Pit Stop | Gripping opening to story of 2015 Formula One season
There's been triumph, disaster, drama and farce in the first two races - let's hope it's a sign of things to come as we head to China
The Formula One season is a bit like a book. Each race is a chapter and, if we are lucky, we get a cliffhanger that's only resolved at the end of the season.
The first two chapters of the 2015 story have certainly been absorbing. There's been triumph, disaster, high drama and even higher farce. Chapter three in our own back yard promises to continue the gripping tale, especially for two of the teams.
Like all good stories, one is down on their fortunes, the other is riding high. The two teams were anonymous in 2015, but this year they're making people stand up and take notice for very different reasons.
The Prancing Horse is galloping to the front of the field while the return of Ron Dennis to the British team's front line hasn't had the desired effect
I'm talking, of course, of Ferrari and McLaren. The Prancing Horse is galloping to the front of the field while the return of Ron Dennis to the British team's front line hasn't had the desired effect.
Ferrari first. We mentioned that they had impressed in preseason testing, and they certainly impressed in Malaysia. They benefited from a tactically sloppy performance from Mercedes, but as Sebastian Vettel shouted over the radio after winning, "Ferrari is back".
Could it be that Ferrari have found the elusive magic formula that will see them back where they were during the glory days of Michael Schumacher? Certainly their engine has come on leaps and bounds from last year - their worst in 21 years. It's not just the power train though, aerodynamics have also improved.
The car had a significant tyre advantage over the Mercedes and the Williams (which also runs the Mercedes engine) in the stifling heat in Malaysia. It meant the Ferrari drivers could manage long stints on the medium tyre, while Mercedes had to rely on using the slower hard compound.
