Performance: These Teams Riding the Momentum of Winter Testing

Red Bull

The world champion team unveiled its RB7 during the first session of these winter tests, and Adrian Newey’s creation immediately looked in place and proved itself throughout the winter. A well-developed car, especially since both drivers accumulated kilometers without major reliability issues.

But this is where the Achilles’ heel of the Austrian team lies. Indeed, the team still hasn’t managed to properly operate the KERS, accumulating issues with this system since it began using it in Malaysia. However, the performances are there, with the first three poles, two victories (Australia-Malaysia for Vettel), and both drivers on the podium in China.

Force India

The Indian team managed to maintain its mid-table position despite a later introduction of its new car during the second practice session. The team, introducing new driver Paul di Resta, allowed him to have significant track time, which helped in developing the car properly to compete in the middle of the pack.

And the team confirmed its position during the first three Grand Prix, with three finishes in the points in the first two races, an astonishing Paul di Resta outpacing Adrian Sutil.

Team Lotus

The young team has indeed made progress this winter compared to their first year. In fact, the team has made a giant leap in their performance, despite encountering some reliability issues during the winter, depriving them of valuable track time. The goal was to get closer to the second half of the pack and to distance Virgin Racing.

And that’s exactly what happened with the three Grand Prix races held this year. The small team admittedly faced some difficulties with its tires in Melbourne but had good weekends in Malaysia and China, battling against drivers from teams other than Virgin or HRT during the last Grand Prix, a unique feat in the history of the young team. Team Lotus has thus confirmed the progress seen during winter testing and can aim for more than just fighting for the tenth place in the championship.

Sauber

Sergio Pérez had demonstrated it, the C30 is well-born. Indeed, during the last week of private testing, the rookie managed to take advantage of the potential of his car to position it at the top of the timesheets, and his Japanese teammate did not disappoint.

And the first Grand Prix of the season confirmed this impression, with a double points finish in Australia (before disqualification for a few millimeters of a non-compliant part), and a car that was very economical with its tires. At the start of this season, the two Saubers seem to be set like Force India to fight for sixth place in the championship during the season.

Virgin Racing

For its second year, the team participated in the last three winter testing sessions with its new car, but the design using only CFD (and thus without a wind tunnel) is not proving effective. Neither Timo Glock nor Jérôme d’Ambrosio managed to stand out during the winter tests, almost always ranked at the bottom of the timesheets.

And no improvement has come during the start of this season, the team struggling to qualify within the 107%. The two drivers can only hope that the improvement planned for Turkey actually brings the desired performance gain, otherwise they may not be able to keep up with the development pace of the top teams.

Hispania Racing Team

The HRT team is a small exception in the rankings, given that it was during the first Grand Prix weekend that the Spanish team made its debut laps. Everyone expected the small team to be stuck at the bottom of the standings, and no miracle occurred, with even a non-qualification for the Australian race, with times beyond the 107% in Q1. But little by little, the two HRT drivers are getting closer to the Virgin drivers and both finished the Chinese race.