Winter testing begins

The garage doors will be opened in Jerez, Spain tomorrow (1st February) as winter testing starts in what will be the opening skirmishes of the 2015 title fight. Despite my previous rant about the state of Formula 1, which if you so desire can be read here, there is a lot to get excited about.

All the teams apart from Force India are present at the opening test. Force India are saying it's so they can have extra development time, although with their owners under investigation for money related activities in India, I really hope it's not because the team have money troubles of their own.

As anticipation builds towards the first race of the season in Australia on March 15th, here's a few things I, and I'm sure you will be excited about in the run up to the lights going out and the action starts.

I think the first thing I have to mention is Fernando Alonso's return to McLaren after their acrimonious split in 2007. Alonso is accepting he will need patience as McLaren and the returning Honda get used to each other again. But how long will that patience last? I can't wait to see how these great power houses of Formula 1 gel together. McLaren have taken a new design direction while it'll be interesting to see how Honda perform after watching the other three manufacturers for a year. Will they have learnt from others mistakes?

I'm equally looking forward to seeing how Jenson Button stacks up against his Spanish team mate this year. Button stepped up when paired with Lewis Hamilton and I've a feeling he's going to give Alonso a much tougher time than anticipated.

Will Mercedes still be the dominant force? Over the winter Renault and Ferrari successfully argued they should be allowed to develop their power units throughout the season rather than stop at the end of February. They will still only be allowed to change a certain amount but they can extend their development times as they try to catch up to the Silver Arrows squad. Of course this also means Mercedes can continue developing, and Honda have now been given the go ahead to continue working on their engine too. 

It all means it should be closer, but with such a head start for Mercedes it's going to be tough to catch the works squad which could mean it's another head to head between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton could return serene in his accomplishment of last year and go on to higher heights and dominate, or Rosberg will have learnt what he needs to do to get into Hamilton's head and take it to him in a wheel to wheel battle. That's a situation I'm looking forward to seeing.

Daniel Ricciardo returns with Red Bull, if Renault have done a halfway decent job in improving their power unit, I think he could be a dark horse for the title. I look forward to seeing how Daniil Kvyat copes with being pushed into the big time. Ricciardo handled it well, but does Kvyat have that mental strength?

Sticking with the Red Bull world, how will two rookies in Toro Rosso cope without anyone to learn off? Well Ricciardo managed, and Max Verstappen comes into the sport at only 17 years old with just one years car racing experience and a few F1 practice sessions but he is also being touted as the next big thing. Will he handle that pressure? I think he will, from interviews and how he manages himself, he's going to go at his own pace, but expect good things. Carlos Sainz Jnr has had success in junior formulae, and a lot more experience than Verstappen whilst also being three years older. If he doesn't beat him, could this be a one year adventure for the young Spaniard?

Ferrari's new car looks spectacular, although Sebastian Vettel in red takes some getting used to. Technical director James Allison says the car should suit Kimi Raikkonen a lot more than the monster that was last years Ferrari, so hopefully we'll see Kimi able to drive to a higher level than he was able to show in 2014. Whatever the situation with Kimi, whether fair or not, if Vettel doesn't thrash him like Alonso then people are going to judge his titles even less favourably especially after the beating he took from Ricciardo at Red Bull last season.

Ferrari have been in turmoil and this is a building year for the Scuderia, nevertheless, I'd like to see both drivers find their feet again in this still new Formula 1 that both struggled with last year. A change of scenery for Vettel after being with Red Bull so long will re-motivate him as he looks to build Ferrari back into a winning force.

I hope Williams build upon their brilliant 2014 and are able to challenge for wins. They've got the driver line up to really push on, and an ever improving and cohesive technical team, I believe they could be challengers this year if they are consistent.

Lotus now have the same Mercedes power unit, so it would be nice to see Romain Grosjean back up there and they're already talking of targeting Williams. Force India will want to aim for the top five especially with a driver line up of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez while Sauber will be wanting to score points after their pointless campaign in 2014.

At the time of writing both Marussia and Caterham are still looking to find ways back to the grid, but it's highly unlikely.

At this time of year there's always a lot of questions with very little answers. Testing never gives a full picture but hints will start from tomorrow.

all photos taken from autosport.com