Formula One has finished pre-season testing, in advance of Sunday’s Grand Prix at Bahrain.
Testing 25.5 hours across three days is a grind. You’d have to be insane to watch all of it.
So, something I’ve learned after watching all of it is just how relatively reliable the field is now. The number of serious issues that required a red flag with a car being removed can be counted on one hand, and there was just one spin across the three days.
A lot of team designs avoided radical departures from last year’s models. The Ferrari and the Red Bull, in particular, stayed close to the form of their old cars for this year, and both are still pretty fast. There were plenty of minor changes and improvements found throughout the field, but there were really only two big changes in the potential running order this year.
When talking about testing, above anything, I think it’s foolish to focus on lap times and compare them.
Teams could be running different tire compounds, different fuel loads, different engine modes, and have different goals in mind in a run. Alfa Romeo had the fastest lap on day two, but nobody is seriously thinking that team is going to break into the top three like Aston Martin reportedly may.
With that being said, here are some thoughts on each of the ten teams, in reverse order of where I rank them coming out of testing:
10. Alpha Tauri: To be honest, Alpha Tauri’s test results weren’t terrible. What’s more concerning is a report that came out that Red Bull management is looking to either move the Scuderia out of Italy or sell the team entirely. It’s really hard for any team to be able to rise above that level of distraction, knowing that they may well be out of a job as early as next season.
9. McLaren: McLaren had a bad week. The orange papaya team was just slow and openly saying that they had missed the mark in interviews and press conferences. Any improvement was minimal, considering the team completed the fewest laps of any other team. Expect a big drop-off like last year’s initial car before upgrades bring them more pace in a few months.
8. Williams: Had a great second day of testing, with a lot of people being impressed with new driver Logan Sargeant. The American has pace, but it remains to be seen how solid his racecraft actually is at the F1 level. Williams should be up from last year, but don’t expect them to challenge for podiums just yet.
7. Alfa Romeo: The Sauber group had an…
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