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2017 Formula One Season kicks off in Melbourne, Australia on March 26th. There are no new circuits this year. The German Grand Prix has once again been dropped.
2017 is set to witness much faster, wider and louder cars. These cars will be physically more challenging for the drivers.
Teams and Drivers:
1. Scuderia Ferrari
Drivers: 5.Sebastian Vettel
7.Kimi Raikkonen
Power Unit: Ferrari
Name : SF70H
© Scuderia Ferrari
2.Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team
Drivers: 77. Valtteri Bottas
44 Lewis Hamilton
Power unit: Mercedes
Name : W08
© motorsport.com
3.Williams Martini Racing
Drivers: 19.Felipe Massa
18.Lance Stroll
Power Unit: Mercedes
Name : FW40
© Sutton Images
4. Red Bull Racing
Drivers: 3.Daniel Ricciardo
33.Max Verstappen
Power Unit: TAG Heuer
Name : RB13
© Redbull racing
5.Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers: 26.Daniil Kvyat
55.Carlos Sainz jr
Power Unit: Renault
Name : STR12
© Sutton Images
6.Renault Sport
Drivers: 27.Nico Hulkenberg
30.Jolyon Palmer
Power Unit: Renault
Name : RS17
© Sutton Images
7.Mclaren Honda
Drivers: 14.Fernando Alonso
2.Stoffel Vandoorne
Power Unit: Honda
Name : MCL32
© Sutton Images
8.Sauber F1 Team
Drivers : 9.Marcus Ercisson
94. Pascal Wehrlein
Power Unit : Ferrari
Name : C36-Ferrari
© Sauber
9.Haas F1 Team
Drivers : 8.Romain Grosjean
20.Kevin Magnussen
Power Unit : Ferrari
Name : VS-17
© Haas
10. Sahara Force India
Drivers : 11.Sergio Perez
31.Esteban Ocon
Power Unit : Mercedes
Name : VJM10
© Sutton Images
Nico Rosberg's shock retirement gifted Valtteri Bottas an amazing opportunity with Mercedes. Bottas has signed a 1-year contract with the team. Felipe Massa who had the shortest retirement in the history F1 re-joined Williams signing a 1-year contract.
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel's contracts with McLaren and Ferrari respectively expires at the end of 2017, which probably explains Mercedes wanting just a one-year contract with Bottas. Toto Wolff says that they would like their options for 2018.
- What we know from the first F1 test
We knew F1 cars this year were going to be quicker and the test has just proved it. Already 3 seconds faster than 2016's test , Mercedes and Ferrari have lapped the Catalunya Circuit in the quickest times F1 has seen since the double-diffuser Brawn cars in 2009. The cars are much bigger and just look good in general.
Mercedes still have an upper hand over rest of the field. The silver arrows set two fastest laps and finished the most mileage.
Mercedes were constantly pushed by Ferrari who did very similar lap times. Ferrari was the team that stood out this test, so much so that Mclaren described Ferrari's form as "surprsing".However, it is impossible to judge the team's true performance. The number of variables like Engine settings, Fuel loads, the type of program they are running and of course the tyres all play a part in delivering lap times.
Mercedes are clearly out in front but do they have reliability issues? An electrical fault meant that Lewis Hamilton had to sit out the final day of testing. An upgraded engine is set to be fitted in the W08 for Melbourne meaning the Mercedes are only going to have more performance gains. So expect them to be faster than they already are.
Redbull didn't seem to play a big part in the first test. They did runs for aerodynamic purposes and not too many laps in general. Redbull is a team to watch out for in the second test.They certainly have something up their sleeves and are holding back performance.
The good news is that Renault engines work and to quote James Key who is Toro Rosso's designer
"Renault have turned a huge corner".
Mclaren's woes continue. There was recurring reliability issues and as a consequence not too many laps were completed. At this point everyone is unsure if Honda will be able to deliver a power level enough to match the top runners.There is a tight mid-field between Williams , Force India , Toro Rosso and Reanult. We can expect to see them fight hard for positions on track.
Until the next race,
Goodbye
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