Mercedes are out in front
The dominant force in F1 for the past four years, Mercedes appear to show no sign of relinquishing their stranglehold. Last year’s championship-winning car, which was quick but temperamental, has undergone an evolution over the winter that looks alarming for their rivals. They clocked the most laps with 1,040 and, although only seventh on the time sheets, their pace in race simulations was relentlessly good, half a second a lap up on Ferrari and eight-tenths on Red Bull. The team chose not to run the car on the fastest hyper‑soft rubber, unconcerned about setting a single lap marker, and Lewis Hamilton, who concluded last season comfortably on top and is generally careful not to heighten expectations, declared they had made a significant step forward. Whether they have banished the diva characteristics of last season has yet to be seen but this quiet confidence is hugely ominous.
Ferrari have work to do
Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time over the two weeks in Barcelona with a 1min 17.182sec on the hyper-soft rubber, an unofficial lap record, and his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen also knocked out a lap only three‑hundredths down on the same tyres. But they do not appear to have made quite the same steps forward as Mercedes. Their car was well balanced and strong last year but the new high-rake approach has given them much to develop in long runs and race simulations. The engine remains strong but Vettel admitted they had “to work on the performance and the feeling”. The team did put in an impressively reliable 929 laps in the SF71-H, suggesting they have the stable platform they need to build on. On track the car looked impressive with the solid cornering balance it had last year but the Scuderia have ground to make up if they are to challenge Mercedes again.
More effort for McLaren
It was hoped the switch to Renault power units would herald a new era for McLaren but, if it is truly to dawn, they too are going to be very busy before Melbourne. Previous problems in testing were laid firmly at Honda’s door but the team had problems in Barcelona and no such straightforward explanation. Fernando Alonso did take second on the time sheets with a 1:17.784 on the hyper-soft tyres but it was an achievement clouded by reliability problems. They completed only 599 laps amid a worryingly wide range of problems including burning to the engine cover, turbo problems, oil and hydraulic leaks, not to mention the ignominy of losing a wheel on the opening morning. The late switch to Renault engines mitigates some of these problems, their build lead-time severely curtailed, and major developments are expected for Australia, but they are playing catch-up and a tricky test has only added to the pressure on the team.
A mêlée in the midfield
Red Bull may still lack the horses of Mercedes and Ferrari but their chassis is undoubtedly strong. The car looks fantastic through the medium and quick corners and indications are that they are closer to Mercedes than Ferrari. If Renault can boost their power unit, they may yet prove a real threat. Behind the top three, Renault look to have made the greatest advance over the winter. The RS17 was largely very reliable, putting in 815 laps. They should be in a real fight with McLaren for fourth. Behind them Haas proved to be the surprise package. Kevin Magnussen set the fifth-fastest time of 1:18.360 but their understated evolution of last year’s car looks strong in race pace, too. With Williams still looking to unlock the performance of their radically changed aero and Force India yet to test their Melbourne package, Haas could be the midfield’s dark horse in the opening rounds.
Hiding the halo
It is by no means pretty but the addition of the Halo cockpit protection device proved far from the aesthetic cataclysm many had feared. After eight days of running, drivers and observers felt no further need to mention the device, so quickly had everyone become accustomed to it. The safety benefits have been made abundantly clear by the FIA and the drivers reported no problems with acclimatising to their new view. Issues remain – identifying the man behind the wheel is trickier – while climbing in and out is more complex, as Pierre Gasly discovered after tearing holes in his race suit, but its integration into the new designs has generally gone well. Viewing close up from trackside, where it has been incorporated well into the colour scheme – as on the Force India – it is almost unnoticeable but less so where the colours jar, as with the black and orange on the McLaren.
