Following on from the incredibly successful 2014 campaign that resulted in Lewis Hamilton being crowned world champion for the second time in his career, Mercedes are back and are no doubt a force to be reckoned with.
Going into the seasoner opener at Albert Park, Australia the Silver Arrows were on top form, Hamilton securing pole in Melbourne for the fourth time, ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton’s fantastic start led to his win, Rosberg once again finishing second. This time last year Hamilton was rueing his experience at the race, having been forced to retire, only able to watch on as the German drove to victory down under. The retirement resulted in Hamilton being less experienced with the car going into Malaysia, but that didn’t stop the Brit from dominating the race and being the first to see the chequered flag.
With Hamilton now having gained an awful lot from partaking in Australia it only seems likely that he will continue to dominate for the rest of the season, unless he is hampered by any mechanical issues, surely something Rosberg will be silently praying for.
great start for us. congrats to lewis. will push hard now for malaysia win #greatTeam @MercedesAMGF1 #whatacar pic.twitter.com/KSXX9cSWIb
— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) March 15, 2015
So can we really predict Hamilton as the 2015 world champion now, after only one race? You’ll probably want to hedge your bets a little and take a recount after Malaysia to be on the safe side but currently all signs are pointing towards the 30-year-old becoming the first Brit to take consecutive titles.
Can anyone challenge him for the title? Based on the cars so far the only person who can snatch the prize from Hamilton is Rosberg. There’s no denying that after last year he must be desperate to get revenge and prove that he is as great a driver. But the German really does need to get his head in the game and focus more; there is no room for the slightest error at this level of competition and he’ll need to be on point at every race weekend to get pole position and contest for the win.
Hamilton believes that Mercedes could be challenged by Ferrari later on in the season. In Australia Sebastian Vettel rounded off the otherwise Mercedes filled podium, his debut race in the Ferrari proving that he could be back on form following a pretty absymal season by his standards in 2014. With some more upgrades and experience over the next few races it seems that there is no reason why Ferrari can’t be more competitive this year.
“I anticipate we might have a good fight with them at some stage.” Lewis Hamilton on Ferrari: http://t.co/m3mCibY2dh pic.twitter.com/q1iiQul3qo
— BBCF1 (@bbcf1) March 16, 2015
Williams have been tipped for more success in 2015, Felipe Massa finishing in fourth at Albert Park. Valtteri Bottas was unable to start due to back issues after qualifying so we will have to wait until Malaysia to see what he can bring to the team this year, if it is safe for him to drive in a fortnight’s time.
Last season Daniel Ricciardo shone at Red Bull, managing to claim the only three race wins that Mercedes did not bag and he is a certainly a name to watch. So far this year’s Red Bull is in some respects mediocre and the four time world champions really need to step up the pace to be anywhere near Mercedes throughout 2015.
After looking over some of this seaon’s favourites it does seem even more certain that Hamilton will triumph once again. With the Mercedes already looking near perfect it will take a lot for the other teams to arrive at the starting point of the Silver Arrows, let alone where the team, and its car, is likely to be come the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Do you think Hamilton will win again? Have your say in the comments section below.
