How Every F1 Team Performed During 2023 Pre-Season Testing

The Bahrain International Circuit witnessed the end of the thrilling three-day pre-season test of Formula 1 over the last weekend. As the opening race of the season is about to commence at the same venue in just a few days, fans are buzzing with excitement and curiosity.

They are pondering upon an array of questions - Will Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing emerge victorious once again and clinch the world championship? Will Ferrari make a strong comeback and challenge Red Bull's dominance with their new team principal? Or will Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton regain their crown and make a glorious return to the winner's circle?

A race fan's intuition often gravitates towards lap times to assess a team's testing performance, as it's the fastest laps that are typically highlighted on TV and streaming broadcasts. However, relying solely on lap times during pre-season testing can be misleading. The top teams often hold back their actual pace, while the weaker squads may aim for a flashy run to attract sponsors. Case in point, Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo set the fastest lap time during the recent testing, despite finishing no higher than eighth place in his rookie season last year. After all, F1 races aren't won by a single lap alone.

A more comprehensive approach to evaluating a team's test performance would involve considering their multi-lap pace and the previous season's results. However, suppose you're seeking a single measure to size up the competition before the season opener. In that case, one metric can provide a good starting point: Total mileage logged during testing.

In the pinnacle of motorsport, pre-season testing offer teams the very rare occasion to run laps well beyond the minimum length of a Grand Prix. The more miles a team runs in testing, the better the foundation of information it has to develop its car over the competitive season. And as we know, in Formula 1, every millisecond counts and could be the difference between winning a title and falling from the top.

As a result, some of the backmarkers took advantage of the pre-season testing, running many miles to improve. For example, AlphaTauri and Williams did around 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers), with Haas being right there with those teams with 1,392 miles (2,240 kilometers), just behind Ferrari at 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers).

Red Bull has managed to elevate its already-dominant 2022 F1 car to new heights, winning 17 out of 22 races last season. "Every time I got behind the wheel, I felt comfortable and could push right away," declared a surprised and very excited Max Verstappen after the pre-season testing sessions.

Ferrari outpaced other front-running teams in terms of testing mileage, but the Italian team's car has not made significant strides since last year and is still trailing Red Bull. Additionally, Ferrari continues to grapple with tire degradation issues that plagued them in the previous season.

Mercedes has slowly made progress after a lackluster 2022 campaign, successfully minimizing the porpoising that hindered its performance last year. However, the team encountered problems during testing on the weekend, with George Russell experiencing a hydraulic system failure and coming to a stop on the track on the second day.

Despite losing driver Lance Stroll to a cycling accident, Aston Martin showed promising performance during testing with Fernando Alonso at the helm. The two-time world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006 churned out lap after lap, indicating that Aston Martin has a solid foundation to build on for the 2023 season. You saw that in the qualifying as well, with Alonso taking P5. Let's see how Lance Stroll will perform in this race after missing out on pre-season testing.

In contrast, McLaren recorded the least amount of miles during testing, and the team didn't shy away from admitting their expectations for the season were low at the launch. However, the team's seemingly uncompetitive car has undoubtedly affected star driver Lando Norris, who was reportedly seen punching the wall of the McLaren garage during the testing weekend, as noted by F1 TV presenter Will Buxton.

Alfa Romeo set the pace for the midfield group, logging the highest mileage during testing. While the Swiss-based team typically starts the season strong, they tend to lose momentum as their rivals improve through continuous development. Last year, Alfa Romeo had a solid first half of the season with nine point-scoring finishes, but only managed three in the second half.

AlphaTauri, Red Bull's junior team, is leading the entire field in test miles and seems like a strong contender for the upcoming season. However, despite their impressive mileage, AlphaTauri, Haas, and Williams have technology partnerships and strategic alliances with more accomplished teams, allowing them to construct fairly reliable packages. While this reliability means more miles on the track, their cars lack the speed to compete over a typical race stint. Hopefully, Nyck de Vries's talent can help the Italian team to have better results than last year.

Haas, with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg at the helm, looks to be the strongest team in this group, having shown a respectable pace with no mechanical issues during testing. In comparison, AlphaTauri and Williams will each have a rookie driver behind the wheel. Although Williams has improved its speed dramatically over the 2022 season, the gap between the last-place team and the rest of the pack has been too significant to bridge so far.

In Formula 1, development throughout the season is as important as the one before the season starts. One team's technical progress can be rendered meaningless if the competition is developing at the same rate or better. Thus, the pressure is on every team to continually improve because remaining stagnant could cause a team to fall to the back of the pack.