F1 UniONE CAREER S3 (2016 Season)

2015 Season [S2]

2017 Season [S4]

## Overview

Season Three of the F1 UniONE CAREER was contested between 11 teams, using the F1 2016 game.

## Driver's Champion

Josh Tirowee won the Driver's Championship, in only his second full season on F1.

## Constructor's Champions

BMW Williams Martini won the Constructor's Championship, with consistant podium finishes from Josh Tirowee and Sebastien Buemi. It was Williams' first Constructor's Championship since 1997.

## Teams & Drivers

The following teams and drivers participated in the 2016 season.

## Regulation Changes

Following much success, the top 12 points system would remain for this season. Race distances would now be twice as long. The idea of this is for fans to get more action for their money, and for teams to try out different strategies.

## Pre-Season Testing

### Driver Transfers

Scuderia Ferrari - After clinching both championships in 2015, Ferrari name an unchanged driver line up of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes AMG Petronas - Following the embarrassing end to his 2015 championship campaign, Nico Rosberg chose to retire from F1 with immediate effect. Taking the 2014 World Champion's seat would be two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso. Mercedes keep on Valtteri Bottas for a second season, after he came close to taking the 2015 title with his consistent results.

BMW Williams Martini - After Josh Tirowee proved what the car was capable of towards the end of the 2015 season, Williams name an unchanged driver line up. Keeping on Sebastien Buemi for a second season.

Red Bull TAG Heuer - Following a difficult 2015 campaign, Red Bull finally level out their assortment of drivers to name an unchanged driver line up of Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Scuderia Toro Rosso - Toro Rosso also named an unchanged driver line up of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.

Sahara Force India - As the end of the 2015 season showed promise, Force India keep on Sergio Perez for a third season. Also, Esteban Ocon makes the step up from test driver, as Force India lost Nico Hulkenberg to Renault.

Sauber F1 Team - Sauber name an unchanged driver line up of Adrian Sutil and Marcus Ericsson.

McLaren-Honda - A difficult 2015 season saw the team lose Alonso to Mercedes. To make matters worse, they were struggling to find a second driver to partner Stoffel Vandoorne. In the end, the team approached pay driver, Rio Haryanto. Haryanto will make history as the first ever Indonesian driver to race in F1.

Manor Mercedes F1 Team - Manor keep on Will Stevens for a second season, after he scored the teams only point in 2015. Partnering the young Brit was to be Mercedes' next young prospect, Pascal Wehrlien.

Infiniti Renault Sport - Renault return to the sport, after buying out Lotus, and paying the debt they were put into by Romain Grosjean, following numerous contractual issues. Renault sign Nico Hulkenberg, after stating he wants a works team drive, to challenge for his first championship title. Partnering the German was to be Daniel Riccairdo. Ricciardo was in talks with Lotus for a race seat for 2016, therefore he was signed by the team. Fan favourite Carmen Jorda was disappointed to not retain a full time race seat. Once again she will be the Renault reserve driver.

Haas BMW Automotive - American team Haas enter the sport as the official BMW B-Team. From 2017 onward, Haas will take on BMW's young drivers. However, for their first season of competition, BMW thought it best Haas take on two experienced drivers within F1. They sign both Romain Grosjean and Alex Rossi on 1 year contracts.

### Team Performances

Red Bull TAG Heuer - Following from a difficult 2015 campaign, Red Bull look to have got on top of their car issues, and look to have the car to beat this season. As ever, they're reliant on the car's aerodynamics and chassis, as the Renault Power Unit in the back of it still looks to be down on power to Mercedes and BMW.

BMW Williams Martini - Williams look to build on their strong finish to the end of the 2015 season, taking 3 wins in the final four races. As ever, the BMW M-Sport Power Unit looks to be the most powerful on the grid. However, the Williams car still lacks overall downforce, to make the most of their power advantage.

