F1 Bahrain first Preseason testing week. - My review.

F1 Bahrain first Preseason testing.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Hi there!

The second and final Bahrain testing just began today with Force India's Sergio Perez topping the time sheets.

Here is my review on last week's testing in Bahrain.

I think, by now there isn't much more that we can learn from this test week.

The Mercedes-powered teams reaffirmed themselves as the top contenders for the upcoming Formula One season as they were the fastest in all of the testing days.

Red Bull came into this testing with their main objective being not to repeat a week such as the one they had in Jerez, which the Milton Keynes-based team boss, Christian Horner himself described as 'a nightmare'.

They showed slight improvement, it seems that they are managing to fix their reliability issues as they were able to complete 116 laps in the whole week.

But that number, is still mediocre if we take in consideration that Williams' Valtteri Bottas himself completed those 116 laps that Red Bull ran in the whole week in just one day.

And in addition to that, they were unable to make a better lap time than 1.39.837 when Daniel Ricciardo achieved P7 in the final day of testing. They were, at least, 2 seconds off the pace of the four fastest lap times on Day 4.

However, I say that Red Bull's principal objective ahead of this week's test should be trying to run a lot more laps than they've done before on the first two days and then, trying to make some fast laps in the last two days in order to see where they will be standing in terms of pace and speed.

One good thing about the team's situation, is that at this point, it most probably won't get worse and can only get better as the testing goes on.

McLaren, who I pointed out as the possible best title contenders this year after the Jerez testing, took a small step backwards as they could only top the time sheets on one out of four days. I'm not trying to say that they aren't a title contender anymore, I'm just saying that they don't look as the staggering, dominant team that they looked like back in Jerez.

After this testing week, from my personal point of view, the most possible title contender is no other than Mercedes GP.

The Brackley-based squad were the fastest in the last two days of testing and never missed the Top-4 in that week.

As I mentioned before, they have everything to take a shot at the championship this year:

–The most reliable engine in the grid.

–Good car, in terms of pace and aerodynamics.

–Good management.

–And the second best driver pairing in Formula 1 with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Ferrari didn't showed neither improvement or deterioration in their performance as they stayed among the top three teams but they were outperformed by the quicker Mercedes and McLarens. They are still one of the top title contenders for this year.

Williams, the team that stunned me and many others in the Jerez testing week, usually appearing in the Top-3 and topping the time sheets in one out of four days, also took a step back as they had some struggles in Day 1 when they could only complete 5 laps, that situation would happen again but they didn't happen to be as quick as they were in Jerez with their best performance in the time sheets as a 1.37.066 P3 performance in Day 3.

But, yet again, I don't stop pointing that this could be the year in which the Grove-based team can jump back into the top teams.

The two worse teams in this testing week were, by far, Toro Rosso and Caterham.

Toro Rosso still had many struggles with their Renault engine's reliability and were only able to run 139 laps in the whole testing, a lot less than that of the other non-Renault teams.

Not to mention that they are still far off the pace and could only achieve a 1.38.974 P7 performance by Russian rookie Daniil Kvyät in Day 3.

Caterham also had serious problems with the Renault engine and had bad days like the fourth one when they only completed 21 laps.

Even though they were able to complete more than 200 laps in the week, they still find themselves with the worst speed and pace right now, their best performance was a 1.39.855 P6 by Kamui Kobayashi in Day 2.

Which of these last two dances with the ugliest girl?

In terms of reliability, Toro Rosso, for their very low number of completed laps.

In terms of pace, probably Toro Rosso too as their fastest lap was still slightly slower than that one of Caterham. But also, it is a fact that the other three testing days Caterham was unable to get their times below 1.40.534 which wasn't the case with Toro Rosso, so in terms of pace it could also be Caterham that dances with the ugliest girl.

Now, let's see what we can learn from in this week's Bahrain testing, the last one before the first race of the season.

I'll be giving you my review on the testing as soon as it's possible to me.

Make sure to check out my new YouTube edit: 'The Speed and Glamour of Formula One.'

http://youtu.be/MjA4yH0fdOg

Also, follow me on Twitter: @IcemanTimeBitch

and Instagram: @ArttuMedrano

How could 2014 F1 season turn out? - My personal point of view and predictions after Jerez testing.

When we all first heard about the new changes and regulations to be applied for the upcoming 2014 Formula One season, with the most significant ones being the aerodynamic regulation on the car's nose and the new 1.6 liters V6 turbo engine, we all expected a whole turnaround of things in F1 as engineers would be working on their cars without a role model to follow in terms of aerodynamic design. Personally, I expect an amazing season which will be battled from the start to the end and in which we will see many races with different race winners.

Well, it is still yet to see what the season will be like, but the testings in Jerez last week certainly helped to give us the fans an idea of what this season will look like.

