2021 F1 Testing
The three day 2021 F1 testing has come to an end. While a clear pecking order is not possible, we do get a hint of where the teams stand.
F1 had a shortened 3 days testing this time, instead of the usual 6-day schedule. The testing happened in hot Bahrain instead of the usual Barcelona. We will also have the first race of the season at the same track, two weeks from now.
All the teams already had their launch events and we had a glimpse of the new liveries. However this was the first time we saw all the cars in real and on the track, going about at proper running pace. The three days of testing was shared between the two team drivers. Some teams and drivers adjusted remarkably well, some fumbled to get things going. Let’s have a look at some of the interesting points to note.
Red Bull continue their glorious form from 2020
Red Bull continue their good form from Abu Dhabi 2020. This is not surprising at the car is pretty much the same as last year and even named RB16B ( B standing for the B-spec). New driver Sergio Perez has fitted in nicely. He was on top of the things and the Red Bull team would be very happy with the testing results. Max Verstappen was the star though, extracting everything from the car. He did have a spin on Day 1 but managed to stay on top of the time-sheets. Red Bull overall would be very pleased. Let’s hope that they are the race winners right from the get go.
Mercedes hitting road blocks
It is not something that you see everyday in the turbo-hybrid era – Mercedes having issues. They did the lowest number of laps amongst all the teams. On Day 1 Valterri Bottas had gearbox issue right after completing one installation lap. Mercedes was the only team to not have a shakedown before the testing and it cost them dearly. Lewis then had a spin on day 2 bringing out the red flags. Valtteri did top the time-sheets on day 2, albeit on C5 tyres. Even on the last day Mercedes fails to come anywhere close to topping the time sheets. Mercedes are notorious for sandbagging, so we are not sure how good or bad the car is. The team looks stoic and somewhat confident that they will be able to fix the mistakes and have a good season ahead, as always.
McLaren does well with the Mercedes Engine
New McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo got going right from Day 1. He was in the groove and it never felt that he was driving a new car. Daniel set the time-sheets burning right from the get go. Lando looked in good touch too, either matching or surpassing the Aussie. McLaren have done a good job integrating the Mercedes Engine.
Problems galore for the Aston Martin Racing team
Aston Martin has one of the best liveries on the grid today. However the same cannot be said about their performance and reliability. It is a completely different car, and the only different car, and a lot of things were coming together for the first time. While Lance did ok, Sebastian hardly got any time in the car, some issues or the other plaguing their testing plan. The team doesn’t look as solid as they were last year.
Alpine and Alonso jelled well
One would fail to believe that Fernando Alonso ever left Formula 1. He was in good touch right from the get go. The newly christened Alpine car with its gorgeous blue livery did not have any reliability issues, something that has the bugged the team in the past. Ocon looked happy with the performance too.
Hiccups for the prancing horse
While the new driver Carlos Sainz Jr. transitioned nicely to the new team, not all was well with Ferrari. Their car was the only one which broke down in the middle of the track. Team Principal Mattia Binnotto claims that they have rectified their engine and straight line speed is not an issue anymore. However we will see the real picture only at the Quali session in two weeks time.
Alpha Tauri looking very good
Alpha Tauri looks like the surprise package of 2021. The car looks very stable, easing into the turns. Honda engine is working very well too and giving great performance. Pierre Gasly raked in a lot of laps. Rookie Yuki Tsunoda was the biggest pleasant surprise. He was quick right from the get go, did very fast laps back to back and was second only to Max Verstappen.
Alfa Romeo is reliable
Alfa Romeo looked very decent too. The car looks reliable. Both Kimi and Antonio raked in a lot of laps with Kimi even coming to the tops for a brief moment. However only time will tell how good is the Ferrari Engine.
HAAS rookies got their laps
HAAS has already announced that they are not developing their 2021 car, focusing entirely on 2022. So we do not expect them to be in the front anyway. Both the rookies – Mazepin and Schumacher – got in their laps and look adjusted to the Formula 1 car. As expected the car is reliable as it is simply a carry over from last year.
Williams may have some improvement
Williams had both their drivers and the test driver take a spin of the car on each of the three days. The new livery doesn’t look that bad on track. George put in the laps and extracted the maximum that he could.
With the testing coming to an end all eyes will be on the first race of the season, which is two weeks from now. Before the season officially begins, here are the 9 most exciting things about the 2021 season.