Is F1 testing actually useful for the fans?

The Formula 1 teams and drivers are about to embark on three days of testing. It sounds like a mammoth task, but it's actually a really short period. Most drivers have indicated they would like to see that number double, especially as they have to split it with their teammates. But they still get very useful data. However, with the sandbagging and mixed data, is it actually useful for fans or is it just one hype machine? What did we learn last year and was it useful? 

Verstappen is on top and the standout driver

At the end of the test week in Bahrain, the top five in terms of fastest times looked striking. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen managed to clock the fastest time after three days of testing on the softest tyre, the C5. The standout number two was Mick Schumacher. The German was half a second slower than Verstappen, but drove on the harder C4 tyre. Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso followed behind, both also driving on the C4. George Russell closed out the top five with a time on the C5 tire.

*Well Max Verstappen dominated the 2022 World Championship so there is a bit of foreshadowing here. His fastest time was replicated around the world though in the Grand Prix a week later he didn't get pole position or a race victory. But that fact turned out to be true. The same trend didn't follow for Mick Schumacher who ended up being beaten by his teammate and only scoring points in back-to-back rounds 10 and 11. 

Bad week for McLaren

So the most laps were driven by Norris. The Brit drove all 200 laps for McLaren because his teammate Ricciardo was in quarantine with coronavirus. In total, Norris came in at 1,082 kilometres in Bahrain and while that is the most for a driver, it is the very least for the teams. After Norris, it was Russell who managed to do a lot of laps in Bahrain. He ended up with a total of 198, while he only had half the time Norris had for this number. McLaren's low mileage is notable, as during the first week of testing in Barcelona the team drove many more and finished third in terms of laps driven. Due to the difficult second week of testing, McLaren arrives at a total of 2,797 kilometres driven over six days. This gives them eighth place in terms of productivity.

*The fact that Ricciardo missed testing didn't do him any favours at all. The Australian ended up losing his deal at McLaren and is now on the bench at Red Bull Racing for the 2023 season. Whilst McLaren didn't have the worst season, a poor start did follow due to issues with the breaks. This poor start caused them to eventually drop behind Alpine in the championship. The early indications were true, but perhaps not as bad as some predicted. 

Productive days for Mercedes and Ferrari

When it comes to the number of laps driven over two weeks, Ferrari and Mercedes were clearly the strongest teams. The two teams finished close together, but it was Ferrari that managed just a bit more mileage. Carlos Sainz delivered the most laps in total over two test days with 416. Russell follows closely with 407 laps. Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are in fifth and sixth place when it comes to most laps.

After Ferrari and Mercedes, AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing follow at a close distance. Both teams have covered some 500 kilometres less, which amounts to more than one and a half race lengths. Aston Martin, Alpine and Williams can look back on reasonably successful tests. The teams did have some problems but were generally able to put in a lot of miles.

*These two points contrast each other. Mercedes didn't have a very good season at all, but they had built a reliable car. Lewis Hamilton only retired once as a result of a failure and that came at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In fact, no other team recorded more laps throughout the season than Mercedes with 2,486. Red Bull were not far behind on 2,454. However, it's quite the opposite for Ferrari. Only Alfa Romeo [also powered by Ferrari] recorded fewer laps throughout the season. The Ferrari engine was not very reliable. The bottom three teams on the lap counter were powered by Ferrari. 

Haas drove few laps, but fast times

At the bottom of the table we find Alfa Romeo and Haas F1. Both teams had a poor first week of testing in Barcelona but managed to make up a lot of lost ground in Bahrain. Especially Alfa Romeo, as the team drove over 1,000 kilometres more in Bahrain than they did in Spain. Although Haas drove the fewest laps, the team can still look back on the past weeks positively after the fast times of Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen.

*There was a lot of hype surrounding Haas along with the new rules and regulations. And testing was positive. Whilst they didn't set the world alight in 2022, they did make significant progress. They scored 37 more points compared to their performance in 2021 and finished ahead of AlphaTauri in the World Championship. On the same circuit a week later, Magnussen ended up scoring 10 points in the championship with a P5 finish. The signs were there. 

Overall, the early signs were there. What we learnt in testing does foreshadow what is to come over the next nine months, though you still need to take the results with a pinch of salt.