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The F1 pre-season test in Bahrain starts this week. We already had one "shakedown" at Barcelona where teams were able to gain an understanding of their latest challengers. Keeping all the smokescreens aside, the question stands: where do these teams stand after the first pre-season F1 test?
While it's hard to give a conclusive answer due to the unpredictable nature of F1 testing, a pattern has nevertheless emerged. This does give a rough idea of where the teams are, heading into the second pre-season test. The teams, at least for now, can be divided into three groups: the backmarkers, that seem to be struggling, for now; the midfield teams, that had a decent test and showed a decent turn of speed; and then the frontrunners, that seem to be leading the field for now.
In this piece, we go through the apparent pecking order before the Bahrain F1 pre-season test.
F1 pecking order
The Backmarkers
Alfa Romeo
The Swiss team had a disappointing start to the season. The car seemed radical enough but was ominously unreliable. The team had the lowest number of laps out of all the teams and, even when it ran, it didn't look the part. Alfa Romeo might need to start from scratch in the second test, but for now, the team seems to be in serious trouble.
Haas
If there is anything that could go wrong with Haas this season, it has. The team came under fire for the Russian sponsorship that was part of its livery, which it then got rid of. The team came under fire for the Russian driver it had in its ranks, whom it got rid of as well. Even before the test in Bahrain started, the team is on the backfoot because cargo delays could result in it losing out on even more time during the pre-season test.
The team had high hopes for the 2022 season but it has been anything but good for the team so far.
Alpine
The team can come out and claim that its performance was masked by the heavy fuel running, but two key facts cannot be ignored. The team opted not to use DRS throughout the test and then turned down their engine.
All is not well at Alpine for now and it finds itself closer to the back than the front this season.
Williams
Williams had a solid first pre-season test. The car ran like clockwork and the team ticked all the boxes. One box that the team didn't tick, however, was that of performance. Early impressions of the Williams challenger reveal a car that is underdeveloped for now as compared to the rest of the grid.
Hence, while the team ran reliably, it didn't show the kind of progress in terms of speed that it might have hoped for this season.
The Midfield
Aston Martin
Aston Martin was relatively inconsistent in the F1 test at Barcelona but the team was more or less keeping a low profile. The team racked up good mileage for the test and ran reliably. Looking at its lap times, however, it does appear that it is well entrenched in the F1 midfield and not progressing to a front-running position.
Alpha Tauri
Alpha Tauri had a quietly confident first outing. The car looks great with another striking livery for the team. Even on track, it looks well-balanced. A midfield contender? Most probably, yes. It will be hard to envisage the junior Red Bull team also fighting at the front.
The Front-runners
Mercedes
Mercedes turned up for the first F1 pre-season test with a car that appeared to be a slightly simpler solution compared to a Ferrari or a Red Bull. One of the reasons behind that is probably because a big package is coming in in Bahrain, and the first test did not have the final car running at full steam.
It is hard to predict how much of a jump Mercedes will make with the upgrades. For now, after what we saw in the first test, Mercedes finds itself in the front-running group but at the tail-end of it.
McLaren
McLaren was one of the two teams that impressed one and all with the way it pumped out lap times one after the other. The new challenger for the 2022 F1 season surely seems potent. If we are to believe what George Russell had to say, then the Woking-based outfit might be ahead of Mercedes at the moment.
Regardless, early impressions point towards a strong McLaren that slots itself into third in our standings.
Red Bull
Red Bull has one of the more dynamic solutions on the F1 grid for the current regulations. The car looks great on track and is notably one of the standouts.
The team suffered some minor reliability issues that they will have to work on, but otherwise, the car seems good to go. The team will be eagerly waiting for the major upgrade package to come its way in Bahrain to see where it would find itself in the pecking order. For now, the team ranks second in the pecking order.
Ferrari
Ferrari has been making all the right noises this F1 season. Both on and off the track. The car seems to have an upgraded engine package that is, according to rumors, one of, if not the best power unit on the grid.
At the same time, the 2022 challenger looks amazing on the track. The team will be a bit concerned with its decision not to bring a major package to Bahrain. For now, however, it's hard not to put Ferrari in pole position in the F1 pecking order.
