It is only tests, the times achieved are still secondary – nevertheless, the Formula 1 teams, who are closely watching each other, agree after the six days of testing in Barcelona: Mercedes is again the favorite in the 2020 Formula 1 season – even if, given the Corona theme, it is not yet clear what the racing calendar will really look like at the beginning of the season.
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That the dominance of Mercedes is so unanimously recognized by everyone is also due to the new so-called DAS system, which scared the competition last week. This allows the track to be adjusted while driving and thus the critical tire temperature can be better controlled. “The first thought came about three years ago, the development of the system, as it is now in the car, began about a year ago,” says Mercedes sports director Toto Wolff. “We see DAS as a development that can give us a competitive advantage.”
What you can hear from the world champion team of the past six years: That you are above all proud of the fact that, on the one hand, the system was clarified with the automobile world association Fia exactly for legality, but on the other hand it was kept completely secret until the first use , Which already caused a certain shock effect on the competition.
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Reliability is still a problem
The only possible weak point that you are still worried about at Mercedes at the moment: Apparently you paid the obvious gain in engine performance with a few unusual reliability problems. World champion Lewis Hamilton was not the only one to roll out because the engine shut down automatically as a precaution due to the drop in oil pressure. Teammate Valtteri Bottas also had one or two mishaps. However, one is still confident of getting a grip on this. “We have learned a lot from this,” says Hamilton, who plans to attack Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles this year.
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Motorsport coordinator Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull sees itself as the biggest Mercedes challenger, according to its own statements. Two tenths would be missing on the silver. On the penultimate day of the test, Red Bull once again launched a new aerodynamics package; the data for fine-tuning should be evaluated and implemented by the start of the season.
Team principal Christian Horner is very satisfied with the progress so far, especially with the progress of engine partner Honda, but does not want to “draw too many detailed conclusions too soon”. Max Verstappen, who would replace Sebastian Vettel as the youngest world champion with a 2020 title win, also believes that “it will take a few races before we see a clear picture. But I hope that we will be there from the start this time.”
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Ferrari, on the other hand, poses a few puzzles – once again. “They are nowhere near as bad as they look, they just don’t show much, there is at least a second left,” claims Mercedes Sport Director Wolff. Perhaps a reaction from Ferrari to last year when they were extremely optimistic after the tests, but then experienced a nasty surprise in Melbourne, “which is why they may now be extremely understated”, says Wolff.
“We are quietly working on the new car”
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel says: “Last year we had a good test here. Then came the bad awakening in Australia. So we changed the procedure a bit. We don’t see left and right, but work calmly and concentrated on the new car In the first week we did basic work. The car is a step forward. You can feel that, even in the last sector “- it has a lot of tight corners in Barcelona, 2019 an extreme weak point of the Ferrari.
“We managed to generate more downforce,” is the optimistic part of Vettel’s announcement. However, there is also a problem: “The by-product, namely more air resistance on the straight.” And with it bad top speed values. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto remains: “At least at the beginning of the season we are certainly not among the favorites, it may be that we even have to deal with Racing Point.”
The Mercedes customer team at Racing Point is launching an almost exact copy of the 2019 world champion silver arrow, leading the narrow midfield right now, ahead of McLaren, Renault and Alpha Tauri, the former Toro Rosso. Much to the annoyance of some competitors who scold the “pink Mercedes” and wonder if everything went smoothly there. Finally, Racing Point uses the Mercedes wind tunnel in Brackley. Direct transfer of aerodynamic data would be forbidden – but of course Racing Point emphasizes that the focus was only on photos.
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