A solid start

The 2022 Formula 1 season has begun with three days of testing, running up until this Friday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit. Shortly after 9 o’clock, it fell to Charles Leclerc to steer the F1-75 out on track for its debut in an official session. The Monegasque completed 80 laps, running the C2, C3 and C4 compound tyres, getting through the planned pre-lunch break programme. Charles’ best time of 1’20”165 was set on C3 tyres.

73 more laps. Carlos Sainz took over driving duties in the afternoon. The Spaniard completed 73 laps (341 km), he too using the Pirelli C2, C3 and C4 compounds. His best time was a 1’20”416 set on C3 tyres. Therefore, the F1-75 completed a total of 153 laps, equivalent to more than 711 kilometres, the most of all the cars on track.

Programme. Both drivers had several items on their worksheet. First off was a function check for the car over a longer distance, the F1-75 having previously only completed 15 kilometres in a demonstration event on the 18 February, plus a further 100 during yesterday’s filming day. Another task for the drivers was for them to familiarise themselves with what is a totally new car. Today was also an opportunity for the drivers and the team to get used to the car's increased size, with particular regard to pit stops. Another item was correlating the car’s behaviour on track compared to the results of the simulation work carried out during its design phase.

Day 2. Tomorrow continues along the same lines with the two drivers on duty once again: this time Carlos will start the day while Charles will take over in the afternoon.

Charles Leclerc #16

"The first day of testing is behind us. This is always a really exciting moment at the start of each season. It was the first time that we could really push in our new car and it felt really good to be back behind the wheel. We completed all the tests we wanted to and ran through our full programme smoothly, which is good for a new car. I’m looking forward to being back on track again tomorrow. The initial feeling is not bad, but we shouldn’t get carried away by the timesheets today, as these are early days and everyone is still hiding their true form. It’s impossible to have a clear picture just yet, so we have to stay focused and keep working hard. We put in a lot of laps, more than any other team today, and that’s a positive we will build on".

Carlos Sainz #55

"Today was the first time I was in the car with a proper run plan, unlike the previous times when we basically did shake downs. We could finally push a bit and start learning from these cars. The timesheet is unimportant at this early stage, but it was very positive to put in a good number of laps and get a real feel at the wheel. We still have a lot of work to do but today we could already start feeling some differences from last year, although in terms of getting used to it I don’t feel it’s going to take too long. For sure the last tenths will be tricky to find, but that is the interesting part! Anyway, that’s not the aim here in Barcelona as we still have more testing ahead of the first race. A good first day and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. "