After winter testing, what are the prospects for 2020?

At the beginning of 2019, after pre-season testing dominated by Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas’s victory at the first Grand Prix in Melbourne, we hoped to witness a fiercely contested season. Despite some eventful races and feats here and there from Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas’s inconsistency once again allowed Lewis Hamilton to claim the driver’s title.

Mercedes has managed to stay ahead since 2014 and seems untouchable. Including for this year, or even… even more so this year.

However, the preseason tests remain trials where teams experiment, innovate, bluff, and conceal. A game of poker face settles over these two weeks. Once the long-awaited car presentations are over, everything becomes almost invisible, with everything subject to interpretation and controversy. /f1/actualite/23924-lhabile-communication-de-mercedes-sur-le-das.html is no exception, and we leave these tests with a significant number of questions. With a week to go before the first Australian free practice sessions, and before specifically questioning the drivers and teams, here are five themes that will help lay the foundation for the season.

New Mercedes revolution, will the DAS prove to be effective?

The technical regulations being strictly supervised and controlled, it is more difficult for engineers to stand out by proposing innovative solutions than to try to circumvent the regulations by hiding the use of forbidden techniques. With this system acting on the front axle settings, Mercedes managed to innovate by obtaining FIA approval from the start of the season. But is this system only what we are led to believe it is? Or does it hide behind its visible side even more effective aerodynamic tricks? In any case, their competitors have been caught off guard. Adapting such a system to a car that was not designed for it risks taking time and being ineffective.

The ghost of Ferrari’s 2019 engine controversy reappears.

Ferrari indicated that it had prioritized the speed of its car at the expense of its downforce, particularly in fast corners. Ultimately, the trick did not come entirely from the aerodynamics, but rather from exploiting a technical loophole in the engine regulations. As soon as the issue was brought to everyone’s attention, Ferrari embarked on a calamitous end to the season. Following the February tests, the FIA reveals that a secret agreement was made with the Italian team not to disclose the subject of the infraction.

These tests reveal that Ferrari has lost all its top speed gained in 2019. Will this year be a long ordeal for a team that hasn’t been able to find the path to success since 2007 and 2008? One thing is certain, the controversy is not about to calm down, as seven teams have joined forces to seek reparations, particularly financial.

Partner teams and single-seater replicas

The concept is not new this year, but the differences between certain single-seaters are becoming increasingly blurred. The one making headlines for /f1/actualite/23924-lhabile-communication-de-mercedes-sur-le-das.html is the Racing Point RP20. It looks astonishingly like the 2019 Mercedes W10. A collaboration between the star-branded firm and Lawrence Stroll’s team was initiated at the beginning of 2019. It notably allowed the English team to use the German team’s wind tunnel starting from May 2019. The other car that was previously inspired by the concept created by the parent company was the Toro Rosso. The Italian team is now called AlphaTauri for /f1/actualite/23924-lhabile-communication-de-mercedes-sur-le-das.html and has outright copied the 2019 Red Bull. Last year, the battle was intense in the midfield. This year, the competition will be pushed a notch higher, with an underlying controversial backdrop also intensified…

Among the pilots, will the new generation finally be able to surpass themselves?

If Kimi Räikkönen is once again the oldest driver this year, there is little chance we will see him at the front. Then there are Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who are the most experienced and favorites for the title this year. The veterans are holding their ground; indeed, their careers began in the 2000s. No driver who arrived in F1 in the previous decade has managed to snatch even a single title from them. This generation, full of talent, like Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen to name a few, remains in constant struggle, year after year. New young drivers with sharp teeth are starting to enter the scene. It would be time for them to finally showcase their full potential, or else they might not get the chance to drive the 2021 cars.

A duel at Ferrari

Charles Leclerc’s contract was renewed for a long period this winter. He seems to have secured a prime position within the team. He represents their future. While Sebastian Vettel has been with the team since 2015, he still hasn’t achieved what he came looking for. Against his Finnish friend, he had every opportunity to act in his favor. Last year turned into a nightmare for the four-time German world champion. An unexpected and questionable victory allowed him not to draw a blank. Will he be able to bounce back after so many setbacks? He is no longer the favorite within the Scuderia. If the season starts badly, will he know how to play the supporting role as Kimi Räikkönen did for him? With an SF1000 that is not expected to be a model of speed, the duel could quickly turn to red…

Formula 1 in search of spectacle, action is urgently needed

We all remember the early 2000s. Unfortunately, it was not the best period for F1 in terms of spectacle, as the joint domination of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher was so impressive that it annihilated any form of suspense. In recent years, the question arises again. The domination of the Mercedes/Hamilton duo is of the same order. But external factors further obscure this effect. Grand Prix are no longer watched on free channels. The trend leans towards green, ecology, and economy, quite the opposite of what the F1 microcosm represents. We are also witnessing a great diversification in motorsport: the multiplication of GT series, the development of Formula E…

In parallel to this, we are also witnessing a complexification of the rules and cars. The information is less understandable to the general public. F1 is becoming more and more of a niche among niches. This sport needs to have its revolution next year. But this year, the calendar welcomes two new destinations. The first is in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a completely new and entirely urban circuit. The second is in Zandvoort, Netherlands. The success and popularity of Max Verstappen are not unrelated to the return of this circuit to the calendar, but the Dutch are doing it big. Let’s hope these two new tracks bring a bit of suspense to the races that have often been synonymous with a procession for too many years now.