After three days of ‘shakedown’ testing in Barcelona, Formula One has taken the long trip across to Bahrain for the second set of testing, with the first day now well underway.
The three days in Bahrain are being televised, giving fans the chance to watch the drivers for the first time after the previous test was kept behind-closed-doors. The morning session of the first day has been completed with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finishing quickest, while new Williams driver Alexander Albon was second.
However, things are far from decided, and the season opener, also being held at the Bahrain International Circuit, is scheduled for Sunday 20 March, giving the 10 teams a small window to make any adjustments needed after this second test.
Ferrari have arrived in Bahrain as somewhat favourites after completing the most laps in Barcelona, while Leclerc topped the timing sheet on the second day. The Scuderia bounced back to finish third last year after a disastrous 2020 season that saw them slump from their traditional place at the front of the runnings down to sixth.
However, Mercedes are already looking strong with a new design to their car. The difference between the W13 in Barcelona and Bahrain is astronomical with virtually no sidepod. The striking design contrasts dramatically to how the rest of the teams have interpreted the new regulations put in place for the season, but is a typically innovative move from the team who have won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championship titles.
With the first day of testing underway, GPblog’s chief editor Matt Gretton spoke to Park Life Sport about what to expect, and who to watch out for.
“It’s been quite interesting to see the differences the teams have made to their cars from week one of testing in Barcelona to week two in Bahrain,” he said.
“There have actually been some quite remarkable changes to the Mercedes car. Their sidepods have basically been mounted away, it’s a complete difference to what we saw in Barcelona. That’s really turning some heads similar to how DAS did the same a few years ago. A few team members up and down the paddock are looking over the footage of Mercedes and wondering if they’ve missed something in the regulations.
“But, it might not work for Mercedes so it will be really interesting to see how Mercedes are going to perform over the next few days. There will also be some questions over how that Mercedes car is going to cool itself, perhaps the biggest troubling aspect Mercedes have faced over the past eight years.”
Lewis Hamilton was in the cockpit for the morning session, but could only manage a P5 finish. He did, however, complete 62 laps, which could only be beaten by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with 70, and the aforementioned Leclerc, who managed 64.
With Williams impressing, Gretton also acknowledged that new teams could emerge to the forefront. “We’ve also got the rest of the teams making changes, little tweaks, and I think the time differences will finally matter this week,” he added. “We’re only a week away from the first race so pretty much what you see now is what you’re going to get in the first few races I would imagine.
“Porpoising is going to be another interesting aspect. It’s when the car bounces up and down because of the airflow underneath and the ground-effect of these 2022 cars. The bouncing reduces the performance and the teams really do not want that to happen. It will be interesting to see which teams have solved it, or improved it rather, and which teams are still struggling with it. Some teams may have even made it worse. So that’s something that will be really key over the next couple of days.
“We’ve also seen Kevin Magnussen in the Haas garage. It’s quite surprising to see him back after Haas terminated Nikita Mazepin’s contract.
“It’s going to be a really interesting week because the first Grand Prix takes place at the same venue and the conditions will be the same which means we’ll be able to get a good idea of what to expect, and see who has perfected things and who have undercooked it.”
