Already the fastest in the morning, the Briton, who can equal this year Michael Schumacher's record of seven world crowns, lowered his time to 1 min 04 sec 304/1000. Only his Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas approached 197/2000, when the competition - Red Bull, Ferrari but also Racing Point, Renault and McLaren - peaked beyond 6/10.
On the eve of the first qualifications of 2020, during which the teams will finally reveal all the advantages in their game, the lessons from the pre-season trials seem to be confirmed. Six-time defending champions of drivers and constructors, the Silver Arrows - which sport a black livery as a sign of support for the fight against racism - seem to have a good head start. And, drawing heavily on the Mercedes victorious in 2019, Racing Point has for its part been considerably closer to the leading trio.
"Best winter"
Red Bull, whose boss Christian Horner ensures that the team is coming out of its "best winter" since the early 2010s, when it dominated the championship, will it tickle Hamilton and his team on Saturday and Sunday? His flagship pilot, the Dutchman Max Verstappen, has in any case for him to have won the last two editions of the event, during which the Silver Arrows did not shine (double retirement in 2018, 3rd and 5th in 2019).
As for Ferrari, the main team Mattia Binotto expects a “difficult start to the season” after bad choices in terms of aerodynamics that the Scuderia has not yet had time to correct after several months of confinement due to new coronavirus pandemic.
We were also waiting to see it again at work: the Mercedes drivers used the “DAS” (for dual axis steering), an ingenious system developed during the off-season which allows them to modify according to their needs. the spacing of their front wheels by pulling or pushing their steering wheel. It will be interesting to see what advantage this DAS brings to the German team. And also what will result in Red Bull's intention to seek clarification from the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the regulating body of F1, on the legality of this DAS which it has validated for 2020. . but prohibited for 2021.
"Gray area"
"It's a very ingenious system, but the question for us is whether it complies with the regulations in what is basically a gray area," comments Horner. "We want clarity because it will have an impact on the rest of the year. It was banned next year, but is it fair this year? These are the questions we will ask the FIA through the planned channels. ” "We think we're on the safe side," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. There have been many exchanges with the FIA. That's why we have it in the car. So everyone will come up with their arguments and we'll see. ”
The season should have started in mid-March in Australia but has been delayed by the pandemic. It will continue, at a minimum, by a series of eight races in Europe until early September, for the time behind closed doors and following a strict sanitary protocol. The 2,000 or so people present in the Red Bull Ring, for F1 but also F2, F3 and the Porsche SuperCup, are requested to wear masks, to respect as much as possible two meters between them, or to undergo tests for Covid-19 every five days. The circuit is designed as a bubble isolated as much as possible from the outside world and the participants are separated into groups and sub-groups to limit the risks of contamination.
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