
Valtteri Bottas (77)
Nationality: Finnish
Date of Birth: 28th August 1989
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 17th (4 points)
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Marussia F1 Team
Marussia did not scored a single point last year, but still retain the same drivers from last year. They might have the upper hand to score some points this year as they’re using a Ferrari Power Unit which is performing better than the Renault being used by their nearest rival Caterham during testing. The test results have been positive so far and they’re very hungry to score some points this year. Both drivers debuted in F1 at the same time, but last year Bianchi scored more points than Chilton despite a few retirements.
Chassis: MR03
Power Unit: Ferrari
World Championships: 0
2013 position: 10th (0 points)
Drivers:
Max Chilton (4)
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: 21st April 1991
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 23rd (0 points)
Jules Bianchi (17)
Nationality: French
Date of Birth: 3rd August 1989
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: 19th (0 points)
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Caterham F1 Team
Still unable to score a single point since 2010 (then-called Lotus Racing, shortly changed Team Lotus), Caterham returns with an all-new driver lineup. Experienced driver Kobayashi was roped in after a year hiatus from F1 in hope to contribute some much-needed points this year. Rookie F1 driver Ericsson’s GP2 results last year was nothing to shout about, and the pressure will be on him to perform alongside Kobayashi who last took podium in 2012 Japanese Grand Prix with Sauber. The most reliable Renault-powered team during testing might prove that the team is working hard to bring themselves forward into the midfield.
Chassis: CT05
Power Unit: Renault Sport Energy F1-2014
World Championships: 0
2013 position: 11th (0 points)
Drivers:
Kamui Kobayashi (10)
Nationality: Japanese
Date of Birth: 13th September 1986
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 1
2013 position: –
Marcus Ericsson (9)
Nationality: Swedish
Date of Birth: 2nd September 1990
World Championships: 0
Podiums: 0
2013 position: –
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22 drivers are going to battle it out again to claim the crown. Will Vettel continue his winning streak or are we going to see a new world champion? Will the Renault-powered teams improve after their problematic pre-season testing? Time to find out yourself as the 2014 season will officially kick-off this weekend 14 March to 16 March in Australia. Don’t forget you can also witness the battle yourself, as the 2nd round of F1 will be in Sepang on 28 March to 30 March.
