“If we have waited two months, why can’t we wait one more week before drawing conclusions?” jokes Carlos Sainz. But no, you can’t wait. Pre-season testing reveals details of the cars and the first grid of 2022 takes shape after testing in Barcelona and Bahrain. AS has consulted experts at the highest level of the paddock as team leaders or senior engineers. No one dares to give an order at first, but everyone ends up recognizing who is in front of them, and who is behind.
“In the tests, to compare the performance, the useful indicator is to analyze the race distances, because if a car does 50 laps and only changes tires, you know more or less what fuel was on it. And it doesn’t look that different, Haas, Aston Martin, Alpha Tauri or even Alfa Romeo are in the same zone. We know that Ferrari is fast, everyone recognizes that, unless they were on very, very low fuel, which I doubt, because it’s not their style. Mercedes and Red Bull will be fast too,” he introduces Alan Permane of Alpine. Following his methodology and listening to other F1 personalities, the tests reveal the following order.
1: RedBull. “By far the fastest,” says a main team. They have also been the most intelligent: while Ferrari started and finished the preseason with the same package (except for slight alterations to the ground) and Mercedes mounted the ‘non-pontoons’ on Thursday, at Red Bull the definitive improvements arrived on the last day and left all speechless and unable to react. One lap away, Verstappen flew on Saturday with all the compounds he tested. Checo is also at the front, so the RB18 doesn’t look like a hypersensitive car when it comes to being driven. They are clear favorites for pole position at the Bahrain GP next Saturday. Laps: 358 (BCN) + 320 (BAH). Best time: SEE: 1.31.720 (C5).
2Ferrari. Reasonably close to the champion, the F1-75 has made a very big leap in quality, perhaps the biggest in this winter of rule changes, and Leclerc and Sainz should fight for the first or second row in the first grand prix of the season. As the aggressive sidepod concept spreads across the grid, it remains to be seen what the drivers could have done with a C5 pushing hard, compared to a Verstappen who did risk (in fact, he spun). The power unit can be up to Honda and that would mean a huge advance in terms of performance and reliability. Getting podiums and poles and winning a race seems like a realistic goal this season, at least so far. Laps: 439+349. Best time: LEC: 1:32.415 (C4).
3: Mercedes. The constructors’ champion has problems “that won’t be solved in a week”, reveals Hamilton. Incidents with the cooling, a classic of his engine, in addition to a pouring poorly resolved compared to rivals, they condemn the W13 a few tenths behind the fastest cars of pre-season, although that does not mean that Hamilton and Russell do not have a car. It would be a surprise if they were in the front at the Bahrain GP, but it won’t be long before they arrive. Laps: 393+385. Best time: RUS: 1:32.759 (C5)
4: McLaren. The fourth in contention, which is not bad at all the problems with the brakes, the refrigeration failures inherited from Mercedes and the absence of Ricciardo, with COVID-19, in a few disappointing second tests for the Woking house. They are on a second step, along with Mercedes, although they will soon be left alone on that strip of the grid. Laps: 367+200. Best time: NOR: 1:33.191 (C3)
5: Alpine. A nice last-minute surprise at the Bahrain test, but if you look at it in detail, it was always there. The Renault engine is the worst of the four, although they can compensate with a very thin rear wing (Alonso had the highest top speed in the tests). In this area of the grid, the differences will be marked by the tenth and the top-5 will quickly go to elimination in Q1. But the A522 is there, it has more good things than bad once reliability or mounting issues are resolved. Laps: 299+266. Best time: ALO: 1:32.698 (C4)
6: Aston Martin. They have suffered, like all Mercedes customers, in some tests marked by high temperatures. But as the Grand Circus moves out of extreme weather, the AMR22 will be a little closer to the front than it was a year ago with Vettel and Stroll. Laps: 296+369. Best time: VET: 1:33.821 (C4).
7: Alfa Romeo. One of the revelations of this preseason, in the garage they see themselves in a position to fight Alpine when a few months ago they were systematically condemned to elimination in Q1. They resolved the serious problems of ‘porpoising’ that they suffered in Barcelona. The Ferrari engine is again an extra. Laps: 175+343. Best time: BOT: 1:32.985 (C3).
8: Alpha Taurus. Slightly further back than expected, that is what the direct rivals say, although it should not be difficult for them to approach fifth or sixth place as the season progresses. Discreet tests by Gasly or Tsunoda when this team has historically had no qualms about seeking a pole lap in practice. Laps: 308+371. Best time: TSU: 1:33.002 (C5).
9Williams. Better in Barcelona than in Bahrain. Again, another car that at times seems close to McLaren and at other times behaves like an aspiring red lantern. Reliability was twisted in Sakhir, with fire included. In any case, they have progressed compared to recent years, they have already made a big step in 2021, and they will fight for points. Laps: 347+258. Best time: ALB: 1:35.070 (C4).
10: Haas. There is no real reason to put the American car at the bottom of the grid. Perhaps they have revealed too much with their attempts to qualify, clearly very low on fuel, and that takes them away from the front end. But the Haas, supported by Ferrari, will no longer be far from the points, on the contrary. From fifth to tenth there are few tenths and that will make Formula 1 more spectacular. In addition, they now have a great driver, Magnussen, together with a young man like Mick Schumacher. Laps: 160+229. SH: 1:32,241 (C4).
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