2019 Formula 1 Testing Summary

Though lap times don’t play a significant role in testing, there’s no denying the urge to know who was fastest over the testing days. Surprisingly, the Mercedes came in in 6th and 7th place while the Renault team stayed in the led, followed by the Toro Rosso-Honda team, taking both second and third place.

It’s been an exciting range of events at the testing for 2019 as the teams get back to the track to work out the final adjustments before racing starts. Though Renault was first, it seems to be the Ferrari team who are the happiest about the overall results of their cars. Naturally, this would be great news for the Italian team as 2018 started well. It just seemed as if the cars didn’t want to hold on to the performance, never mind the struggling performance of Vettel.

Now, with a new year and grand opportunities with another season ahead. Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc look forward to a promising season as they both take to the testing track to get the red Ferrari’s ready for action!

Is Renault the Fastest?

Testing days aren’t about lap times, but Renault certainly seemed to have the urge to impress as they got to the track. With a set of soft tyres, Hulkenberg went out and set the time to beat, which managed to stay on the board until the end.

Though an impressive time (1:17.393), the team didn’t seem all the impressive when the car stopped with a problem. It’s not been made clear as to what the issue was, but we certainly hope it’s not an indication of what’s to come for one of the top 5 F1 teams in 2019.

The Renault might have set an impressive time, but it’s certainly didn’t beat the Toro Rosso-Honda drivers by far. Both Alexander and Daniil set impressive times within the first two days of testing, including 1:17.637 for Alexander and 1:17.704 for teammate Daniil. The difference is, neither of the Toro Rosso-Honda cars seemed to have had problems with once those times we set.

Ferrari Pleased with Results

The Ferrari team seemed focused on testing their cars and not set the fastest laps on the last day. However, they certainly didn’t do badly with 8th and 9th place on the leader board and both drivers less than a second slower than the leading Renault.

Combined, Vettel and his new teammate managed just under 600 laps during the testing days, which is second overall, just behind the Mercedes team. The days allowed the Ferrari team to get loads of data. Helping them set up the car correctly for the season ahead.

It’s not quite clear who of the leading trio has an edge, but the cars are certainly impressive and Ferrari seems to carry a lot into corners and on the straights, making us all keep a close eye on odds and the first race.