The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya already breathes the atmosphere of Formula 1. The renovated Montmeló paddock now houses the teams and everything is in place to prepare for the start of the first tests of the 2022 season, starting this Wednesday, February 23, and ending on Friday, February 25. It is a shakedown behind closed doors , without an audience, television or official timing, as the second round of rehearsals will have, in Bahrain, from March 11 to 13. They say that ‘he who pays, sends’.
The radical change of rules that comes into force this year in Formula 1 and that bids farewell to the hybrid era dominated by Mercedes makes these tests of vital importance for the teams, who after months of hard work and simulator tests, need to know if what they have designed in their factories works at the moment of truth on the track.
The engine has been adapted to E10 fuel and its position has also had to be adapted to the new specifications. And the great challenge is the aerodynamic solutions that each of the teams have opted for. Wings lose downforce to ‘ground effect’ and many elements used in the past are banned. There are limitations to the suspension design and it must accommodate the new 18-inch wheels and low-profile tires.
So among so much novelty, the Barcelona tests will serve the teams to collect as much data as possible before traveling to Bahrain. In summary, the performance recorded in the simulator and the wind tunnel will be transferred to the asphalt and, above all, to begin to become familiar with tire management.
first kilometers
Mercedes seeks to preserve its hegemony after chaining the last eight constructors’ world crowns and seven drivers’ titles (six of hamilton and one from Rosberg). The ‘brain’ of Red Bull Adrian Newey has tried to manage to repeat the success of his previous carwhich allowed Max Verstappen challenge Mercedes and Hamilton and take the 2021 World Cup. As for the rest of the teams, all of them, starting with Ferrari, McLaren and Alpinethey hope that the promise of F1 will be fulfilled and that the new regulations grant them more opportunities, leveling the grid and enhancing the show on the track.
The action starts tomorrow, Wednesday, but since the beginning of the week some teams have already completed their first kilometers at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the usual filming days or promotional shoots. McLaren and Haas, in addition to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and Fernando Alonso’s long-awaited Alpine, have been some of those that have already been seen in Montmeló.