With the season opener scheduled for 15 March in Melbourne, Australia, Formula 1’s pre-season testing is presently in full swing.
The teams made their way to Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya for the first day of testing on the 19th of February with Alfa Romeo and Racing Point revealing their liveries for the coming season on the day. Renault Formula 1 team ran a black and yellow test livery with the intention of revealing their official colours in Melbourne. In addition, we had the rebranding of Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso as Alpha Tauri who also came out with a striking new white and blue livery for the upcoming 2020 season in aid of promoting Red Bulls fashion brand by the same name. The rest of the pack stuck to their guns and the first of six days of testing was underway.
Day 1
Sunny-but-chilly track conditions didn’t stop all 10 teams from running their machines on the crucial first day of testing. The Williams Team were first out on track with George Russell behind the wheel of their FW43. Williams were keen to send a message to the paddock by firstly being ready on time, and, secondly, being the first car out on track after the bad memories from 2019’s pre-season testing – and they managed both. However, at the end of day 1 all teams were able to clock a total of 1,417 laps of the Catalunya circuit, an equivalent of a staggering 20-and-a-half Spanish Grand Prix distances.
The focus was on proving the reliability of the hybrid beasts as this year we will have two fewer days of testing than last season as per 2020 regulations. No surprise, automotive giants Mercedes finished the day on top, posting the fastest times on the leader board and the greatest distance covered; a total of 173 laps. Reigning 6-time world champion and fellow Brit, Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time of 1:16.976 sec, almost three-tenths quicker than teammate Valtteri Bottas in second place. Red Bull finished in close second with a total of 168 laps covered with Max Verstappen behind the wheel of the RB16, even though the Dutchman spun the car out on two separate occasions. Mercedes rivals Ferrari were unfortunately behind on pace with only 132 laps under their belt with both Alfa Romeo and Williams covering more ground than the Italian constructors.
Day 2
Day 2 was all about DAS, the new ingenious steering system introduced by Mercedes on their W11 race car. DAS, short for Dual Axis Steering, which is operated by the driver pulling or pushing the steering column is essentially a system that changes the camber/toe of the front tires. Usually in a race the toe would be set at a slightly outward slant, therefore when braking and approaching a corner the wheels straighten up by a couple degrees making the front end of the car snappier and easier to maneuver. However, with this new system the driver has the ability to essentially change the degree of the angle of the tires as he sees fit.
The benefits of this system are still yet to be revealed and analyzed in more detail. However, it is believed that DAS could potentially give drivers with the system a marginal advantage as they will be able to heat or cool their tires as they wish in order to get more grip or to reduce tire wear respectively, among other unrecognized benefits. Teams as well as the governing body of Formula 1 (FIA) are yet to determine whether the system is illegal, but more likely than not the system would be deemed legal. If that is the case, other manufacturers would have to commence work on developing this new system as soon as possible if they were to have a chance at challenging Mercedes for podiums was what Jolyon Plamer had to say. At the end of day two it was still Mercedes on top with the most distance covered of 183 laps.
However, it was former 2007 World-Champion Kimi Raikkonen who topped the leader board on the second day with a time of 1:17.091 sec before bringing out a red flag after his car had to be stopped on track. Racing Point’s Sergio Perez also impressed with the second-best time of the day, just two-tenths behind the flying Finn. The RP20 looked exceptionally quick on both days of testing with the team stating that their 2020 contender drew inspiration from Mercedes constructors champion, the W10.
Day 3
The final day of week one saw Red Bull have the most productive day with a total 183 circuits around the Catalunya track. Both drivers, Max Verstappen and Alex Albon concluded the week on a high stating that the team have hit the ground running with noticeable gains from the 2019 contender. The French manufacturer Renault were the other success story of day three with an overall good balance to the day. Ferrari however had a disappointing end to the first week of pre-season testing with Sebastien Vettel nearly 2.7 seconds off the pace from the rest of the field. Team Principal Mattia Binotto stated at the end of the day that the team were not feeling optimistic for the season opener in Melbourne. A team however that has truly gone under the radar is British constructor McLaren.
On day one, McLaren were able to cover decent ground with Carlos Sainz clocking up more than 160 laps in his brand new MCL35. Later in an interview he stated that the car felt exceptionally quick however he couldn’t be sure where the team stood relative to the rest of the mid field. Over the next few days, the team from Woking’s productive work was clouded by the new developments at Mercedes, the faults at Renault and Ferrari and the reliability of the Racing Point. The MCL35 covered a decent 137 laps on day two and 125 laps on day three. It is most likely that come week two McLaren will be a serious contender in the mid-field. Almost all the teams spent some solid time doing pit stop practice, particularly towards the end of the day when the weather conditions were cooler.
With the end of week one, all teams will delve into the sheer amounts of data collected over the past three days. Testing is scheduled to return to Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya on Wednesday the 26th for week two of pre-season testing. In the days to come be sure to expect performance runs from most teams and a pecking order to emerge on the grid.
By Randev Jayasinha
Photo credit: Wikipedia