The first eight days of pre-season testing are in the books for the 2014 Formula 1 season. The last four are set to begin tomorrow in Bahrain, and thanks to this season’s sweeping regulation changes, we should be in for a big opening grand prix in Australia on March 16.
For this third and final pre-season test, Pirelli has rolled out another 30 sets of new tires per car, amidst positive reviews. Though these compounds are entirely new, last year’s color-coding system remains the same: orange (hard), white (medium), yellow (soft), red (supersoft), green (intermediate), and blue (wet). Last year Pirelli made a controversial compound change mid-year to combat dangerous delamination issues, most spectacularly witnessed by Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone. It would inevitably dictate a change in the season.
This year’s P Zero compound is said to retain similar performance to the 2013 tires with less degradation. This is good news, considering drivers are already worried about whether their car will lap the circuit, much less if their tires will last. The new tires feature a larger contact patch to help apply the extra torque of this year’s 1.6L hybrid-V6 engines, but also have been designed to tolerate larger temperature variances.
The stage has been set in Bahrain. Red Bull and the rest of the Renault-engined teams must fight to reclaim lost ground on Mercedes and Ferrari. But you’d be remiss to consider the championship already out of reach for Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo. It might be an ugly start to the season for Red Bull, but Bernie Ecclestone may eat his words in November, if Vettel wins thanks to double-points.
RELATED: F1 Continues Tricky Preseason Testing in Jerez
RELATED: Formula 1 Teams Complete Day One of Bahrain Testing
[via Pirelli]
