2020 Formula One pre-season testing

2020 Formula One pre-season testing was a series of test sessions sanctioned by the governing body of Formula One, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to allow teams to prepare for the 2020 Formula One World Championship. It took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and consisted of two sets of three testing days (19–21 February and 26–28 February). All ten Formula One teams entered for the season took part in the test, and all five tyre compounds were available to teams during the test.[1]

2020 Formula One pre-season testing
Testing took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
TypeFull day test with morning (8–12pm) and afternoon (1–5pm) sessions
Dates19–21, 26–28 February 2020
LocationMontmeló, Catalonia, Spain
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time at the test.

Teams and drivers

Similarly to the previous year,[2] Mercedes covered the most mileage overall, despite some power unit reliability issues (which was shared by customer team Williams).[3] Williams avoided its problems of 2019 (when it missed two and a half days of running) and participated in the entire test.[4] Haas and Alfa Romeo launched their cars at the first test, while all other teams launched prior to the test between 11 and 17 February.[5] The testing period was somewhat affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. McLaren, for example, banned individuals who had traveled from China in the last 14 days from their motorhome.[6]

The teams alternated between their two drivers, typically on a daily or semi-daily basis. Robert Kubica was the only test driver to take part in the test, driving for Alfa Romeo on both Wednesdays.[7] Sebastian Vettel was scheduled to be the first to drive for Scuderia Ferrari, but missed day one of testing with flu-like symptoms, and his place was taken by Charles Leclerc.[8]

The test

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been used as the venue for pre-season testing for many years,[9] and is favoured by teams because its mix of low and high speed corners. Temperatures at the circuit are cooler in February, so performance at the test differs from performance at the Grand Prix later in the year.[1]

Teams perform both longer race simulation runs and short qualifying simulations, where the fastest times are set.[1] Testing provides the teams with the opportunity to experiment with different versions of the same part, with many employing aero rakes[10] and flow-viz[11] paint to understand the aerodynamic performance of the car.[12]

First test

Day 1[13] of the test marked the first appearance of the AlphaTauri team, rebranded from Toro Rosso. Esteban Ocon returned to Formula One, now with Renault, after a one-year hiatus. Daniel Ricciardo wore a purple helmet in memory of the recently deceased Kobe Bryant. Hamilton set the fastest time of 1:16.976. On the second day, Mercedes' new dual-axis steering[14] innovation was a major talking point, when in-car footage showed the drivers pulling the steering wheel backwards to activate the device. Sebastian Vettel recovered from his illness to take testing duties in the afternoon session.[15] Kimi Räikkönen set the fastest time of 1:17.091 then caused the first and only red flag of the day when his Alfa Romeo stopped on track coming up to turn 9. Day 3 saw four red flag stoppages to the session:[16] Vettel had a power unit failure at turn 12, Nicholas Latifi's Williams broke down at the end of the main straight, Kevin Magnussen spun and hit the barrier at turn 8, and Ricciardo's Renault also stopped on track. Bottas set the fastest time of either test on day 3, 1:15.732.

Second test

On day 1 of the second test, numerous drivers, including Hamilton, Vettel, Leclerc, George Russell, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen trialed the C2 prototype tyre designed to address the banked turns at the updated Zandvoort circuit.[17] Pierre Gasly missed most of the morning with a power unit issue, while Alex Albon lost time to suspension issue. Both Ferrari and Williams tested new front wings. There were three red flags, one when Vettel spun, another for Latifi's breakdown, and a third towards the end of the session when both Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat stopped on track. Robert Kubica set the fastest lap of the day: 1:16.942, demonstrating Alfa Romeo's improvement in pace. Day 2 had a wet start,[18] with many teams choosing to go out initially on intermediate tyres. Hamilton broke down with an oil pressure anomaly that ended his running for the day, having completed just 14 laps. The other three red flags were caused by drivers spinning and getting stuck in the gravel: Antonio Giovinazzi (turn 4), Verstappen (turn 5) and Vettel (turn 5). Vettel set the fastest time of the day of 1:16.841. The final day of testing was relatively incident free, with no red flags,[19] and many of the drivers focusing on longer runs, such as Hamilton, Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Romain Grosjean. Leclerc completed the most laps of any driver on a single day with 181.[20] Bottas set the fastest lap of the day with a 1:16.196, another lap faster than anyone else managed throughout the entire testing schedule.

