The 2014 F1 season saw a massive shake up in both driver line-ups and regulations so that both teams and onlookers were unsure exactly what was in store. Only two teams retained both drivers from the previous year, whilst engineers and mechanics also switched places. It was the engine overhaul that really made the difference, however, with Mercedes quickly proving they had the new power units sussed and leaving the rest of the field playing catch up.

Season overview

The pre-season focus was on the more high-profile driver changes, as well as which teams could make the most of the regulation changes. The early weeks of testing proved that Mercedes had got an early upper hand, whilst Renault were lacking on performance. The early races confirmed this, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg embarking on a tense teammate fight that would continue to the very end of the season.

The schedule was long and hard, traipsing across the globe for 19 individual events. One of the more high profile visits was a return to Austria, which went well. Bahrain opted to try their hand at a night race which worked well for them with a surprisingly exciting race in the desert. The brand new Russian Grand Prix didn't live up to expectations, but was overshadowed by the tragic accident of Jules Bianchi, who suffered a head injury during a crash at Suzuka.

The end of the season was also marred by the disappearance of Marussia and Caterham, who both went into administration. Caterham's return for a one-off at Abu Dhabi didn't help them too much, and they couldn't benefit from the double points situation at Yas Marina. Thankfully, the double Abu Dhabi points didn't affect the championship and it went down to the wire without the need for x2 maths to get involved.

Lewis Hamilton's championship victory came at the end of a long and intense season, fraught with mind games, on track battles and a fight for supremacy within the team and within the sport itself. It was a disappointment that none of the other competitors could really catch up to the dominance of Mercedes, but at least the German team allowed their drivers to do battle fairly, providing much of the entertainment throughout the season.