Here's some predictions of things I think that will happen this year, according to each team.

Rolling in the deep: Red Bull.

The four-time World Costructors and Drivers champions didn't have the most desirable beginning to their year as their testing turned out as a nightmare, surrounded by problems with the Renault engine's reliability and cooling system problems and at the end if the testing week, the team only could complete 21 laps and those few laps, they couldn't set many fast lap times. 

Watching the problem that the team is facing right now, I would say that this season is the perfect chance for the other teams to shorten the gap between them and Red Bull.

Right now, it could seem that Red Bull's domination could come to an end this year, but, we'll only know until Bahrain testing.

Racing their way to the top: Mercedes GP.

Mercedes not only presented their new W05 in the Jerez testing but the also proved us that a nice looking car can be fast, being usually in the first top three positions.

As mentioned before, it's this season for them to catch up on Red Bull. They have what it takes, a fast car, a more than reliable car and engine and one of the best driver pairings in this season's grid, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The Brackley based squad will take some of this season's race wins and will end up in the top 3 teams if not the first place.

Walking on sunshine: Ferrari.

The Maranello based team, had a dreamed start to the testing week with Kimi Räikkönen being the fastest in the first day and with Fernando Alonso also being usually in the first positions.

Ferrari has got what it takes and a little bit more to catch 'the bull'.

A reliable and fast car and the best driver pairing in the grid, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen.

We could be set to see the Italian team taking a World Championship again, it all depends on how good they work though the season and of course, on how good Red Bull performs. The team will surely take some race wins and be a front runner as always.

Is there anybody out there?: Lotus

Lotus didn't have their E22 on time for the testing week and they didn't show up. 

I want it all: McLaren.

The Woking squad had the best performance in the Jerez testings, being the fastest in 2 of the 4 testing days. The got the most reliable engine on the grid and probably the best car and an acceptable driver lineup with Jenson Button and Dane rookie Kevin Magnussen.

After the testing, I can only say that we should all get ready, not only to see McLaren recover from their worst season in 2013 when their best finishing position was a 4th, but to also see McLaren taking Drivers and Constructors championship this year, I don't expect them to dominate but only to win the championship or at least be the runner-up, let's just remember things can change before the next testing. 

Ready to go: Force India.

Force India didn't make too much of a big impression on the testing as their best position was a 4th by Sergio Perez in the first day of testing.

They are backed with the most reliable engine in the grid and they have a young, fresh driver lineup with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.

It could go any of this two ways:

Whether the team has a season like 2012 surprising many with good performances and taking a few podiums.

Or whether the team will finally take their first win in their history and also several podiums.

Going in the same direction: Sauber.

Sauber will surely make a better season than in 2013, they have a reliable Ferrari engine, a fast car and a good driver lineup that is mixed up with Adrian Sutil's experience and Esteban Gutierrez's young talent.

Although, I don't think it'll go further than that, they'll probably take some podiums and several points but the team is still far away from what it used to be on the BMW Sauber years.

Sticking with it: Toro Rosso.

The Faenza based squad experimented the same engine problems that Red Bull did as the both of these teams use a Renault power unit.

I am confident that the team will fix this problem before Bahrain testing and they will surely be fighting for the points and important positions next season.

Back in black: Williams.

This could be the season that could bring  Williams back to be fighting for points and podiums.

They have a good drivers lineup with rookie Valtteri Bottas and veteran Felipe Massa and a reliable Mercedes engine.

They were in the top three positions in all of the fours testing days, including a first place by Massa in the fourth day. This makes me believe that Williams will take a few podiums this season and constantly battling at the front in a season that could be the first step towards becoming a Championship winning team again.

Not ready to make nice: Marussia and Caterham.

The Banbury and the Leafield based teams didn't show anything very surprising on testing week.

Marussia looks good anyways, with a consistent driver lineup with 2013 rookies Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton and a reliable Ferrari engine which could boost their performance, in terms of aerodynamics, let's just say it could be better.

Caterham decided to change their two drivers and opted for a lineup that looks good so far, combination of experience from Kamui Kobayashi and young blood from rookie Marcus Ericsson.

The best thing that the team gets out of Jerez with, is that they were the fastest team with a Renault engine and the team that made the most laps with that engine, which is good.

In resume, I would say that these two teams will stay as the bottom two but I would be surprised to see them battling to take the first points in their history.

I'm not saying all of these things above will happen, some of those might happen, some of those might don't and even maybe none of them will happen, it's just my point of view and what I think that'll happen in the season after this testing week, it's just an opinion.

And, as I said, it could probably change after the Bahrain testing.

See you all next week for my review on the Bahrain testing!

Thanks for making this blog widely read!