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.
| # | Team | Our rating | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 99 | Lewis Hamilton · Nico Rosberg |
| 2 | Ferrari | 93 | Sebastian Vettel · Kimi Räikkönen |
| 3 | Williams | 86 | Valtteri Bottas · Felipe Massa |
| 4 | Red Bull | 84 | Daniel Ricciardo · Daniil Kvyat |
| 5 | Force India | 81 | Sergio Perez · Nico Hulkenberg |
| 6 | Lotus | 76 | Romain Grosjean · Pastor Maldonado |
| 7 | Toro Rosso | 75 | Max Verstappen · Carlos Sainz |
| 8 | Sauber | 71 | Felipe Nasr · Marcus Ericsson |
| 9 | McLaren | 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.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 381 | 10 | 17 | 11 |
| 2Nico RosbergMercedes | 322 | 6 | 15 | 7 |
| 3Sebastian VettelFerrari | 278 | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| 4Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | 150 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5Valtteri BottasWilliams | 136 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6Felipe MassaWilliams | 121 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7Daniil KvyatRed Bull | 95 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8Daniel RicciardoRed Bull | 92 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
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 Prix | Winner | Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 2 | Malaysian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelFerrari | 2nd |
| 3 | Chinese Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 4 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 5 | Spanish Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 1st |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 2nd |
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 8 | Austrian Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 2nd |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 10 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelFerrari | 3rd |
| 11 | Belgian Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 12 | Italian Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 13 | Singapore Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelFerrari | 1st |
| 14 | Japanese Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 2nd |
| 15 | Russian Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 2nd |
| 16 | United States Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 2nd |
| 17 | Mexican Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 1st |
| 18 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 1st |
| 19 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 1st |
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.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamiltonreal championMercedes | P1.1 | 95% |
| Nico RosbergMercedes | P2 | 5% |
| Sebastian VettelFerrari | P3.1 | 0% |
| Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | P3.9 | 0% |
| Valtteri BottasWilliams | P5.5 | 0% |
| Felipe MassaWilliams | P6.1 | 0% |
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 hypothesisHypotheses from 2015
Drivers of 2015
Keep reading
What we have measured about 2015 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
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