Mercedes leads the way on Barcelona mileage

22/02/2020
NEWS STORY

The first week of testing is traditionally regarded as the FP1 and FP2 in terms of preparations for the season opener, as teams focus on reliability as opposed to pace.

The opening week is when the teams gather the data to help prepare for the all-important second week and then Melbourne.

While Friday's running was interrupted by a number of red flag stoppages, which proved especially frustrating for those teams carrying out race simulations, we still saw a number of updates introduced.

Though the pace of the Mercedes W11 - not to mention its controversial dual axis steering system - grabbed the headlines, in those first few days of testing it was the consistency and reliability of their cars that the teams were really looking for.

Needless to say, Mercedes was the pace-setter here also, with the German team completing the most laps (494), ahead of Red Bull (471) and Alfa Romeo (424).

With just 354 laps under its belt, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has good reason not to be as optimistic as last year, while Haas' 316 are sure to have had Guenther Steiner tossing more coins into the swear box.

While Williams' 324 laps might appear disappointing, let's not forget that in the entirety of pre-season testing last year the Grove outfit completed 567 laps.

Unsurprisingly, Mercedes also led the way in terms of engine mileage, the three outfits powered by power units bearing the Three Pointed Star completing 1,189 laps. This compares with Ferrari's 1,094, Honda's 855 and Renault's 803.

Note that though the Red Bull pair have yet to try the softer tyre compounds the Austrian team is very much in the mix.

Indeed, though Hamilton tops the mileage sheet with 273 laps, Max Verstappen is next up with 254, while Carlos Sainz, driving the dark horse that is the McLaren, is on 237.

On the other hand, Kevin Magnussen has just 110 laps under his belt.

We saw on Saturday that as the wick was turned up, some teams ran into trouble. With the pressure ramping up ever higher next week, following the reliability witnessed earlier this week, we can surely expect more teams to struggle.

Though it remains far too early to be making any serious calls, Mercedes still clearly rules, while Racing Point and McLaren appear to have the edge in the midfield.

Engine Manufacturer Test Mileage

Engine Manufacturer Laps Miles Kms
Mercedes 1189 3439.2 5534.7
Ferrari 1094 3164.4 5092.5
Honda 855 2473.1 3979.9
Renault 803 2322.7 3737.9

Team Test Mileage

Team Laps Miles Kms
Mercedes 494 1428.9 2299.5
Red Bull 471 1362.4 2192.5
Alfa Romeo 424 1226.4 1973.7
McLaren 423 1223.5 1969.0
AlphaTauri 384 1110.7 1787.5
Renault 380 1099.2 1768.9
Racing Point 371 1073.1 1727.0
Ferrari 354 1023.9 1647.8
Williams 324 937.2 1508.2
Haas 316 914.0 1470.9

Driver Test Mileage

Driver Team Laps Miles Kms
Hamilton Mercedes 273 789.7 1270.8
Verstappen Red Bull 254 734.7 1182.3
Sainz McLaren 237 685.5 1103.2
Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 231 668.2 1075.3
Bottas Mercedes 221 639.2 1028.7
Albon Red Bull 217 627.7 1010.1
Gasly AlphaTauri 206 595.9 958.9
Grosjean Haas 206 595.9 958.9
Perez Racing Point 203 587.2 944.9
Ocon Renault 190 549.6 884.4
Ricciardo Renault 190 549.6 884.4
Russell Williams 189 546.7 879.8
Norris McLaren 186 538.0 865.8
Leclerc Ferrari 181 523.5 842.5
Kvyat AlphaTauri 178 514.9 828.6
Vettel Ferrari 173 500.4 805.3
Stroll Racing Point 168 485.9 782.0
Latifi Williams 135 390.5 628.4
Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 134 387.6 623.8
Magnussen Haas 110 318.2 512.0
Kubica Alfa Romeo 59 170.7 274.6

Check out our Friday gallery from Barcelona, here.

Article from Pitpass (http://www.pitpass.com):

Published: 22/02/2020
Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2024. All rights reserved.