2015 F1 Season

19 races · Mercedes W06

In 2015 Mercedes cemented its supremacy with the W06, an even more complete car than its predecessor, and the title fight was again reserved for its two drivers. This time, however, Lewis Hamilton took charge from the outset.

More settled and consistent than in 2014, Hamilton dominated Nico Rosberg for most of the season and was crowned triple world champion in the United States, matching the title tally of his idol Ayrton Senna, a deeply symbolic milestone for him.

The only discordant note in the silver superiority came from Sebastian Vettel, who in his first year with Ferrari took three wins and restored some hope to the tifosi, though without any real chance of fighting for the championship.

Drivers’ Champion

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes W06

Constructors’ Champion

Mercedes

19 races

Key moment

«Hamilton wins in the USA and is crowned triple world champion.»

The 2015 grid, car by car

The 9 teams that raced in 2015, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Mercedes
99
Lewis Hamilton · Nico Rosberg
2Ferrari
93
Sebastian Vettel · Kimi Räikkönen
3Williams
86
Valtteri Bottas · Felipe Massa
4Red Bull
84
Daniel Ricciardo · Daniil Kvyat
5Force India
81
Sergio Perez · Nico Hulkenberg
6Lotus
76
Romain Grosjean · Pastor Maldonado
7Toro Rosso
75
Max Verstappen · Carlos Sainz
8Sauber
71
Felipe Nasr · Marcus Ericsson
9McLaren
70
Fernando Alonso · Jenson Button

How 2015 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes381101711
2Nico RosbergMercedes3226157
3Sebastian VettelFerrari2783131
4Kimi RäikkönenFerrari150030
5Valtteri BottasWilliams136020
6Felipe MassaWilliams121020
7Daniil KvyatRed Bull95010
8Daniel RicciardoRed Bull92020

Hamilton took it by 59 points with 10 wins and 11 poles across 19 races. 3 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Nico Rosberg.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

2015, race by race

All 19 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

3different drivers won: Hamilton 10 · Rosberg 6 · Vettel 3.

2different teams won: Mercedes 16 · Ferrari 3.

3different drivers took pole: Hamilton 11 · Rosberg 7 · Vettel 1.

10different drivers stood on the podium.

12one-twos for a single team: Mercedes 12.

12 of 19races were won from pole position.

0first-ever wins: every winner had won before.

From 3rdthe win from furthest back: Sebastian Vettel, Hungarian Grand Prix.

27 years, 269 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Sebastian Vettel, Malaysian Grand Prix.

80%of starts reached the flag (297 of 371).

12 of 20cars finished the United States Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

5hat tricks (pole, win and fastest lap). Most fastest laps: Hamilton 8 · Rosberg 5 · Ricciardo 3.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Australian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
2Malaysian Grand PrixSebastian VettelFerrari2nd
3Chinese Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
4Bahrain Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
5Spanish Grand PrixNico RosbergMercedes1st
6Monaco Grand PrixNico RosbergMercedes2nd
7Canadian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
8Austrian Grand PrixNico RosbergMercedes2nd
9British Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
10Hungarian Grand PrixSebastian VettelFerrari3rd
11Belgian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
12Italian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes1st
13Singapore Grand PrixSebastian VettelFerrari1st
14Japanese Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes2nd
15Russian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes2nd
16United States Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMercedes2nd
17Mexican Grand PrixNico RosbergMercedes1st
18Brazilian Grand PrixNico RosbergMercedes1st
19Abu Dhabi Grand PrixNico RosbergMercedes1st

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Fastest lap is the race fastest lap.

What if 2015 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2015 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 19-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Lewis Hamiltonreal championMercedesP1.195%
Nico RosbergMercedesP25%
Sebastian VettelFerrariP3.10%
Kimi RäikkönenFerrariP3.90%
Valtteri BottasWilliamsP5.50%
Felipe MassaWilliamsP6.10%

Lewis Hamilton wins 95% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Nico Rosberg manages 5%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2015 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Hypotheses from 2015

Drivers of 2015

All seasons 1980-2025