Formula One is back soon for one of the most exciting seasons in years: with grudges galore, tech battles, pitlane drama and gossip flowing like champagne. A shuffle of drivers sends Vettel to Ferrari, Alonso to McLaren and even a few new boys in the mix.

The big four contenders have all revealed their cars for 2015, and while visual judgment of the machines is not a determining factor in their racing success, it is still interesting to see them all side-by-side from various angles.

The latest look ditches the old dong-nose style of 2014, thank goodness, and aerodynamics are on full display in all four cars here. Aero is an absolutely critical element in F1 glory with the new rulebook, and the new Mercedes Sindelfingen wind tunnel opened last year was a big part of Mercedes total dominance all season. Red Bull’s wind tunnel is eight years old now, and Ferrari’s goes back 30-plus years — albeit revised and updated as of last year.

In any race series, you want a balance between car engineering achievement and driver skill. If all the cars are the same, as in NASCAR, it takes much of the technical layer of interest from the equation. But if the cars are different, you periodically get a race-winning machine that is quicker than all others – no matter who is driving.

In the last 10 years, F1 has been a technical showcase more than a driver one. Will this change in 2015?

The other big stories are: will AMG keep making Ferrari look amateurish? Will Infiniti reclaim a bit of its golden-boy race pace? Will McLaren be able to tame Alonso’s new beard? Will Lewis and Nico get into a fistfight?

2015 F1 Cars Comparo

Front Angle

Front Three-Quarter Angle

 

Side Profile Angle

 

 

2015 Infiniti Red Bull Racing RB11

2015 McLaren-Honda MP4-30

2015 MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 W06 Hybrid Silver Arrow

 

2015 Ferrari SF15T