F1 cars (ft. Transformers Autobots) in Pre-season Testing - F1 Explained

All 10 teams have launched their 2023 cars in the last two weeks. What's next?

Pre-season testing, of course. 'Testing is boring', they say.

Trust us, 'they' and you need to hear our F1 Explained episode about pre-season testing. We tell you WHY it's exciting. 

But before that, we dive into what exactly is a pre-season test? Why do Formula 1 teams and drivers need to 'test'? Why are there only 3 days of testing? Do the teams-drivers HAVE to participate in the test?

And finally, can the results from pre-season testing be taken seriously? Like, will we know which team-driver is the title favourite for the 2023 Formula 1 season?

(Season 2023, Episode 5)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Mithila Mehta, Soumil Arora, Sundaram Ramaswami

Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool

## Pre-Season Testing in Formula One: A Comprehensive Explanation

**Introduction:**
Pre-season testing in Formula One is a crucial event that marks the beginning of a new season. It provides teams and drivers with an opportunity to evaluate their cars and prepare for the upcoming races. This episode of the "F1 Explained" podcast delves into the significance of pre-season testing, addressing various questions and offering insights into the process.

**What is Pre-Season Testing?**
Pre-season testing is the first opportunity for teams to run their new cars on track. During these tests, teams meticulously examine every aspect of the car, ensuring that it functions properly and meets the regulations. The primary objective is to identify and resolve any issues before the start of the season.

**Why Do Teams and Drivers Need Pre-Season Testing?**
Pre-season testing is essential for several reasons. It allows teams to:

* Evaluate the overall performance and reliability of their cars.
* Test various components, including the power unit, suspension, steering, and gearbox.
* Gather data on tire performance and aerodynamic efficiency.
* Familiarize drivers with the new car and assess their comfort and confidence.
* Practice pit stops and other race-related procedures.

**Why Are There Only 3 Days of Testing?**
To ensure fairness and level the playing field, Formula One limits pre-season testing to three days. This restriction prevents teams with larger budgets from gaining an unfair advantage by conducting extensive testing. It also encourages efficiency and forces teams to make the most of the limited time available.

**Do Teams Have to Participate in Pre-Season Testing?**
Participation in pre-season testing is optional, but it is strongly advised. Teams that choose not to participate may face significant disadvantages, as they will have less time to prepare for the season and may struggle to identify and resolve issues with their cars.

**Can Pre-Season Testing Results be Taken Seriously?**
While pre-season testing provides valuable insights, it is important to note that the results should not be taken as an accurate predictor of the season's outcome. Teams often focus on different aspects of their cars during testing, making it difficult to draw direct comparisons. Additionally, factors such as fuel loads, tire compounds, and weather conditions can influence lap times and performance.

**Conclusion:**
Pre-season testing is an integral part of Formula One, providing teams and drivers with a crucial opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season. While the results may not directly indicate the championship contenders, they offer valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each team's car. As the hype train for the new season begins, pre-season testing serves as an exciting prelude to the highly anticipated Formula One races.

