2005 Formula One Season

```
Previous season: N/A

```

```
Next season: 2006

```

Fernando Alonso (pictured in 2004) became the World Champion for Jaguar

Coming into 2005, there were plenty of changes coming to F1. Tyre rules were changed and aerodynamic regulations affected the looks and performance of the cars greatly, leading to a lot of changes in the grid.

### Team Changes

* Renault merged their team operations with Jaguar, to create a new entity: Panasonic Jaguar Racing.
* The entry vacated by the original Jaguar team was bought out by Red Bull, who rebranded the team as Red Bull Racing. They would use Lamborghini engines for the 2005 season.
* BMW completed a full buyout of the Williams team at the end of 2004, removing the Williams name entirely and moving all operations to Dusseldorf ahead of the 2005 season.
* Audi acquired 2004's 2nd placed team, BAR-Honda, converting the outfit to a full works team.
* The struggling Minardi team was purchased by the wealthy Raghunathan family for the nominal price of 1 euro. The team would be renamed Raghunathan Minardi Racing.
* Three completely new teams also entered the grid: Auraline, Competent and Porsche.
* Toyota, Jordan and Sauber withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2004 season due to lack of success.

### Driver Changes

* Ferrari replaced long-time driver Rubens Barrichello with promising young Australian Mark Webber.
* Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard left McLaren after a poor 2004 for the team. They were replaced by Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella, both of whom were left out of a seat at the end of 2004.
* Jaguar took on Renault's Fernando Alonso as well as previous BAR driver Jenson Button.
* Red Bull announced that their drivers would be the young star Felipe Massa as well as untested British rookie Lewis Hamilton, in a huge gamble for the team.
* David Coulthard and Takuma Sato were attracted to the Minardi team by the offer of very high wages, making a permanent move there for 2005.
* Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen, previously teammates at Sauber in 2001, were reunited at the works Audi team for 2005.
* Mika Hakkinen returned from a three-year sabbatical to race for the all-new Auraline team.
* Ralf Schumacher, after being dropped by BMW, moved to fellow German team Porsche in a lucrative deal for 2005.
* Making their debut for the 2005 season would be Lewis Hamilton at Red Bull; rally legends Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz Sr. at Porsche and Competent respectively; and DTM legend Bernd Schneider at Auraline.

### Midseason Changes

* Both Loeb and Sainz Sr were dropped after just two races due to poor performance and frustration with their respective teams. They were replaced by Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen (absent from the grid in 2004) prior to the Chinese Grand Prix.
* Jacques Villeneuve left Porsche after just six races with the team, citing a lack of pace in the car, having failed to score a point. His replacement was Nico Rosberg, cutting his Formula Three campaign short (however he was still able to win the championship)

## Calendar

The 2005 season saw the first ever Singapore and Qatar Grands Prix. The Portuguese Grand Prix was also held for the first time since 1996.

2005 also saw the last ever Australian Grand Prix, with the season opener moving to South Africa for 2006.

## Summary

Fernando Alonso won the championship with Jaguar despite only picking up three wins in a season full of surprises. The Spaniard finished the year with 197 points, 28 clear of nearest rival and teammate Jenson Button, despite the team's midseason slump.

Alonso had a good start to the year, picking up 5th in Australia before moving onto 4 straight podiums including wins at Portugal and Canada. Meanwhile, his rivals struggled with inconsistent pace, and had already gained 93 points 5 races in, with Red Bull's Felipe Massa close behind on 76 points after a similarly strong start. However both soon lost form, and ended up being surpassed by Ferrari driver Webber (in his debut season for the Scuderia) as well as Button. Michael Schumacher (pictured left at Phoenix) suffered poor strategy and luck throughout the early and midseason, picking up just 7 points from Canada up to Italy.

Ferrari and Red Bull dropped off in pace during the later races of the season, and Alonso gained 40 points in the last two rounds versus 4 for Button and 6 for Webber, to claim his first and only title to date.

## Standings

### Full results

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fbJ2cSSXnmA0I\_jfHpBqTFcWEK\_Qj3PbgZE49EtdTTc/edit#gid=1630338413