Barcelona, Feb 23 (BUS): Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fastest on the opening morning of the first F1 pre-test session on Wednesday as the revamped 2022 cars made their first appearance on the track following one of the sport’s biggest regulatory changes.
Leclerc set a time of 1 minute 20.165 seconds at Barcelona’s Catalunya circuit, ahead of McLaren driver Lando Norris, according to the Associated Press.
Defending champion Max Verstappen ran the most laps for Red Bull but only finished sixth. Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate, George Russell, finished third, ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso, the oldest driver on the grid at the age of 40, was seventh with the Alps.
This was the first test of three consecutive days in Barcelona. Three more are scheduled to be held from March 10-12 in Bahrain before the season opens on March 20.
Red Bull’s new root side legs have caught the eye with a different design compared to most other teams.
Several different design packages were shown as teams resorted to various solutions to comply with the new regulations. Most teams used airboats on their cars to collect data on airflow and downforce.
F1 has revamped its regulations to try to improve racing and make the series more competitive, with new aerodynamic requirements and tires that will hopefully allow drivers to race closer together and create more overtaking. Older cars will lose their downforce – and their ability to turn faster – the closer they get to the cars in front of them.
The cars look different with the new front and rear wings, as well as the larger wheels. It is also heavier than the previous generation and uses a higher proportion of sustainable fuel.
Wearing a camouflage livery, Alfa Romeo struggled in the morning session, with reserve driver Robert Kubica only running a few laps. Hamilton’s former Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas will take over in the afternoon. Carlos Sainz will replace Leclerc at Ferrari.
The last time F1 underwent drastic rule changes was in 2014, when the turbo-hybrid era began. In 2017, F1 already made design changes that made the cars wider and faster to try to make the series more exciting, although that didn’t stop Mercedes and Red Bull from dominating.
F1 is approaching one of its greatest seasons as Verstappen and Hamilton battled for the title to the finish, with Verstappen winning the final lap of the last race to end Mercedes’ seven-year dominance.
This will be the longest Formula 1 season to date with 23 races, including the Miami Grand Prix which debuted in May on the street track. Races in Japan, Canada, Australia and Singapore are back after withdrawing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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