#formula un

1. ROSBERG ENDED 2015/16 ON THE RAMPAGE

Hamilton clinched the title with three races to spare, but his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg put a damper on Hamilton’s celebrations by dominating the last month of the season. Following his blunder in Austin, Rosberg won the pole at each of the last three races, and went on to win each race comfortably, raising his season total to six wins. If Rosberg can carry that momentum into 2016, he may finally step out of Hamilton’s shadow.

2. NEW ENGINE REGULATIONS COULD BE A LEVELLER 

All too often last season, the results on track seemed to boil down to the make of the engine inside the car rather than the driver in control of it. Mercedes-powered teams filled six out of the top 10 spots in the final championship standings, while Red Bull, Toro Rosso and McLaren-Honda were woefully underpowered in comparison. 

Two changes could help make the 2016 season a bit more competitive:

After Marussia had been using 2014 engines this season , a new regulation announced in October will require engine manufacturers will be required to provide customer teams with identical 2016-spec engines. 

Perhaps even more importantly, F1 teams will be now allowed to develop and improve their engines during the season, which will give struggling teams the chance to close the gap.

3. F1 HAS AN IMPRESSIVE CROP OF YOUNG DRIVERS

The most entertaining battles of the Formula 1 season were found in the middle of the pack, and 18-year-old Max Verstappen emerged as one of the stars of the season despite a 12th place finish in the points standings. Verstappen’s Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat are still just 21 years old, while Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Nasr are all 26 or younger. 

4. A NEW TRACK AND THE RETURN OF A CLASSIC

The F1 calendar has a fresh look for 2016. The European Grand Prix will make a return after a three-year absence as the Formula 1 series will hold its first race in Azerbaijan at the new Baku City Circuit, and the German Grand Prix will be back at the Hockenheimring. If all of the other scheduled races remain (the 2016 United States Grand Prix is in danger due to financial issues), that brings the season total to 21 rounds — the most in F1 history.

5. THERE’S A NEW TEAM ON THE GRID

NASCAR team owner Gene Haas is bringing an American-based team to Formula 1 for the first time since 1986 and Haas hit a home run with his driver lineup for 2016. Widely regarded as one of the most improved and underrated drivers in the field, luring Romain Grosjean from Lotus is a relative coup! While teammate Esteban Gutierrez showed some flashes of promise in his 38 starts over two seasons with Sauber. While it would be unreasonable to expect too much from Haas this season, with two experienced and talented racers, and a deal for Ferrari engines in place, Haas probably already has a leg up on McLaren-Honda and Marussia.