--- title: "2015 Season Review – Ferrari" canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2015/12/20/2015-season-review-ferrari/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Kyran Gibbons" section: "F1 News" published: "2015-12-20T17:39:19Z" modified: "2015-12-20T17:39:19Z" --- # 2015 Season Review – Ferrari A rather emphatic response to their worst season in two decades, Ferrari returned to the sharp end of proceedings in 2015, as a new look Maranello took three victories during the campaign. While Mercedes remained the pre-eminent force, Ferrari have established themselves as the best-of-the-rest this year and look set to be significant players in next season’s title race. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari’s new hero, managed to keep Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg honest all year long, as he remained a dark horse to snatch the driver’s title away from Brackley until fairly late in the campaign. Seamlessly adapting to life at the Scuderia, the German guided the prancing horse to all three wins and a sensation total of 13 podiums across the 19 races. The first Ferrari victory of 2015 and Sebastian’s first flag at Maranello came at Malaysia. It marked an end to a winless streak for the outfit dating back to May 2013 and the Spanish Grand Prix. Vettel was sublime on the day, pulling off a two-stop strategy which was out of Mercedes’ reach after a questionable strategic move saw both Hamilton and Rosberg stop early for fresh rubber. Vettel was composed and evidently, back to his best. Clearly revitalised at Ferrari. ![Getty Images/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2015/12/468007820.jpg) Meanwhile, a strong start to the year indicated that Kimi Raikkonen was also back in form. Piloting a car designed by James Allison, the mastermind of his race winning E20 and E21 cars during his spell at Lotus, the components were in place for Raikkonen to shine in 2015. A podium at Bahrain in a race where he posed the significant threat to Mercedes while his teammate faltered was a highlight in an otherwise difficult campaign. He would have to wait until Singapore before returning to the rostrum. Meanwhile, Vettel emerged as an almost ever-present fixture on the podium. While he was unable to replicate the Mercedes-toppling performance of Malaysia in the following rounds and therefore, slipped behind in the title fight, he appeared in the top three in three of the next four rounds, denying a Mercedes 1-2 at Monaco following Hamilton’s strategic blunder which cost him certain victory. It was this type of consistency which teammate Raikkonen was lacking. In Canada, the Finn looked set for third place, with Vettel mired in the midfield following a dire Saturday due to ERS woes. However, a spin at the hairpin forced a strategic re-think and effectively handed Williams and Valtteri Bottas their first podium appearance of the campaign. A first lap collision with Fernando Alonso in Austria proved another blot on the Finn’s copy-book at a time when the team’s 2016 driver line-up was being considered. ![Dan Istitene/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2015/12/477985714.jpg) Fortunately for the man voted by the fans as F1’s most popular driver, Ferrari retained him for 2016. The news came after one of his most promising drives of the season was curtailed by reliability woes – the first to effect Ferrari in race trim all season – robbing Raikkonen of second place behind eventual winner Vettel in Hungary. Kimi finally delivered his second podium of the year at Ferrari’s best race of the year. Singapore has so often been a happy hunting ground for Vettel, with the German having taken three previous victories there. He added a fourth triumph to the list and his third win of the year, on a weekend where Mercedes were mysteriously off colour. Vettel and Raikkonen capitalised, securing first and third respectively, after the former had taken pole on Saturday to clinch the first non-Mercedes powered pole position of the V6 Hybrid era. ![Mark Thompson/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2015/12/492236452.jpg) Unable, however, to string a run of form together, Raikkonen lost out in a fierce battle for the podium in Russia after he collided with fellow Finn Bottas on the last lap, following an optimistic lunge at turn four. He was issued a 20 second time penalty and indirectly gifted chief rivals Mercedes the pleasure of wrapping up the constructors title at Sochi. Ferrari were untroubled in second place in the constructors, as they climbed two places from 2014, demoting both Red Bull and Williams. The dynamic between the teammates was productive all season long, albeit an easier relationship to manage when a championship title is not the prize for victory. New Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene deserves high praise for his efforts in reforming Ferrari and boosting the morale of a team left on its knees after countless year’s of disappointment. 2015 was a giant step in the right direction as Ferrari look to end their current stint of title-less campaigns sooner rather than later. ![Lars Baron/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2015/12/484755086.jpg) **Sebastian Vettel – 278 points (3rd in the drivers’ championship)** Like a duck to water, Sebastian Vettel has made a seamless transition from Red Bull to Ferrari and has tackled the 2015 campaign with a new-found spring in his step. His three victories were taken in fine fashion and his consistency supported the headline results and demonstrated that 2014 was merely a one-off. Unquestionably, a candidate for driver of the season as the only man to have topped Mercedes off of the top step of the podium. **Kimi Raikkonen – 150 points (4th in the drivers’ championship)** Raikkonen similarly appeared to be a reformed figure at times in 2015, with his drive in Bahrain inspiring confidence that the Flying Finn was back to his best. However, he was unable to string a run of results together and without the consistency nor raw pace of his new teammate, Raikkonen was quickly cut adrift of the leading protagonists. While he managed to fend off both Williams in the championship battle, it is fair to argue that this should not have been Kimi’s fight. With Ferrari seemingly considering a move to both Vettel and Raikkonen’s preferred push-rod suspension in 2016, it will be fascinating to see how the Finn performs against Vettel in round two of their head-to-head.