Barcelona Winter Testing – Part II: A Tighter Midfield Battle?

Some evolutions but no revolution. Eight days of testing later, the conclusion is clear: just like in 2018, the battle for the fourth place among constructors promises to be intense, at least at the start of the season. The timing, despite its unknowns (how much fuel, what engine settings?) promises a certain suspense: from Renault to Alfa Romeo, five teams (excluding Red Bull) are within less than 4 tenths of a second, as shown by this table of the best times per car.

Strengths and weaknesses of each team

So it is indeed Renault, Daniel Ricciardo’s new team, that finishes the winter tests ahead of the others, behind the Ferrari-Mercedes-Red Bull trio. His teammate made a mark: aboard the R.S.19, Nico Hülkenberg rose to fifth place on Friday afternoon, clocking a 1:16.843, half a second off the benchmark set by Sebastian Vettel. Also, the yellow and black car showed great consistency on long runs: a performance justified by considerable engine gains, and a very respectable chassis. And the DRS issues encountered in the first week are long gone: collectively, the team with the diamond is third in terms of mileage accumulated during these two weeks in Barcelona, behind Mercedes and Ferrari, quite the feat! With its competitive driver duo, the Renault F1 Team has the means to push away the competition.

But for the start of the season, Haas may need to be counted on. Like Renault, the American team left its reliability issues in the garage during the last days of testing, going from 384 laps in week 1 to 487 laps completed in week 2. The VF-19 showed grip and consistency, with Romain Grosjean hitting all his training objectives. The pure speed of the car is still unknown: while the Frenchman finished two-tenths behind Hülkenberg on C5 (hyper-soft) tires on Friday afternoon, Kevin Magnussen was faster than Renault on Thursday on C3 (soft) tires. Another surprising sign is a low top speed, even though the team is powered by Ferrari. However, data indicates that the team is close to that coveted fourth place among constructors.

Author of one of the most beautiful progressions in 2018, Alfa Romeo (formerly Sauber) can continue its momentum with the experience of Kimi Räikkönen at the wheel. Also equipped with the Ferrari engine, the stability of the new car in the braking zone is making others in the paddock envious. Like its big sister, the SF90 of the Scuderia, the long runs of the C38 are convincing. However, although high hopes were allowed at the end of the first week, Frédéric Vasseur’s men fell back in the second week, not following the same progression as their rivals: Räikkönen 13th and Antonio Giovinazzi 16th, knowing that Max Verstappen is just behind with his best time on softs.

KIMI MODE 🎥

Admit it. You’ve always wanted to see things from the Iceman’s perspective 👀

Jump onboard for a very special installation lap in Barcelona… #F1 @alfaromeoracing pic.twitter.com/czGRhQek6k — Formula 1 (@F1) 2 mars

Another team in the mid-table battle, the Scuderia Toro Rosso. Boosted by Red Bull’s work, now with Honda, rookie Alexander Albon and the returning Daniil Kvyat secured the sixth and seventh fastest times on the last day, just six-tenths behind Vettel’s Ferrari. Albon showed solid pace and made only one mistake during the first week. The reliability also attests to the team’s level: Toro Rosso is the fourth-best team in this ranking, with 935 laps completed.

A little less present on the Catalan tarmac (873 laps completed, sixth team in this ranking), the McLaren team is still smiling. Like the team from Enstone, the progress of the Renault engine is visible aboard the orange and blue car. An “astonishingly good” mount according to Fernando Alonso, who came to observe his former teammates in Montmelo. Despite the small reliability issues, such as hydraulic leaks on Monday between the

Fast laps, the Woking team had never had such a good winter… since 2014, the year of its last collaboration with Mercedes. As a bonus, two fastest times were achieved on Monday evening and Tuesday evening, with Lando Norris and then Carlos Sainz. On the last day, the MCL34 completed its first full race simulation without any issues. That said, the instability at the rear of the car could penalize the team and see it fall behind Renault.

Sunny Spain. ☀️👌 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/HjaGjJRUZD

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 28 /f1/news/23142-winter-testing-barcelona-what-to-take-away-from-the-first-week-.html

But will McLaren also be ahead of Racing Point? Hard to say at the end of this pre-season testing. The team born from the ashes of Force India remains competitive but slightly behind in the standings: Sergio Pérez finishing only 18th, slightly better for Lance Stroll (14th). The Silverstone-based firm also hasn’t run as much compared to other teams, with 2,909 kilometers logged (625 laps), only Williams did worse! But the Silverstone team will arrive in Australia with many developments, and it’s still early to talk about a setback in the hierarchy. Especially since Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll are satisfied with the base, which is always promising for the future. Disqualified from the standings mid-season last year, Racing Point (formerly Force India) will at least have the funds to develop its car!

Williams catches up (a little) on his delay

After a difficult first week, which started two and a half days late, the historic English team completed several laps during the second series. Three days with over 100 laps, and 90 for Robert Kubica on the final day: ROKiT Williams Racing (the team’s new official name) will have some references before flying to the Southern Hemisphere. However, the new car is still far from optimal, with significant reliability issues: the FW42 finished the week exhausted, with most parts completely worn out. The long stint on Friday afternoon was also cut short. The degradation of the tires is very delicate as well, with the ultra-soft and hyper-soft tires quickly losing performance, faster than the competition.

And in the standings, Williams is in no man’s land. On the hyper-softs, George Russell is more than three tenths behind Pérez’s Force India. Robert Kubica is even further back, at one second and a tenth behind the Mexican. Will the Formula 1 returnee be ready in Melbourne, more than nine years after his last Grand Prix in the premier discipline?

Kubica on track 🇵🇱👀

He is currently last at 1:19.041 with the C4s.

The FW42 is very unstable and clearly the slowest car… #F1 #F1Testing 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/U5OnTKHb1o — Secteur F1 🏎️🇨🇵 (@Secteur_F1) 1 mars /f1/actualite/23142-essais-hivernaux-barcelone-que-retenir-de-la-premiere-semaine-.html

Finally, the table of the best times of each driver, a first starting grid for this season /f1/actualite/23142-essais-hivernaux-barcelone-que-retenir-de-la-premiere-semaine-.html…

Without forgetting, reliability!

And by the Australian Grand Prix, here is a first glimpse of the hierarchy, by combining the pace in qualifying and in the race.

Ferrari

2. Mercedes

3. Red Bull

4. Renault

5. Haas

6. Alfa Romeo

7. Toro Rosso

8. McLaren

9. Racing Point

10. Williams

So obviously, this chart is just a simple suggestion: let’s take a step back with these winter tests. Last year, McLaren finished as the second-best constructor in pure performance. We know what happened next…