Complete calendar with 19 races
The 2005 Formula 1 season marked a seismic shift in the sport's competitive order as Fernando Alonso and Renault ended Ferrari's five-year stranglehold on the championship, with the 24-year-old Spaniard becoming the youngest World Champion in history. The dramatic power shift was accelerated by controversial tire regulations that banned pit stops for tire changes, fundamentally altering race strategy and exposing Ferrari's Bridgestone-shod cars to a significant performance deficit against Michelin-equipped rivals.
Alonso's championship campaign was a masterclass in consistency and speed. He won seven races including dominant victories at Malaysia, Bahrain, Imola, France, Germany, and China, and remarkably finished every single race on the podium except for three retirements. His title-clinching second place at the penultimate round in Brazil gave him an unassailable points lead with one race remaining. The Renault R25, designed by a team led by Bob Bell and powered by a Renault V10 engine, proved to be the class of the field with exceptional tire management on Michelin rubber and superior reliability compared to previous seasons.
The season's defining moment came at the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, where a tire safety controversy resulted in only six cars starting the race after all fourteen Michelin-shod teams withdrew on safety grounds following warm-up lap tire failures. The farcical situation, with fans booing as the Bridgestone runners - Ferrari, Minardi, and Jordan - circulated alone, became one of Formula 1's darkest days and damaged the sport's reputation in the crucial American market. Michael Schumacher won the race but the victory felt hollow, and the debacle led to intense political fallout and ultimately contributed to tire competition being banned from 2007 onwards.
Schumacher and Ferrari fought hard despite their tire disadvantage, with the seven-time champion claiming his only victory of the season at Indianapolis plus podiums at Australia, Malaysia, Imola, Europe, Belgium, and Japan. However, Ferrari's F2005 proved uncompetitive on Michelin-dominated weekends, suffering from poor tire degradation and an inability to generate consistent grip over race distances. Rubens Barrichello managed just a single podium finish at his home race in Brazil, and the Brazilian's frustrating season contributed to his decision to leave Ferrari for Honda at season's end.
McLaren-Mercedes emerged as Renault's primary challenger with Kimi Räikkönen winning seven races - matching Alonso's tally - including spectacular victories at Spain, Monaco, Canada, Hungary, Turkey, Belgium, and Japan. The Finn's blistering speed made him a genuine threat, but catastrophic reliability issues plagued his campaign. He retired from ten races, many while leading or running in podium positions, costing him the championship despite having the fastest car for much of the season. Juan Pablo Montoya joined McLaren from Williams and won three races including Colombia's first F1 victory at Brazil, showcasing his aggressive racecraft.
The season witnessed several memorable races beyond the Indianapolis controversy. The Japanese Grand Prix featured one of the greatest drives in F1 history as Räikkönen carved through from 17th on the grid to victory, while the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring saw Alonso hold off a charging Schumacher in an epic duel that showcased both drivers at their finest. The San Marino Grand Prix featured one of the closest finishes in F1 history with Alonso beating Schumacher by just 0.2 seconds after a thrilling final-lap battle.
BAR-Honda disappointed after their strong 2004 campaign, with Jenson Button and Takuma Sato failing to win a race. The team was also excluded from the San Marino and Spanish Grands Prix after being found guilty of running underweight fuel tanks. Williams-BMW struggled with reliability, though Mark Webber took an emotional second place at Monaco. Toyota showed improvement but remained winless, while Sauber-Petronas impressed with Jacques Villeneuve scoring regular points.
Alonso's championship victory represented a changing of the guard in Formula 1. At 24 years and 58 days, he shattered Emerson Fittipaldi's record as the youngest world champion by over two years, signaling the arrival of a new generation of talent. Renault's constructors' triumph ended Ferrari's six-year dominance and vindicated their investment in F1. The season proved that Ferrari's era of supremacy had ended, ushering in a new period of multi-team competition that would define the sport for years to come. For Schumacher, it marked the beginning of the end of his reign atop Formula 1, though few could have predicted just how quickly Ferrari's fortunes would continue to decline.