The 2019 F1 cars have not yet beaten the fastest time from last year’s pre-season test, but seven of the 10 teams have now lapped quicker than they managed 12 months ago.
Ferrari’s 1’17.182 from last year is still quicker than anyone has managed so far this season. Ferrari is one of just three teams yet to improve on their 2018 bests, the others being Haas and Williams, though the latter has gone quicker than it did during last year’s race weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya.Racing Point made a significant jump in pace on the first day of the second test. Lance Stroll significantly reduced the team’s best lap time, and their year-on-year gain in testing is now better than anyone’s apart from Alfa Romeo. Stroll described today as “our smoothest day of testing so far”, adding “I think we are heading in the right direction.”
Pierre Gasly also improved Red Bull’s time today but intriguingly he did it on the C3 compound, which is around six-tenths per lap slower than the C4 and the same again to the C5. That indicates the Red Bull is capable of a considerably quicker lap time, as of course are Ferrari and Haas as well.
Mercedes lost much of the afternoon’s running on day five of the test due to a power unit problem on Valtteri Bottas’s W10. Ferrari has now covered the most mileage of any team, while the Mercedes customer squads are propping up the table.
Position | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Tyre |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Renault | RS19 | 1’17.393 | C5 | |
2 | Toro Rosso | STR14 | 1’17.637 | 0.244 | C5 |
3 | McLaren | MCL34 | 1’17.709 | 0.316 | C4 |
4 | Red Bull | RB15 | 1’17.715 | 0.322 | C3 |
5 | Alfa Romeo | C38 | 1’17.762 | 0.369 | C5 |
6 | Racing Point | RP19 | 1’17.824 | 0.431 | C5 |
7 | Mercedes | W10 | 1’17.857 | 0.464 | C5 |
8 | Ferrari | SF90 | 1’17.925 | 0.532 | C3 |
9 | Haas | VF-19 | 1’18.563 | 1.170 | C3 |
10 | Williams | FW42 | 1’19.662 | 2.269 | C5 |
Go ad-free for just £1 per month
>> Find out more and sign up
2019 pre-season lap times compared to last year
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2019 pre-season mileages compared to last year
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2019 F1 season
- Crying in the Melbourne car park at 2019 grand prix was my career low – Ocon
- McLaren Racing reports reduced £71 million loss in 2019
- Kvyat: Hockenheim podium last year was “my biggest achievement” so far
- How the FIA’s new encrypted fuel flow meter targets Ferrari’s suspected ‘aliasing’ trick
- “He smashed my office door”: 23 must-see moments from ‘Drive to Survive’ season two
ColdFly (@)
26th February 2019, 17:52
It seems that the wider wing did not create the massive decline in laptime. Teams have found other ways to recover the downforce.
This makes me quietly hope that it will improve the ability to follow in the turns.
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th February 2019, 23:59
Strange logic !
Brolloks (@brolloks)
27th February 2019, 4:08
What @coldfly says makes complete sense: the negative impact of the new front wings, i.e. making the cars slower, has been negated through implementing solutions on other parts of the car. Yet the touted positive part, i.e. being able to follow other cars easier, seems to still apply, despite the negation of the slowing down of the cars.
ColdFly (@)
27th February 2019, 6:02
Not sure which part you find strange, @hohum.
The whole purpose of reducing outwash was to aid overtaking.
Check this article from last April by @keithcollantine.
@HoHum (@hohum)
27th February 2019, 20:49
@coldfly, your glass must be eternally more than half full, I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that I see no link between unchanged or improved lap times and the ability to follow closely through bends.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th February 2019, 9:59
@coldfly I think ‘increase’ and or ‘rise’ would be a more precise word to refer to lap times becoming slower than ‘decline,’ but nevertheless, I thoroughly agree with you otherwise except that it wasn’t the width of the front wing, but the simplification of it that was expected to make the lap times slower.
ColdFly (@)
27th February 2019, 10:42
good point, @jerejj, thanks.
Missed that, even when re-reading.
Diego (@ironcito)
26th February 2019, 18:07
It seems like most teams will substantially increase their testing mileage, relative to last year.
anon
26th February 2019, 19:20
@ironcito, mind you, given the freakish weather conditions that hit the test sessions last year, that is probably not too surprising – it might be worth comparing with the 2017 pre-season tests for a more representative picture.
@coldfly, I believe that Magnussen is now on record as saying that he feels that the new regulations have made the cars more stable when following another car – however, he does caveat that by noting that, at the time, he was lapping quite a bit faster than the car he was following. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/kevin-magnussen-new-haas-aero-rules/4344314/
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th February 2019, 19:54
I hope you compiled all eight days testing graph in a single GIF later, @keithcollantine. But please add different colour/shading for any team that manage to beat last year record. I’d like to see a Honda’s bar blip in it.
Mathew Walker (@walking-tracks)
26th February 2019, 21:30
Has anyone got a full lap time chart. Would really like to have a look at the long run times
Coanda (@ming-mong)
27th February 2019, 4:40
Motorsport.com have Danny Ric posting his fastest time on the C2. Who is correct?