- "F1 2005" redirects here. For the video games based on the 2005 Formula One season, see F1 05 & F1 Grand Prix.
The 2005 Formula One season was the 56th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 6, 2005, and saw fierce battles, as Fernando Alonso and the Renault F1 team brought home the World Drivers and Constructors Championships, ending five years of dominance by Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari. With 19 Grands Prix the 2005 season featured the most events ever.
The most-noted aspect of the season was Ferrari's lack of pace, and races came to be dominated by the Renaults and McLarens, especially those of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen. After early troubles the McLaren was generally considered the faster package, however technical failures and race incidents meant an inability to translate this into either championship.
The 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis saw only three out of ten teams race in a bizarre mishap when it turned out (after several failures) that the Michelin tyres for the other seven teams could not be safely used on the surface of the track, causing them to withdraw from the race when the FIA refused a change for safety reasons, insisting on keeping to the letter of the regulations.1
After a high-flying 2004 season the most conspicuous drop in performance after Ferrari was BAR-Honda who were banned from two races due to regulations infractions. The Toyota team greatly improved and finished on the podium 5 times. Williams, by their standards, had another a poor season and it was announced at the end of June that BMW would split from the team in a deal with Sauber.
After a good start to the year, and despite a late charge from Kimi Räikkönen, Alonso won the world championship by finishing third in the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, becoming the youngest ever F1 world champion.
At the final race in China, Renault's Alonso and Fisichella finished first and fourth, with McLaren-Mercedes' Kimi Räikkönen second, to help Renault clinch their first ever world constructors' championship.
This season was the last season for several famous teams. They were the Sauber, Minardi, BAR and the Jordan team. Meanwhile, this was Rubens Barrichello's last season with the Ferrari team and Felipe Massa's last season with the Sauber team.
This season saw all the drivers except Robert Doornbos, Anthony Davidson and Ricardo Zonta scored world championship point(s) for the season and all the race teams scored world championship points for the season.
Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers were competitors in the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Driver changes
The most noticeable change to the 2005 season was its driver lineup — only 7 drivers raced for the same team with which they began the 2004 season, another 7 drivers switched to new teams.
Team changes
Red Bull Racing, which took over the Jaguar team, ran with Cosworth engines. Red Bull's lead driver is veteran Scotsman David Coulthard, paired with Christian Klien, the '04 Jaguar driver. Red Bull performed well, scoring 11 points after the first two events. Toyota-powered Jordan Grand Prix was purchased by Midland Group, although the team continued as Jordan until 2006. Sauber switched from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres over the winter, further severing their ties with the Ferrari team.
Shortly after the United States Grand Prix, Peter Sauber sold BMW a majority share in his Sauber team, which announced its intention to run as BMW's factory team in 2006.
Formula One 2005 race schedule
Results and standings
The 2005 Formula One calendar featured a new event in Turkey, just miles from the Europe-Asia dividing line. The newly-built circuit in Istanbul joined the 2004 newcomers Bahrain and China. The 2005 season witnessed two of the hottest grands prix ever: the track temperature at the beginning of the Malaysian event was 51°C (124°F), while in Bahrain the mercury soared past 56°C (133°F).
Grands Prix
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