5 Team Profiles at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2015

With the newest racing weekend and the fourth race of the year set to commence in Montmelo, Barcelona this weekend, we profile some of the key teams that are likely in the running for the win. Several teams have been having trouble in competition. Read on to find out the state of each team, drivers, engines and much more.

#1 Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari locks his brakes at the Bahrain GP 2015

The Prancing Horse. The Italian Stallion. Synonymous with racing and Schumacher.

Finnish champion Kimi Raikkonen made his return to the prancing horse just last year after a break from the team, and partners former World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

Currently second in the Driver’s standings, Ferrari will hope to continue their impressive start to their 2015 Formula One season. Sebastian Vettel has been in terrific form this year, having finished on the podium in three out of the four races so far (including a victory in the Malaysian GP) and is presently at third spot in the Driver’s Standings with 65 points.

Crucially for the Marcello-based team, Vettel has been provided very good support by Kimi Raikkonen, who continues to deliver consistent performances. The Finnish driver is currently in fourth spot in the Driver’s standings with 42 points and after a disappointing start at Melbourne, where he had to retire midway through the race, has made a strong comeback finishing in the top- four in each of the next three races.

Rumours spread like wildfire that Ferrari were considering signing Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes; the rumour was fanned by the fact that neither Hamilton nor Raikkonen had renewed their contracts with their respective teams. However, Ferrari principal Maurizio Arrivabene quashed these rumours completely.

Vettel's contract with Ferrari runs through to 2017.

Raikkonen has good memories of the Catalunya circuit, having won here twice in 2005 and 2008 and he will be hoping to win his first race of this season and build further momentum for his side.

The Iceman also holds the record for the fastest lap at the Catalunya Circuit, a record he set in 2008. With an absolute powerhouse of driving talent and the motors to help spur it along, things look positive for Ferrari this racing weekend.

#2 McLaren-Honda

Jenson Button of McLaren-Honda at the 2015 Bahrain GP

Despite counting former World Champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button in their ranks, McLaren have had a mediocre beginning to their 2015 campaign, languishing in the ninth spot in the Constructor's championships.

After having declared that Mc Laren would be the last team he would race for, much was expected of Alonso. Unfortunately, the Spaniard hasn't quite delivered the promises as of yet and his lacklustre performances have certainly had a damaging impact on the team in totality.

His partner Jenson Button has also not had the best of starts to his campaign, having finished last at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and 14th in Shanghai and even failing to start in the last race in Bahrain. He also faced issues in practice sessions, and Honda, according to regulation, are disallowed from developing their engines in 2015.

While it is still early days in the annual racing season, McLaren’s track record so far has not been a good sign of things to come.

#3 Infiniti Red Bull Racing

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Infiniti Red Bull Racing at the Bahrain GP 2015

It would not be remiss to describe Red Bull as going through a bad patch; they are currently having their worst racing season since 2009, currently at 5^th in the constructors’ rankings. Infiniti Red Bull, who use Renault engines, have been faced with several engine issues. Ricciardo is currently on his fourth and final engine for the year, and although a reprieve in the form of a rule allowing 6 engines could be passed this year, the fact remains that their engine issues are far too significant to ignore. While Ricciardo managed to somehow maintain his spot and finish in 6^th at the Bahrain Grand Prix, he ended the race with his engine engulfed in smoke. He previously lost one in Australia during practice, and another in a precautionary measure at the Shanghai Grand Prix.

Ricciardo has proven his mettle as an F1 driver time and again; engine problems, however, seem to have held him back for performing. It remains to be seen what neophyte Kyvatt can do. Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko has not given any definitive response on the issue in interviews, while Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has threatened to pull out of Formula 1 altogether.

Amidst claims that Audi has an engine ready to go for Red Bull, some analysts and fans blame the distancing of Red Bull principal engineer Adrian Newey from plans as the cause.

Either way, consistent engine failure and no sign of a better performance from sister team Toro Rosso (who have in fact had their own engine issues) means that Red Bull need to look at new long-term plans; the prognosis does not look good for them so far.

#4 Sauber

Felipe Nasr of Brazil and Sauber at the 2015 Bahrain GP

As far as racing goes, Sauber have had an average season so far. 2015 began with drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr doing well at the Australian Grand Prix, Nasr at 5^th and Ericsson at 8^th. Using a Ferrari engine this year, Sauber are currently 5^th in the constructors standings. Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr stands at 8^th among the drivers. Both drivers combined scored more points in the Melbourne race than the team did all of last year.

However,Sauber has been taking some serious hits on both financial and legal fronts. Dutchman Giedo van der Gaarde, formerly a test driver for Sauber, was promised a 2015 contract, which he signed; however, the team reneged on this. He successfully took them to court in Switzerland and Australia, winning both times. The firm ultimately decided to settle out of court with van der Gaarde to the tune of 15 million Euro.

Fresh on the heels of this, however, Sauber’s other driver, Adrian Sutil has also initiatied legal proceedings against them. He claims that he, like van der Gaarde, was offered the driver’s seat for 2015, but this did not materialise. The two seats at Sauber were ultimately filled by the Scandinavian and the Brazilian. Fresh off the back of last year’s financial troubles, Sauber backed an earlier proposal to introduce budget caps for Formula 1 teams, a proposal that was ultimately vetoed by the majority of the Formula One Strategy Group.

#5 Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton of GBR and Mercedes at the Bahrain GP 2015

Mercedes have been off to an absolute blinder of an F1 season. Standout star and F1 icon Lewis Hamilton has won every race held in this racing season so far. Teammate Nico Rosberg has not been far behind – both Mercedes drivers were on the podium at Bahrain, sandwiching Ferrari returnee Raikkonen. Hamilton and Rosberg were also first and second respectively at the Australian Grand Prix, a feat they repeated at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Both members of the team have been on the podium every race this season – as a result, Mercedes is top in the constructors’ rankings.

It has not been entirely smooth sailing at Mercedes, however. Rivalries between Hamilton and Rosberg are purported to have reached an all-time high. There have also been persistent murmurs of Hamilton leaving to sign with Ferrari, exacerbated by the fact that Mercedes have not renewed Hamilton’s contract and Ferrari have not renewed Raikkonen’s. The team principal, however, was quoted as saying “I have Vettel, why do I need Hamilton?” Hamilton is said to be demanding a significant pay hike, and Rosberg is unhappy with Hamilton’s primacy in the team, if rumours are to be believed.

As far as team performances go, however, Mercedes are, and look to remain on top on drivers’ and constructors’ standings.