What was the F1 moment of 2015? Or the most memorable race and overtake? What was the year's lowlight? Sky Sports charts F1's 2015
Wednesday 30 December 2015 14:31, UK
Race of the year
The Hungarian GP: Not for us the cerebral appreciation of how strategies might unfold in the race as a result of changing variables such as track temperatures, fuel usage and brake wear; more the sort of fizzing array of events you have to watch again just to try and understand what happened. The Hungarian GP was that sort of race: 69 breathless, head-scratching laps in which Ferrari mugged the Mercs off the line, Hamilton tried and tried to catch back up again but failed; Ricciardo used brute force to get past both Silver Arrows and gain a podium, but still finished behind team-mate Kvyat, who, like half the field it seemed, was penalised - one of 11 stewards' investigations that summed up the afternoon's madness, with Pastor Maldonado on the receiving end three times alone. Sebastian Vettel eventually held on to win, even though - and despite the hopes of just about everyone - it never lit a fire under his title challenge. Great fun while it lasted, if very confusing.
Sunbather of the year
Hashtag of the year
#PlacesFernandowouldratherbe
Understatement of the year
"It has not been the most conventional of build-ups to a Grand Prix for me" - Lewis Hamilton greets his Twitter followers two days after crashing into three parked cars in Monte Carlo.
Explanation of the year
"It was a result of heavy partying and not much rest for 10 days" - The world champion owns up.
Unexpected defence of the year
"I don't think he should ever have stepped down. And I don't think he should have ever been challenged. It's because of him we have a lot of countries throughout the world that are now playing football and if these people allegedly have been corrupted to make things happen in their country, it's good. It's a tax that football has had to pay" - Bernie Ecclestone on Sepp Blatter.
Picture of the year
Strangest headline of the year
'Nico Rosberg reveals he wears a woman's sanitary towel on his head'. Yes, really.
Strangest incident of the year
Overtake of the year
Max Verstappen on Felipe Nasr at Spa: Despite or, more likely, because of his tender years, the Dutch teenager lit up his debut season with a string of overtaking manoeuvres that left one wondering whether some of his more vaunted, venerable rivals have come to rely on DRS and well-timed pit stops just that little bit too much. While there might have been more technically proficient moves than the one on Nasr at the Belgian GP, but none as brave. Wheel-to-wheel, nudging 200mph, around the outside at Blanchimont, and bouncing on the kerbs at one stage, Verstappen could have been forgiven for backing out, but didn't. Instead, it was the most daring demonstration yet of what appears to be a once-in-a-generation talent.
Saga of the year
Red Bull's threat to leave F1 and subsequent search for an engine partner.
Soap opera of the year
Lewis v Nico. Some people, they just love a bit of drama, don't they?
Spat of the year
Retort of the year
"I consider Formula 1 a family, and families live in villages. And villages always have a village idiot. He fits the bill perfectly" - McLaren chief Ron Dennis responds to Eddie Jordan's criticism of the team's hierarchy.
Press conference invaders of the year
Event of the year
The Mexican GP: Back on the calendar after 23 years at Mexico City's revamped Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the enthusiasm of the crowd became more apparent as the weekend progressed, although it never reached the fever pitch of the 1970 race, when dogs roamed free and fans parked themselves literally trackside, before someone had the bright idea of sending out Clay Regazzoni (imagine him as the Pastor Maldonado of his day) for a few 'exploratory' warm-up laps so they could finally get the message. Crowd control might have been a rudimentary concept back then; fast forward 45 years, though, and the madness was channelled far more productively - by routing the track through a 30,000 capacity baseball stadium. Cue football-style crowd behaviour, a turbocharged atmosphere and a driver - Sergio Perez - who sang his country's national anthem with the zeal of a man about to go into battle. It's sad that such a great event didn't get the race it deserved; hopefully the fans will have more to enjoy in the years to come.
Radio rant of the year
Worst moment of the year
Powerful moment of the year
Longest press conference
FIA president Jean Todt's reputation as a man of few words was comprehensively dashed at the Mexican GP, during which matters such as the governing body's plans for a low-cost alternative engine to the manufacturers' own hybrids and Ferrari's historic veto were painstakingly dispatched in a media session that turned into an 70 minute-long epic.
Strategy call of the year
Ferrari in Malaysia. When the Safety Car was deployed four laps into the race, five of the top six dived into the pits to make their first stop of the race. The only man that didn't was Sebastian Vettel.
Instead Ferrari stuck to their original strategy and that allowed Vettel to take the fight to the all-conquering Mercedes pair who had dominated in Australia two weeks before. The early stop forced Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to pit one time more than Vettel, who took a 14 second lead into the final stint of the race and went to take the chequered flag thanks to great strategy work.
Disappointment of the year
McLaren-Honda. And to be more specific, Honda.
Rookie of the year
Worst decision of the year
Mystery of the year
What really caused Fernando Alonso to crash out in pre-season testing at Barcelona?
Metaphorical moment of the year
Saying it frankly of the year
"To use a technical term, I think we're screwed" - CoTA chairman Bobby Epstein reacts to circuit funding being cut.
Not taking no for an answer of the year
Giedo van der Garde, who turned up for the Australian GP in his driving overalls despite Sauber appointing Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr as their 2015 line-up.
Not letting the weather stop him of the year
Live blog of the year
United States GP Qualifying. Thousands of you joined us on a Saturday night for coverage of a session in Austin that never happened. After an hour of interviews and build-up, the clock struck 7pm in the UK, 1pm in Texas and out came the red flags. What followed was a further three hours of updates on how heavy it was raining and pictures of drivers in the rain as we tried to keep you informed and entertained, despite having no running on track at all to commentate on.
Driver of the year
Lewis Hamilton. Well, who else could it be, other than the champion?
Don't miss the F1 Midweek Report for analysis of the Abu Dhabi GP and all the latest F1 news. Former BAR boss David Richards and car designer Gary Anderson join Natalie Pinkham on Sky Sports F1 at 8:30pm on Wednesday.
