The pre-season testing of Formula One in Bahrain from Friday to Sunday lasted only three days, compared to six to eight days before. This is a challenge for both novice drivers and teams.
And due to logistical reasons, the test was carried out on the Gulf Island, not in Barcelona.
These tests are still basically similar to those of the 2020 car, and these tests are the only opportunity planned for the driver and the single-seater to run before the start of the season. As an economic measure of the pandemic, they will not happen within six days like 2020, and will not even happen within eight days in 2019.
Each pilot will have a day and a half. For Mercedes, who has won the world champion Lewis Hamilton seven consecutive times since 2013, this is no problem. But for beginners, such as Haas’s Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin or AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, the stakes are high.
“The priority is to make the car more comfortable and try to solve all the things that need to be done,” explains Schumacher, the son of the legendary Michael Schumacher, who was the winner of the first Grand Prix in Bahrain and the seventh in 2004. Also the last world championship title.
The driver, who will turn 22 on March 22, discovered the elite after winning the Formula 2 championship last year. If he had already participated in free practice at the end of last year, then his teammate Nikita Mazepin, also a “rookie”, will release Haas powered by Ferrari.
Like Schumacher, Ma Zeping pointed out another difficulty, that is, the “abrasive” surface of the track may cause tires to wear quickly.
Esteban Ocon of the French Alps said: “In terms of tires, this is a bad road because we will ride a few laps less than in Barcelona. ”He is a new teammate, and Fernando Alonso, 39, is his new teammate.
Like novices, although several drivers like Alonso are experienced, they have formed a new team from scratch and must adapt quickly.
Sebastian Vettel has moved from Ferrari red to Aston Martin green: “This is a different engine, different controls… I need to do a lot thing”.
“This is not the simplest transition. There is not a lot of time, there are not many tests, but it is like that, and I know I have been participating for a long time (in F1), I know”, with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013 Developed four world championships.
A race for Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Daniel Ricardo (McLaren) or Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari). Nevertheless, the latter has been able to adapt to his new color during the 2018 Ferrari test in Fiorano, Italy, because others have left their mark on the day of promotional private testing.
.