John N
Formula 1 returned to the friendly surroundings of the Bahrain International Circuit for Day 1 of the second Official Pre-Season Test. For some teams, the emphasis was mileage while for others it was all about longer periods on different tire compounds as they experimented with various set-ups and fuel loads. With performance runs anticipated to be held back until the final day on Saturday, here are Five Lessons from today’s testing session.
- Ferrari and AlphaTauri retain dark horse status
Ferrari seemed to have made a good step in relative competitiveness to the front runners in Barcelona. Team insiders say the car has a lot of downforces, and if the first race of the season had taken place at Barcelona, the red cars would have been in the fight. Ferrari focused on set-up, which is useful given that the first race of the year takes place at this venue, as well as testing reliability in hotter temperatures (the air was 37C, track 47C), and trying a plethora of solutions to cure the proposing issue that all teams have had.
Italian F1 AlphaTauri were also busy. Pierre Gasly – who topped the times for what it’s worth – clocked 103 laps. AlphaTauri were switching focus early in the day from aero tests to mechanical runs and testing the softer compounds, including the C4 and C5. There was a growing feeling in the paddock that these two squads could be dark horses in the early part of the season.
- Alfa Romeo Ended the Day Happy
After a series of difficult testing sessions in Barcelona, Alfa Romeo was happier on day one in Bahrain. The team surpassed a century of laps, helping them forget the struggles they had in Barcelona. The Hinwil team remained confident in their car once the team could get on top of the many niggles they initially encountered. On Thursday, Valtteri Bottas got some important mileage under his belt, which has not only helped him to settle into the new surroundings faster but also was important for the team to collect his feedback to make the most of this package quickly. Zhou Guanyu did another long run, as he continued to clock up the mileage ahead of his rookie year. You can see his confidence increasing with every lap. Boss Fred Vasseur will be hoping for more of the same on Friday.
- Magnussen Returns
Despite a freight delay in arriving in Bahrain, the mechanics did a phenomenal job to get the car together in time to head out in the afternoon session, with reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi giving the VF-22 – decked out in an all-new livery – a spin. He’ll hand it over to Kevin Magnussen, who is making a sensational return to F1 with the team he left at the end of 2020, the Dane having put pen to paper yesterday afternoon on a multi-year deal that not only affirms the team’s belief in him but also his belief in Haas’ ability to fight in the midfield once again in the short-term.
- Mercedes Side Pod Re-arrangement
High on the agenda for paddock-goers on Thursday was getting a glimpse of the much anticipated new-spec Mercedes, which broke cover when it was wheeled out onto the grid for the annual pre-season photo – and boy did it deliver the wow-factor with a radical sidepod arrangement.
It remains to be seen how quick the package is: it’s one thing to deliver an exciting concept, quite another to prove it is worth lap time. But that it caused so much chatter up and down the pit lane, and that our data team found they had the best race simulation pace of all, 0.29s better off than Red Bull, suggests the update kit has the potential to be special. We should find out over the next couple of days just how special.
