F1 2020 Pre-season Testing

© J. Francois Barnard – March 1, 2020

It is 2020! A new year with new dreams, new hopes, new records to be set. For the first time in the sports’ illustrious history, there will be 22 races. The Dutch Grand Prix returns, and Vietnam is a new addition to the calendar. There will be seven back-to-back races.

The pre-season testing is a series of tests required by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in preparation for the 2020 Formula One World Championship.

Photo credit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, April 19, 2018. ©2018 Planet Labs, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0.

It is still winter in Europe, and the FIA chose the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain as an ideal testing track. It has a mix of high and low-speed corners. Because the temperatures are lower in February, performance will differ now from what teams can expect later in the year. There are two sets of three-day testing held on 19 - 21 February 2020 and 26 - 28 February 2020.

All ten teams took part, using all five tyre compounds. The teams perform both more extended race simulations and short qualifying simulations. They experiment with different setups to understand the aerodynamic performance of the car, suspension and power unit performance.

Photo credit: Marc Alvarado CC BY-SA 2.0

(Take note that in Formula 1 we refer to "power units," and not "engines" anymore. We are now in the hybrid-era, where we use internal combustion engines as well as electric motors to propel the rear wheels.)

Experience from previous years tell us that pre-season testing gives the teams a flavour of what to expect of the year ahead, but by no means does it predict which driver and which team are best. Some teams tend to hold back and not show their full hand in pre-season testing.

For six consecutive years, Mercedes have been dominating the Constructor's Championship. During the testing, they covered the most mileage, and Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time.

Sebastian Vettel missed day one of the testings with flu-symptoms. One can only wonder if he had contact with someone from Wuhan, China, where a new Coronavirus is now a hot topic? Charles Leclerc stood in for him, and the Monégasque is showing good pace.

It was good to see Esteban Ocon back in a Formula 1 car. He is Daniel Ricciardo's teammate at Renault.

Pirelli's C5 soft tyre proved to be the fasted for all teams. One has to consider though that cold temperatures at the track have a significant influence on tyre performance. It might be that the medium or even the hard compound of tyre might be better suited later in the year during the summer months.

The Teams

The Calendar

See you in Australia!