Fastest times and overall mileage

Most fastest times were set on the softest C5 tyres. Pirelli estimated in the previous year that the performance gap between each tyre compound was around 0.6-0.7 s, although this varied based on numerous factors.[1] Bottas' fastest time was three tenths slower than his pole position time from the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix at the same circuit. As of February 2020, his Q2 and Q3 laps from the 2019 Grand Prix and his fastest lap in 2020 testing are the three fastest laps ever at the circuit in its current configuration, and the only three laps under 1:16.000 s.

Fastest times and distance by driver
Driver Constructor Time[21][22] Tyre compound Laps[21] Distance
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:15.732 C5 437 2,034 km (1,264 mi)
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 1:16.269 C4 414 1,926 km (1,197 mi)
Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:16.276 C5 367 1,708 km (1,061 mi)
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.360 C5 442 2,058 km (1,279 mi)
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.410 C5 466 2,169 km (1,348 mi)
Esteban Ocon Renault 1:16.433 C5 376 1,749 km (1,087 mi)
Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 1:16.634 C5 441 2,054 km (1,276 mi)
Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 1:16.820 C5 446 2,076 km (1,290 mi)
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:16.841 C5 402 1,872 km (1,163 mi)
George Russell Williams-Mercedes 1:16.871 C5 394 1,835 km (1,140 mi)
Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 1:16.914 C4 399 1,857 km (1,154 mi)
Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:16.942 C5 112 521 km (324 mi)
Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:17.037 C4 399 1,857 km (1,154 mi)
Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 1:17.066 C5 370 1,722 km (1,070 mi)
Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:17.091 C5 300 1,397 km (868 mi)
Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 1:17.118 C3 341 1,587 km (986 mi)
Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1:17.313 C5 343 1,596 km (992 mi)
Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:17.495 C5 250 1,164 km (723 mi)
Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 1:17.550 C4 366 1,704 km (1,059 mi)
Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1:17.573 C2 356 1,658 km (1,030 mi)
Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:19.670 C3 323 1,505 km (935 mi)
Distance by constructor
Constructor Laps[21] Distance
Mercedes 903 4,204 km (2,612 mi)
Ferrari 844 3,928 km (2,441 mi)
McLaren-Renault 802 3,734 km (2,320 mi)
Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 782 3,640 km (2,262 mi)
Red Bull Racing-Honda 780 3,631 km (2,256 mi)
AlphaTauri-Honda 769 3,581 km (2,225 mi)
Renault 743 3,458 km (2,149 mi)
Williams-Mercedes 737 3,431 km (2,132 mi)
Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 735 3,421 km (2,126 mi)
Haas-Ferrari 649 3,021 km (1,877 mi)

References
  1. "A comprehensive guide to Formula One's preseason testing". ESPN.com. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. GPfans.com. "F1 pre-season test results: Fastest laps, full lap count". GPfans. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. "The Winners and Losers of 2020 F1 pre-season testing | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. Noble, Jonathan. "Williams: It's 'embarrassing" to miss the start of 2019 F1 testing". Autosport.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. "F1 2020 schedule – The 2020 F1 race calendar, pre-season testing details and F1 car launch schedule | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. "McLaren limit F1 hospitality access amid coronavirus fears". Reuters. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. Sport, Telegraph; Slater, Luke (19 February 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends day one of F1 pre-season testing fastest as Mercedes rack up the miles". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. "McLaren take coronavirus precautions at Barcelona test". Breaking News. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. Sam (21 February 2012). "F1 Pre-season testing: Barcelona 21st - 24th February". Racecar Engineering. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. "F1 aero rakes: Rob Smedley explains the technology behind aero rakes and what they do | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. "Flow Visualization Paint". www.formula1-dictionary.net. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test two day three - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  13. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test day one - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  14. Pruett, Marshall (24 February 2020). "Mercedes-AMG's "Dual-Axis Steering" Has Even More Advantages Than You Thought". Road & Track. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  15. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test day two - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  16. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test day three - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  17. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test two day one - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  18. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test two day two - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  19. Autosport.com. "Barcelona F1 test two day three - Formula 1 Testing 2020 - Autosport Live updates". Autosport.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  20. Haldenby, Nicky (28 February 2020). "F1 2020 Pre-Season Testing: Day 6 Statistics". Lights Out ●●●●●. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  21. Smith, Luke. "F1 testing summary - Mercedes leads the way on pace and mileage". Autosport.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  22. "2020 F1 Pre-season Testing: Best times and compounds". FormulaSpy. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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