Ferrari Pre-Season Testing: What we learnt from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s initial F1-75 run in Barcelona

The 2022 Formula 1 pre-season testing took place in Barcelona from February 23rd to February 25th. This test was very important for every team, as it was their first chance to find out how their cars performed on the track. These three days of testing give every team a chance to test out all of the new aspects of the cars, which to this point have only been tested out in wind tunnels. 

While there were a few teams that stood out from the rest of the pack, Ferrari was that one team that caught everyone’s attention. After having a solid season last year where they finished third in the constructors’ championship, Ferrari are hoping to be in a position where they can compete for race wins and potentially the title again. And luckily for them, it looks like they might be able to fulfil most of their wishes, as their challenger for this season, the F1-75, was one of the most consistent cars on the grid in terms of both performance and reliability. 

Charles Leclerc Lap timings and laps completed

Leclerc was very excited about trying out the F1-75 on the track. “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,” he said.

He completed a total of 203 laps over the course of 3 days of testing. He finished P2 on the first day, one place behind McLaren’s Lando Norris. He was fastest overall on the second day and then he was P6 on the final day.

Carlos Sainz Lap timings and laps completed

Even though Sainz was consistently one of the fastest drivers on the track, he didn’t seem to care too much about it. “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,” he said.

Sainz completed a total of 236 laps, more than anyone over the course of 3 days of testing. He was also the only Ferrari driver to take part in the wet weather testing, which happened during the afternoon session of the final day.

Struggles faced by Ferrari

Over the three days of testing, Ferrari didn’t face any issues related to both performance and reliability. The only thing they struggled a bit with was ‘porpoising’, which was a problem that almost every team on the grid had to deal with. This is something that hopefully won’t take too long to deal with considering the amount of resources Ferrari have at their disposal.

Positives for Ferrari to take away

There were a lot of positives for Ferrari to take away from the pre-season testing. One of them is that they appeared to be bulletproof in terms of reliability. They were able to complete the most laps, 439 to be exact. And most importantly, they were able to complete these laps without facing any issues at all. They were also one of the fastest cars on the track during all the three days of testing.

They were consistently putting out fast times, and they even posted the fastest time on the second day of testing. Even though there’s a good chance that the times every team is posting during testing aren’t what they are actually capable of, it’s still good to see Ferrari near the top of the timesheet. And for all we know, it might be a sign of things to come.

The last key positive for Ferrari to take away is that both of their drivers seemed to be in top form during the entirety of testing. Both Leclerc and Sainz were able to complete upwards of 200 laps and were consistently in the top 5 of the timing board. With all of this time under their belts, both Leclerc and Sainz have most probably gotten used to the new generation of cars and the new 18-inch tyres. The knowledge and experience gained from this testing will be very helpful for them once the season starts.

Also read: Aston Martin Pre-Season Testing: What we learned from Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll’s initial AMR 22 run in Barcelona

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