How has the hierarchy evolved since the winter testing?

In order to establish a reliable basis of comparison, it is necessary to remember a few important elements:

• We will take as reference the best time of each team from the winter tests and those from the qualifying of the Spanish Grand Prix
• The preseason tests are mainly periods of testing the cars
• The weather conditions may have affected the cars and therefore slightly vary the performances

Red Bull Racing

EH: Sergio Perez – 1:19.556

Q3: Max Verstappen – 1:19.073

Delta: -0.483s

Scuderia Ferrari

EH: Charles Leclerc – 1:19.689 becomes:

Hey: Charles Leclerc – 1:19.689

Q3: Charles Leclerc – 1:18.750

Delta: -0.939s

Mercedes-AMG Petronas is already in English.

EH: Lewis Hamilton – 1:19.138

Hey: Lewis Hamilton – 1:19.138

Q3: George Russell – 1:19.393

Delta: +0.255s

McLaren F1 Team

EH: Lando Norris – 1:19.568

Q3: Daniel Ricciardo – 1:20.297 translates to “Q3: Daniel Ricciardo – 1:20.297.”

Delta: +0.729s

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN

EH: Guanyu Zhou – 1:21.885

Q3: Valtteri Bottas – 1:19.608

Q3: Valtteri Bottas – 1:19.608

Delta: -2.277s

Alpine F1 Team

EH: Fernando Alonso – 1:21.242

Q2: Esteban Ocon – 1:20.638

Delta: -0.604s

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda

EH: Pierre Gasly – 1:19.918

Q2: Yuki Tsunoda – 1:20.639

Delta: -0.720s

Haas F1 Team

EH: Nikita Mazepin – 1:21.512

Q3: Kevin Magnussen – 1:19.682

Delta: -1.830s

Cognizant Aston Martin Racing

EH: Sebastian Vettel – 1:19.824

Q1: Sebastian Vettel – 1:20.954.

This is already in English.

Delta: +1.130s

Williams Racing

EH: Alexander Albon – 1:20.318

Q1: Alexander Albon – 1:21.645

Delta: +1.327s.

The big winners

• Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN: -2.227s
• Haas F1 Team: -1.830s
• Scuderia Ferrari: -0.939s

It’s no surprise, but the Ferrari engine this year is the benchmark engine, to the point that the two teams relying on the Italian engine have seen a meteoric rise since last year and the beginning of the season, a very encouraging sign for the years to come.

The sad losers

• Williams Racing: +1.327
• Cognizant Aston Martin Racing: +1.130
• McLaren F1 Team: +0.729

Completely opposite situation on Mercedes’ side, with all 3 customer teams of the German company struggling since the start of the season. Even the supplier is facing difficulties, having also lost pace since the winter tests. For a team that was world champion for 8 consecutive years, the uphill battle is complex.

Summary table