What is particularly noticeable?
Clearly: the different concepts for the sidepods. On the Mercedes W13 they are extremely narrow. The car looks elegant. “Aggressive and courageous,” team boss Mattia Binotto describes the new Ferrari. The red is a little darker, the wide sidepods with a deep indentation and gills are striking. They are allowed again. Aston-Martin has also provided Vettel’s new racing car with it for cooling.
Front wheel suspension, nose construction, underbody: Here, too, the teams rely on different solutions. However, it can be assumed that the cars will be back on the track in Barcelona with more or less major visual changes. Especially in the course of the season, which also becomes a development race.
How much is Lewis Hamilton still suffering from the bitter 2021 season finale?
Not more. On the contrary. He wants to turn the emotions from the bitter defeat of the season into “power” after a splendid race to catch up in the previous races. The Briton enjoyed the winter break and spent a lot of time with his entire family. The announcement from the seven-time world champion and 103-time race winner and pole setter suggests something: “If you think you saw the best of me at the end of last year, wait and see what you’ll see this year.”
What’s on the agenda for Germany’s Vettel and Schumacher?
Learn learn learn. Vettel (Aston Martin) and Schumacher (Haas), like their competitors, have to get to know the new cars at the first important exit. There’s no time to waste. However, the drivers share the workload with their colleagues. Vettel from Heppenheim will start in the Aston Martin on Wednesday, before Lance Stroll takes over after the lunch break. At Haas, Nikita Masepin takes over the start in the morning, then Schumacher replaces him.
“We knew from the start last year that it would be a long and difficult season. We’re now hoping for a better season,” said Vettel. In 2021, he finished just 12th in the Drivers’ Championship in his first season for Aston Martin. Schumacher regularly left his stable rival Masepin behind, but ended his Formula 1 premiere year without points in the defeated Haas.
Why does Formula 1 love testing in Barcelona?
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya offers an ideal cross-section of requirements. The 4.675-kilometer course has a mix of slow, medium-fast and fast passages. Drivers can push themselves to the max on the long straight, and test the balance of the car in the long corner three. How do the new 18-inch tires behave? How does the completely changed aerodynamics concept affect the cars on the asphalt? However, the three days in Barcelona are just an unofficial test run without spectators and without live TV images. These are only available in Bahrain.
So it only gets serious in Sakhir?
That’s the way it is. From March 10th to 12th have to Hamilton & Co. in Bahrain collect sensitive data and intelligence for the first Grand Prix of the year. Conveniently, the opening race on March 20th will also be held in Sakhir. The racing teams can therefore remain on site immediately after the tests and transfer their knowledge to the racing emergency a week later. In the desert, the tests of the premier class of motorsport are then staged as an event, even if spectators are allowed on the grandstands.
Source: HR