With Haas using Ferrari engines, Marussia switched to Mercedes[10], after using a 2014-engine the previous season. The team will undergo a management reshuffle following the resignation of team principal John Booth and sporting director Graeme Lowdon[63]. In January, it was announced that they compete as Manor Racing for the 2016 season[46]
Red Bull ended their nine year association with Renault[15], citing that lack of performance of the 2015 engine as their excuse for separation[64]. However, after failed attempts to gain another engine from Ferrari[65] (although sister team Toro Rosso will change from Renault to a 2015 Ferrari engine[35]), Mercedes[66] and Honda[67], meant that Red Bull (who still had a contract with Renault) had to use Renault engines, re-branded as TAG Heuer[15]. Horner ater said that the team had held exploratory talks with the Volkswagen Group about entering the sport as an engine supplier, but that negotiations came to a halt following the emissions scandal that broke in September 2015[68].
Renault will return to Formula One as a full factory-supported team after they purchased Lotus from Genii Capital,[25] the venture capital firm they had originally sold the same team to in 2010, and supplied engines to up until the end of 2014. Lotus' participation in the 2016 season was in question pending the resolution of a High Court case brought against the team by HM Revenue and Customs over unpaid PAYE tax.[69][70]
Romain Grosjean left Lotus at the end of the 2015 season and joined the newly formed Haas F1 team for 2016,[57] where he will be joined by former Sauber driver Esteban Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez will return to competition after spending a season as Ferrari's test and reserve driver[59]. Grosjean's place at Lotus was eventually taken by 2014GP2 Series champion Jolyon Palmer[71].
Despite originally having signed a contract with Lotus for 2016,[72]Pastor Maldonado announced he will not be driving for Renault in the 2016 season. This is due the failure of his sponsor PDVSA to pay his sponsorship for the season.[30] He was replaced by Kevin Magnussen, who was released at McLaren when they chose not to renew his contract after he entered a single race for the team in 2015.[73][74]
The FIA and Formula One Management will be granted greater power to change the Sporting and Technical Regulations and to make decisions affecting the governance of the sport.[79]
Cars will be required to be designed with a separate wastegate for exhaust gases to pass through—colloquially dubbed the "screamer pipe"—in a bid to increase the noise of the cars following criticism since the introduction of the 2014 generation of engines.[80]
Tyre supplier Pirelli will introduce a fifth tyre compound known as "ultrasoft".[81] Pirelli will change their approach to tyre supply in 2016, bringing three compounds to races instead of two and allowing teams the freedom to choose which two compounds they use.[82][83] Teams are allowed to supply their two cars with a different selection. The choices will be made public two weeks before the race.[84]
The FIA has opted to increase the number of tokens available for power unit development stating in 2016. While the initial plans would have given manufacturers fifteen tokens for the season, the number was raised to thirty-two, the same number as 2014, in order to allow struggling manufacturers such as Renault and Honda to improve their development. This decision also allows further development on parts that were initially planned to be closed off, including the upper and lower crankcase, valve drive, crankshaft, air-valve system and ancillaries drive.[85]
Starting in 2016, the number of pre-season tests will be reduced from three to two.[86]
The stewards will be given greater powers in enforcing track limits, with drivers required to stay between the white lines marking the edges of the circuit, except in cases of driver error.[80] The change was introduced after an investigation by Pirelli into Sebastian Vettel's high-speed blow-out at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix that concluded that Vettel's off-track excursions had been a significant factor in the incident.
The FIA is also exploring a number of solutions to discourage drivers from abusing track limits and aid in their policing, including GPS tracking, the reprofiling of kerbs, the installation of pressure-sensitive sensors and the use of high-speed cameras.[87]
Any driver who causes the start of the race to be aborted will be required to start the race from pit lane at the restart.[80]
The procedure for issuing gearbox penalties will be amended so that penalties are applied in the order that they are awarded, bringing the system in line with the wider grid penalty system.[80]
The Virtual Safety Car system will be used in practice sessions as well to avoid the unnecessary use of red flags and session stoppages.[83]
The drag reduction system, which is deactivated when under Virtual Safety Car periods and full-course yellow flags will be available as soon as a Virtual Safety Car period has ended;[83] drivers previously had to wait two laps before the system was reactivated.[88]
The process new drivers go through in order to qualify for a superlicence will be changed,[89] with additional restrictions put in place as part of the wider FIA Global Pathway.[90][91] The changes were introduced following controversy surrounding Max Verstappen qualifying for a superlicence at the age of sixteen after a single season competing in European Formula 3.[90]
The qualifying process was heavily revised two weeks before the season began. The three-period format first introduced in 2006 was retained, but with a progressive "knock-out" style of elimination.[92]
Despite widespread criticism of the format at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix,[93][94][95][96][97][98] and a vote from the teams to revert to the pre-2016 format, the FIA's F1 Commission chose to maintain the system ahead of a full review later in the season.[99][100]
The German Grand Prix will return to the Hockenheimring after the event was cancelled in 2015 when a venue could not be secured.[103] The circuit had previously hosted the race in 2014 as part of their agreement with the Nürburgring to host the event every even-numbered year.
In 2006, Formula One Management signed a seven-year contract to run the Korean Grand Prix at the Korea International Circuit beginning in 2010. However, the event was discontinued in 2014, and was omitted from the calendar for the third consecutive season in 2016.[112]
^As reigning world champion, Hamilton has the option to use to number 1, or continuing using no. 44 for 2016.[3] He eventually choose to no. 44.[4]
^Red Bull announced that they were splitting with Renault mid-season 2015. However, after not finding a suitable supplier, Red Bull took Renault engines, now re-branded as TAG-Heuer, who supplied engines to McLaren on be halve of Honda in the 1980s[15]
^Renault bought out Lotus in late 2015[28], and later confirmed the return of the Renault brand to Formula One[25].
^In late 2015, it was announced that the FIA had approved the use of 2015 Ferrari engines for Toro Rosso[35]
^"Drag Reduction System". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2 October 2015 suggested (help)
Sebastian Vettel
Kimi Räikkönen
Daniel Ricciardo
Sergio Pérez
Daniil Kvyat
Marcus Ericsson
Kevin Magnussen
Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton
Romain Grosjean
Felipe Nasr
Fernando Alonso
Rio Haryanto
Force India–Mercedes
Sauber–Ferrari