Five reasons to tune in and watch Formula One this year

It’s probably fair to say that the 2015 Formula One season won’t go down as a classic, aside from some supreme dominance from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, but this time around we could be in for a much more entertaining campaign.

With the new season in Melbourne, Australia just two weeks away, and pre-season testing up and running in earnest in Barcelona, clues are beginning to emerge about how this year could pan out.

And a lot of those early indicators from Spain are hinting that we could be in for a much more competitive season, after another Mercedes rout in 2015 was interrupted only by the excellent Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari.

Here’s why you should tune in and watch this year…

The cars are quicker

Pre-season testing has shown a massive increase in development through the winter, with this year’s cars already lapping nearly two seconds faster.

When it comes to F1, quicker is always better, and the increased speed should make these turbo beasts more of a challenge for the drivers, which is definitely another good thing.

Mercedes can’t win forever

Can they?

The Silver Arrows have dominated the scene over the past two years, and a look back across the annals of history shows no team has ever achieved such results across a three-year stretch.

Ferrari won three races last season with Sebastian Vettel, and their new 2016 contender has looked pretty rapid in testing.

The guys at the back are catching up

Last season saw gritty underdogs Manor do all they could with what was a year-old car.

This time around they’ve launched a brand new charger, and with a pukka Mercedes engine the squad from Yorkshire are set to really tighten things up and join the midfield.

McLaren are making improvements

So too, are McLaren, who endured a disastrous 2015 campaign as they began a new era with Honda.

Early signs are that this year’s MP4-31 is much more reliable, and the sport is always better off when world champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso are in the mix.

Hamilton won’t have it all his own way

Having wrapped up the title with room to spare last year, Hamilton went off the boil a tad.

Team-mate Rosberg claimed the final six pole positions of the campaign, racing to victory in each of the last three Grand Prix.

The German can, and has, beaten Hamilton on his day, now it’s time to continue doing so on a regular basis. A real intra-team fight – like in 2014 – would spice up the sport no end.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.