Season Preview - Who Is Fastest?
There are just two weeks to the day to the start of the 2010 Formula One season, with the teams doing their final testing this weekend at Barcelona. With those super-sized fuel tanks it's been difficult to be really certain about where the various teams are in relation to one another and, more importantly, who is fastest. Always one to stick my neck out when it comes to opinions about F1 (well, pretty much anything if you ask my friends) I thought I'd put my 2p-worth out in the public domain⦠Early testing was quite fascinating with some unlikely names at the top of the time sheets. Sauber and Toro Rosso were regularly featured as fastest in the first test at Valencia which was dry and, as I can attest, quite warm too. The following test sessions at Jerez were however rather wet. Now in a normal season, the closer we get to the end of pre-season testing, the clearer the pecking order becomes. Of course last year was a little unconventional when Brawn popped up at the final test and said "this is how you build an F1 car" but the general principal still stands. The rain in Jerez has rather upset that. Before, then, I really, really stick my neck out we can at least establish the main groups of cars. The fastest teams today are undoubtably Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull. Mercedes are not far behind and may bolt on some new parts for Bahrain that bring them into this top grouping - but then again, if the others do likewise, Mercedes may find that their car is faster, but still not fast enough. The midfield group is likewise easy to establish, consisting as is does of, in no particular order, Renault, Toro Rosso, Force India, Sauber and Williams. The tail-end charlies of 2010 are the new teams - Lotus, Virgin, Campos and US F1. Campos now have engines to bolt into their Dallara-built chassis whereas US F1 have a chassis but nothing bolted on to it as far as I am aware. Rumour has it that it keeps failing the crash test. Back to the top of the timesheet then and my feeling is that Ferrari have the fastest car over a single lap while McLaren and Red Bull are in better shape over a race distance. Ferrari's engine has not, it is said, been quite so fuel efficient while the Renault in the back of the Red Bull has been. Even a small percentage difference can add tenths to a car's lap time at the start of the race so this will be a key issue for the teams. We won't be able to make objective observations about this either as the FIA has decided that the starting weights of the cars will not be published in the way that they have been in recent seasons. In summary I think we will see a Ferrari on pole in Bahrain although I think that it will be a Red Bull or McLaren driver on the top step of the podium.
author: Phil Haigh
published: 28/02
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