Mercedes AMG Petronas - Mercedes look set for a difficult start to the season, as the 2014 Constructor's champions have experienced numerous mechanical failures with their Power Unit. Mercedes also look to have slipped to the third fastest team over the winter. On days 1 and 2 of testing, both Alonso and Bottas only managed a mere 50 laps before their cars hit trouble.

Scuderia Ferrari - The defending champions look set for a miserable season, as they only look to be fourth best. To make matters worse, much like in 2014, their Power Unit looks to be inferior to Mercedes, and Renault, and now BMW. Ferrari are expected to start work early on next year's challenger, rather than focus on this season.

McLaren-Honda - Honda look to be much improved from 2015, however, much like Red Bull, McLaren are still heavily reliant on the aero of their car, as the Honda Power Unit still looks to be the slowest on the grid.

Scuderia Toro Rosso - Toro Rosso look to be best of the rest, and are hopeful they can build on last season, which was their most successful ever (in terms of points scored).

Haas BMW Automotive - With a BMW engine, it's no wonder Haas are high up in the mid-field battle. Haas have designed their own chassis and aerodynamics, however Williams have stated they will test aerodynamic packages on the Haas car throughout the season.

Infiniti Renault Sport - Renault keep their Infiniti backing, and look set to use this season purely as a development season for next year's challenger. The chassis the team are using is the same exact chassis Lotus used in 2015, with a few adjustments made to accommodate the Renault Power Unit.

Sahara Force India - After a disappointing 2015 season for the majority, Force India lost numerous sponsors, such as Smirnoff. Due to a lack of funding, Force India haven't been able to develop their car as much as they would ideally have liked to. This has forced the team to design their car with low drag, to maxamise pace on the straights with their Mercedes Power Unit, and hope their drivers can fend off the competition through the corners.

Manor Mercedes F1 Team - Mercedes buy out the struggling minors that were Manor to form the official Mercedes B-Team, Manor Mercedes. Mercedes also have supplied Manor with free Mercedes Power Units, as they've signed Pascal Wehrlien as one of their drivers. Much like Force India, the Manor is designed with low-drag in mind, as they look to maximise pace down the straights. The Manor also looks to be the fastest car in pure straight line speed, beating out Haas and Williams.

Sauber F1 Team - Much like in 2014, Sauber look set for a dismal season, due to the weakness of the Ferrari Power Unit. Sauber have also had to design their car to be low-drag, however they don't have the straight line speed advantage that Manor and Force India look to have, thanks to their Mercedes Power Units.

## Season Calendar

Azerbaijan hosts its first ever F1 Grand Prix as Round 8 of the season. Germany returned to the F1 calendar for 2016. The Hungarian Grand Prix was a late cancellation, due to insufficient funds.

## Mid-Season Driver Transfers

Round 7, Canada: Vandoorne & Stevens - After an unimpressive stint with McLaren, Ron Dennis thought it best Vandoorne was to be replaced, as Haryanto has proved what the car is capable of. Will Stevens was to be the replacement, after out performing the Manor in 2015, as he scored the only points for the team last season.

Round 11, Belgium: Vandoorne & Lance Stroll - After causing a dangerous high speed incident with Romain Grosjean at the previous race, Stoffel Vandoorne lost his super license. His replacement at Manor was to be BMW Young Driver, Lance Stroll. Stroll is the first Canadian to race in F1 since Jacques Vielleneuve in 2006.

## Championship Standings

Points were awarded to the top 12 classified finishers, using the following structure:

In the event of a tie, a count-back system was used as a tie-breaker, with a driver's best result used to decide the standings.

### Points Tables;

Click on the table to enlarge it.

Key;

* Gold - Race Winner
* Silver - Second Place
* Bronze - Third Place
* Turquoise - Points Finish (4th - 12th)
* Blue - Classified finish outside of the points paying positions
* Purple DNF - Did Not Finish
* Purple **DNF**- Driver did not finish, but was still classified, as they retired within the final 6 laps
* Black - Disqualified
* White - Driver did not race