The first pre-season test is always one of the most exciting times of the motorsport calendar – but the buzz over the first real run outs for F1’s radical new cars was quickly muted by far more serious issues in the world.
In her first Paddock Diary, RaceFans’ newest reporter Claire Cottingham provides an insight into the first three days of on-track action for 2022.
Tuesday
Formula 1’s first pre-season test had a real buzz about it. Many fans – and I include myself among them – were itching to see the new machinery after the sneak peek during various car launches and many teams did not disappoint once on track at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Arguably the anticipation was heightened after it was announced there would be no live television coverage of the three-day event. As was the case with all tests until a few years ago, fans had to rely on the on-site media – photographers, camera operators and journalists – to update them from the track.
After a relatively easy…