Far from focusing on the time table, irrelevant in 99% of the cases at this point in the season, at Motor.es we tell you the keys to what happened in the Barcelona preseason that will make a difference on the track.
The first half of the preseason is already history: the new generation of single-seaters rolled for the first time together in 2022 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in an erroneously called shake down that tested their strengths and weaknesses.
The culmination of several years’ worknecessary to face a regulatory revolution that has given rise to unprecedented regulations in the history of Formula 1, led to mistakes typical of the youth of some cars that, although they had been released in their respective filming daysare still at an early stage of their development.
At Motor.es we had the great fortune of being able to attend this unique event accredited, which allows us to bring you first hand details that, added to those that we tell you live and during those intense test days, will serve to better understand what will happen in Bahrain.
at half throttle
It is true that Lewis Hamilton closed the Barcelona tests with the best time of the week, a 1:19.138 more than two seconds slower than his own time in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix and almost a second slower than Max Verstappen’s fastest lap in said race.
The truth is that the #44 repeated on several occasions the technique of squeezing in the first two sectors, marking both purples, to finish lifting in the thirdthe most twisted of all and to which the tires arrive in the last, leaving everyone in the press room with honey on their lips.
In the case of Alpinethose commanded by Fernando Alonso on the track found problems in the mechanism of the DRS after a first day of filming prior to these tests, a specific part prevented them from using it on Wednesday and Thursday until, finally on Friday, to add insult to injury, a bad seal made them finish early.
Although some in the ranks of the French team consider that perhaps significantly modify the structure of your power unit not ideal just before the engine freeze, confidence in your new powertrain remains intact, no worries, and with an upgrade package already scheduled for the start of the year.
All this ratifies what was witnessed both on the track and in the time table: there are many variables and possible combinations that, today, indicate that the limit is still far away.
Paradigm shift
The biggest fear of the entire grill has its own name: ferrari. New engine, team with higher mileage behind them in the test… corroborate some good feelings that Carlos Sainz himself seemed to confirm in the pit lane with a brief “very well” when asked about the F1-75 that accompanied with a smile from ear to ear.
Mercedes? In fear of the Scuderia, throwing the stone and hiding his hand. First, George Russell assured that the Italians are very strong, guaranteeing that they are 100% behind them, and not a single day later, laughingly accused Lando Norris of using mind games to distract attention and take the focus away from themselves.
A floor not entirely in accordance with the regulations and several proposals for improvement that go contrary to the spirit of the regulation and that they will see the light in Bahrain are what worries the FIA lately, with some single-seaters that are currently over the weight limit and what they will have to do ‘regime’ one way or another before the first race.
As long as Red Bull went ‘on his own’ after not revealing anything about his RB18 until the first day of testing, with Adrian Newey’s characteristic aggressive aerodynamics that in person denotes hours of work on a bodywork, the long runs that we brought you lap after lap during the tests suggest that the title candidates to date may have company this year.
Relearn… to drive
The ‘back to school’ of the pilots has been more intense than ever, a return in which they have had to apply themselves thoroughly to, as Sebastian Vettel cataloged, “tame” to the new beasts that they will have in their hands.
The damn pouringthe high-speed rebound of the F1 in ground effect, is more than evident especially in the Ferrari in full straight. The boats of the F1-75 do not worry too much, however, to a Sainz who trusts that they will find a solution, sooner rather than later, to solve a setback that the simulator did not show in its true magnitude.
Another of the weak points of these new single-seaters that we observed at the foot of the track was a excessive understeer: although in fast curves it is still partially hidden, in low and medium speed curves the 2022 cars are reluctant to follow the optimal line, even more ‘tanky’ than those of yesteryear and lazy when it comes to reacting.
Some pilots dared to test how it is follow a rival now that they have single-seaters designed for this purpose, and the general sensations in this regard were good. For a moment, Russell and Ricciardo made risky maneuvers on the back straight that for a moment we thought would end in accidentalthough everything ended without consequences but with the fright in the body.
The 18″ tires they hinder, for the moment, the pilots’ vision, but most have already confessed that they will get used to it in a matter of days. The spray that they are currently raising, after what was seen in the tests last afternoon when the track was artificially flooded, is going in a more vertical direction than until now, but only a fully wet session will serve to clear up doubts about whether the situation in rain improves (for now it seems not, at least in excess).
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The pianosespecially those of the chicane the third and last sector, they were only vehemently tested by Mercedes, Ferrari and sometimes Red Bull, while the others practically did not even come close, an evident symptom that there is still a long way to go and that Bahrain will be one more test until the first GP of the year bring the real fire.
Photos: Motor.es