Formula 1 Winter Testing: Who’s out on top?
Jawsey February 9, 2010
Tags formula 1, motor racing, motorsport, tests, winter testing
The Formula 1 2010 season officially kicked off last week, with the first of 4 winter tests. Since in-season testing is still banned, this is crucial for all the teams, in order to evaluate their 2010 cars. I shall be looking over the first test, judging on which teams are looking pretty good, and also what to expect from the second test, which begins tomorrow.
Ferrari
As with any first test of a new F1 car, it is very much an initial shakedown, and few definitive comparisons can be made. However, it is fairly safe to say that McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari have championship-contending cars. Ferrari in particular looks rather potent, with Massa and Alonso topping the times throughout the 3 days. The rumour is though that they were running on half-fuel tanks, mainly as a comparison to last year’s car, to make sure they hadn’t made another dud. The general consensus is however that either or both drivers will be right in the mix at the start
McLaren
Surprisingly however, many more technical-minded viewers have tipped McLaren as having the early advantage. With fuel consumption being the priority with refuelling banned, it does appear that McLaren, who ran with full tanks, has the best fuel consumption of the three, as well as having some outright pace. As for McLaren’s drivers, Hamilton was the faster of the two British World Champions, but Button focused more of his time in the car on setup and the state of the car, and also had seating troubles for much of his first outing. It’s too early to say which WC will come out on top.
Mercedes
And then there’s Mercedes. And more specifically Michael Schumacher. With all the attention on Ferrari/McLaren, the media almost seemed to forget that the 7-time World Champ was making a return to a current F1 car for the first time in 3 years. He and Rosberg carried out basic setup stuff over the three days, and although they didn’t exactly blitz the field as Brawn GP did last season, their overall pace appears very consistent. Besides, with Schumi and Brawn back together, would you seriously under-estimate Mercedes’ return to the F1 fold?
The others
Let’s have a quick peek at the other teams who tested last week. Sauber appeared to have some genuine pace, setting second fastest times all the way through the first test. However, I suspect there was some light-fuelled runs involved there, to get some high-profile times. Peter Sauber has been very public about his struggle to gain sponsorship deals, and headline lap times usually are a good way to help deal with that. Renault and Toro Rosso quietly made their debuts as well, although both cars look nothing more than points scorers at this stage of testing.
Predictions
So what’ll be happening this time tomorrow? Well, Red Bull and Force India unveil their cars for a start. Force India have built on their car that was rather excellent last season at low down-force tracks, and should be a shoe-in for some points if the car is a bit more well-rounded this season. Red Bull should be a title challenger if last year’s car and Adrian Newey is anything to go by, and with two very competitive drivers in Vettel and Webber, it gives us a grand total of 8 drivers who could argue to have a shout at the championship. And the first of the new teams, Virgin, make their debut
It’s early days yet, but it seems fairly safe to say that one of Mercedes, McLaren or Ferrari drivers will at least be competing for the title. And that’s without even seeing the Red Bull car yet.
Exciting times indeed for the world of Formula 1
Ferrari
As with any first test of a new F1 car, it is very much an initial shakedown, and few definitive comparisons can be made. However, it is fairly safe to say that McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari have championship-contending cars. Ferrari in particular looks rather potent, with Massa and Alonso topping the times throughout the 3 days. The rumour is though that they were running on half-fuel tanks, mainly as a comparison to last year’s car, to make sure they hadn’t made another dud. The general consensus is however that either or both drivers will be right in the mix at the start
McLaren
Surprisingly however, many more technical-minded viewers have tipped McLaren as having the early advantage. With fuel consumption being the priority with refuelling banned, it does appear that McLaren, who ran with full tanks, has the best fuel consumption of the three, as well as having some outright pace. As for McLaren’s drivers, Hamilton was the faster of the two British World Champions, but Button focused more of his time in the car on setup and the state of the car, and also had seating troubles for much of his first outing. It’s too early to say which WC will come out on top.
Mercedes
And then there’s Mercedes. And more specifically Michael Schumacher. With all the attention on Ferrari/McLaren, the media almost seemed to forget that the 7-time World Champ was making a return to a current F1 car for the first time in 3 years. He and Rosberg carried out basic setup stuff over the three days, and although they didn’t exactly blitz the field as Brawn GP did last season, their overall pace appears very consistent. Besides, with Schumi and Brawn back together, would you seriously under-estimate Mercedes’ return to the F1 fold?
The others
Let’s have a quick peek at the other teams who tested last week. Sauber appeared to have some genuine pace, setting second fastest times all the way through the first test. However, I suspect there was some light-fuelled runs involved there, to get some high-profile times. Peter Sauber has been very public about his struggle to gain sponsorship deals, and headline lap times usually are a good way to help deal with that. Renault and Toro Rosso quietly made their debuts as well, although both cars look nothing more than points scorers at this stage of testing.
Predictions
So what’ll be happening this time tomorrow? Well, Red Bull and Force India unveil their cars for a start. Force India have built on their car that was rather excellent last season at low down-force tracks, and should be a shoe-in for some points if the car is a bit more well-rounded this season. Red Bull should be a title challenger if last year’s car and Adrian Newey is anything to go by, and with two very competitive drivers in Vettel and Webber, it gives us a grand total of 8 drivers who could argue to have a shout at the championship. And the first of the new teams, Virgin, make their debut
It’s early days yet, but it seems fairly safe to say that one of Mercedes, McLaren or Ferrari drivers will at least be competing for the title. And that’s without even seeing the Red Bull car yet.
Exciting times indeed for the world of Formula 1
