A wave of changes in 2005
Fernando Alonso became the youngest driver to win the Formula One world championship and, along with flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen, breathed new life into a sport strangled by years of Ferrari dominance.
In breaking the Ferrari and Michael Schumacher monopoly, the Spaniard`s Renault injected much-needed fizz into a spectacle in danger of becoming flat. With Raikkonen pushing hard in his McLaren, Alonso was made to wait till the third-last race of an enthralling season in Brazil before claiming a title he had been chasing since opening the campaign in Melbourne in March. In the end, they both scored seven victories each.
Renault wrapped up the constructors` title at the final race in Shanghai, with McLaren having to settle for second.
The decline of Ferrari was not the only shockwave running through the money-rich sport. A fiasco at the United States Grand Prix in June badly tarnished the Formula One image, with 14 drivers boycotting the event amid safety concerns after Michelin brought incorrect tyres to Indianapolis.

Disgusted spectators pelted missiles at the remaining drivers from the three teams running Bridgestone tyres. Many walked away from the race demanding their money back. By the end of the year, Michelin had announced that they would quit the sport at the end of the 2006 world championship.

The move followed the decision by the FIA to opt for a single tyre manufacturer to supply teams from 2008 and came just months after the debacle at Indianapolis. Michelin`s withdrawal means Bridgestone will be left as the sole tyre supplier.

The future of Formula One was also plunged into uncertainty when the threat of a breakaway series emerged. Some teams complained that Formula One`s commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone was not giving them a big enough share of the millions of dollars made from the marketing and TV rights of the sport. The dispute was defused to a certain extent in December when Williams pulled out of a breakaway threat.

The 2005 season will also be remembered as the last for Jordan, Minardi and Sauber in their present formats. Red Bull has taken over Minardi, which will be known as Scuderia Toro Rosso, while Russian businessman Alex Shnaider now runs Jordan, which is being re-branded as Midland F1 next season. Sauber was bought out by BMW.

Despite the many issues facing F1 in its longest-ever season, the dashing Alonso at least managed to bring back some of the panache sorely missing in recent years. And in a refreshing change, five drivers took top honours over the 19-race series -- Alonso (Renault), Raikkonen (McLaren), Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren), Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) and Schumacher (Ferrari). Alonso displayed his title credentials from the off, finishing third behind surprise winner Fisichella in Melbourne.

That first race of the season at Albert Park provided an ominous sign of what lay ahead, not just for Alonso but also for defending champion Schumacher, who failed to finish.

With six points to his name, the young Spaniard went to Malaysia with the bit between his teeth and cantered to victory, following up with glory in Bahrain in race three and again in San Marino three weeks later. Driving an impeccably reliable car, he never looked back, despite Raikkonen and his McLaren team proving dominant in the close season. Despite the late surge, they paid the penalty of early season mistakes.

"It was pressure for me to fight with Kimi this year, but it was a nice fight," said Alonso. "The whole season has been a dream come true."

With the modified Ferrari failing to fire, Renault and McLaren ran away in the race for constructors honours, depriving the Italian powerhouse of the crown it had made its own since 1999. Ferrari was left to battle it out with Toyota for third.

A shell-shocked Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, was left pondering what had hit him, but was gracious in defeat and sounded a warning that he was hungry to be the best once again. "I am not sad to lose the world title after all this time. It is more that I look forward to next year and to fight again next year, and hopefully I will be able to do so," he said.

Adding to Ferrari`s problems by the end of the season was the decision by long-term sponsor Vodafone to withdraw from their 23-million-pound-a-year deal and back McLaren from 2007.

The 2006 season gets underway in Bahrain on March 12 with 10 teams entered but no place for the proposed Super Aguri team who had planned to make their bow in the championship. However, when the start list was announced three weeks ago, the Japanese team was absent.


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