4 WINNERS AND 4 LOSERS FROM F1'S 2021 PRE SEASON TESTING

Winners: Red Bull

The four-time world champions ‘won’ the three-day test.This time last year, the Red Bull was nervous, with a very lairy rear-end that even Max Verstappen – widely considered as a future multiple world champion – struggled to tame. But the RB16B, an evolution of its skittish predecessor, appeared to be the polar opposite. Both Verstappen and new team mate Sergio Perez reported their new machine was stable, with the car responding quickly to set-up changes, and when in the hands of Verstappen in particular – who has been with team early in the 2016 campaign – the RB16B looked like it was on rails.

Losers: Mercedes

As Red Bull glided through pre-season with very few headaches, rivals Mercedes were having a stinker. The test started off in the worst possible way, when Valtteri Bottas was limited to a pitiful six laps on the opening morning because of a gearbox problem in the new W12 car.

Boss Toto Wolff said they could not afford another stumbling block, but they kept coming. Lewis Hamilton doesn’t usually spin, but he did so on day two and then again on the final day, suggesting the W12 was not giving the seven-time world champion the confidence he has become accustomed to.The result was that Mercedes managed just 304 laps – the fewest of any team on the grid, having topped the mileage charts last time. Last year, they did six days of testing, and clocked on average 150 laps per day. This year, over three days, that average was down at 101.

Winners: AlphaTauri

Yuki Tsunoda’s low-fuel run on the softest compound of all on the final afternoon of testing, when the conditions were at their very best, was good enough to put the team second fastest and ensure they ended pre-season on a high.Pierre Gasly and Tsunoda clocked the equal most laps of all over the three days – Alfa Romeo matched them – with 422, and while they had a series of niggles each day such as with the DRS and brake pedal, which slightly disrupted Tsunoda’s bedding in process, they seemed to get on top of them very quickly.

Losers: Aston Martin

They encountered a gearbox issue with their Mercedes transmission, there was a turbo issue too, and then there was an electrical problem. The result was they managed just 314 laps, a tally that bettered only Mercedes and more than a 100 shy of AlphaTauri’s test best.

It's not a disaster, but it's certainly not the smooth start to life Stroll, Vettel and co would have been hoping for under their new identity.

Winners: Mclaren

McLaren caught the attention of the paddock, not just with innovative diffuser strategy but also through the MCL35M’s strong performance and reliability throughout.

Their reliability is even more impressive given McLaren had their work cut out to incorporate the class-leading Mercedes power unit into their existing chassis design, as per the rules.

New driver Daniel Ricciardo seemed to get comfortable very quickly, too, benefitting from the smooth running of the car to clock up plenty of mileage – 173 laps – and starting to hustle the car in search of more performance.

Loser: Sebastian Vettel

This was not the pre-season test Sebastian Vettel wanted, the German ending up bottom of the driver mileage charts with just 117 laps – 110 short of table-topper Gasly – and finishing the test without a performance run in his pocket. But, his early feel of the car was good, he’s settling in well with his new team and he can feel there’s plenty of potential. The AMR21 is a car that should suit him, so while it may take him a bit longer to get up to speed with his new squad after a poor test, there’s still a belief he will get up to speed and start pushing the team forward.

Winner: Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo's pre season testing was perfect. The Australian got used to his new car very quickly and set the fastest lap in the morning session both on Friday and on Sunday. In addition he didn't suffer any reliability issue and he seems ready to shine in the Bahrain grand prix for Mclaren.

Losers: Haas

Haas almost broke the 400-lap mark, the American team showing impressive reliability given they only fired up their car on the eve of the test.

However, their development of the VF-21 has been limited, with their focus instead on diverting as much resource as possible to 2022, when the regulations change dramatically.It means their rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin are in for a challenging season, especially given their pace relative to rivals as attention turned to performance was nothing to write home about. 

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