[00:00.000 -> 00:18.500] Music
[00:18.500 -> 00:20.500] Cast your mind back to your school days.
[00:20.500 -> 00:25.600] What did you think of when you heard the word test? Do memories of
[00:25.600 -> 00:29.840] putting in a lot of hard work into something very boring and unappealing
[00:29.840 -> 00:37.060] often come to mind? If that's the case high five my friend. Ah ditto. When it
[00:37.060 -> 00:41.000] comes to the love of our lives, Formula One, it can be easy to look at the word
[00:41.000 -> 00:51.120] test in a similar way too. Boring, repetitive and often very very demanding. However that is hardly the case when you know what
[00:51.120 -> 00:55.720] truly goes on and the impact that it has on the year ahead. Testing in fact
[00:55.720 -> 01:00.360] happens to be one of the most exciting times of the year but why do I say that?
[01:00.360 -> 01:05.040] What really happens in testing? Why do they do it? And why does it only
[01:05.040 -> 01:09.960] happen in Bahrain off late? Here's F1 explained by F1 stats guru and the
[01:09.960 -> 01:14.400] inside line F1 podcast. The show where we simplify the complex sport of Formula
[01:14.400 -> 01:21.560] One for the new fans and also to serve as a preseason refresher to the veterans.
[01:24.400 -> 01:29.240] Let's get to the questions we've been asked regularly about pre-season testing.
[01:29.240 -> 01:31.160] First up, the most basic one.
[01:31.160 -> 01:33.400] What is pre-season testing?
[01:33.400 -> 01:37.960] Quite simply put, it's the first time to check out how a brand new car functions on track.
[01:37.960 -> 01:40.400] The teams check every single parameter on the car.
[01:40.400 -> 01:44.760] The power unit, the suspension, the steering, the gearbox, you name it.
[01:44.760 -> 01:45.520] The first run checks to ensure that the car is running as it should, like a car. The power unit, the suspension, the steering, the gearbox, you name it. The first run checks
[01:45.520 -> 01:50.820] to ensure that the car is running as it should, like a car. And once the car runs like a car,
[01:50.820 -> 01:55.040] they increase performance gradually to run it as a race car.
[01:55.040 -> 01:59.920] Is it an official test? Yes, this is the only pre-season test that Formula 1 teams are permitted
[01:59.920 -> 02:05.240] to participate in. All other forms of pre-season testing are banned.
[02:05.240 -> 02:10.400] Will the teams use their 2023 cars? Yes, they will. But one should remember that the car
[02:10.400 -> 02:14.320] that shows up for pre-season testing could be very different from the car that shows
[02:14.320 -> 02:19.440] up for the first few races. And be very, very, very different from the car that will race
[02:19.440 -> 02:24.680] in the final round in Abu Dhabi. But that's Formula 1 for you. The cars evolve as the
[02:24.680 -> 02:26.080] season progresses.
[02:26.080 -> 02:31.680] Here's a fun fact, a team can end up arriving with an illegal car in testing, I mean a car
[02:31.680 -> 02:36.560] that's outside of the rule book, and not be penalized for it. It won't serve them much
[02:36.560 -> 02:41.920] purpose anyway, but testing rules don't govern that the car has to conform to the regulation.
[02:41.920 -> 02:45.680] Yes, Formula 1 is simple yet complex.
[02:45.680 -> 02:51.080] Okay, on to more questions now. Will the pre-season test be televised? Yes, it will be, depending
[02:51.080 -> 02:55.600] on which country you live in, and it'll also be live on F1 TV.
[02:55.600 -> 03:00.660] So do teams have to participate in the test? No, it's optional, but it's very unwise not
[03:00.660 -> 03:09.780] to participate, and we'll explain why in this episode but technically a team could choose to not show up or show up and do just a single lap there are no
[03:09.780 -> 03:14.320] compulsions to participating in the pre-season test
[03:16.720 -> 03:22.220] frankly though it's the performance runs that we are all interested in is the new
[03:22.220 -> 03:29.080] cars aerodynamic philosophy working as intended? Remember these cars go through intense simulations and wind tunnel
[03:29.080 -> 03:33.640] programs and the test helps teams to correlate their simulated race car to
[03:33.640 -> 03:39.940] the real-world race car on the track. In an age of so much high-level simulation
[03:39.940 -> 03:47.680] power being available, testing still remains crucial. You can only ever simulate so much.
[03:47.680 -> 03:52.700] Think of it as a practical exam for any project you've undertaken. In theory and in the design
[03:52.700 -> 03:58.000] room, everything might look fantastic, but only testing can reveal problems like porpoising
[03:58.000 -> 04:03.020] which can truly challenge teams. And there are some more basic performance related questions
[04:03.020 -> 04:05.100] that the teams will be out to find answers to as well.
[04:05.720 -> 04:12.760] How are the new tires performing? And of course above all else, is the car reliable?
[04:13.100 -> 04:17.720] In the upcoming pre-season test, be prepared to hear the regular motorsport adage.
[04:17.880 -> 04:22.280] It's easier to make a fast car reliable than a reliable car fast.
[04:23.000 -> 04:28.000] than a reliable car fast.
[04:32.840 -> 04:37.960] Let's also talk about the tyres. A question we've been asked a few times is, what tyres will the teams be using in testing? They will use Pirelli's latest tyres that will be
[04:37.960 -> 04:41.940] used at the races in the upcoming season. But one thing that won't be the same as
[04:41.940 -> 04:45.560] the equipment used within the season will be the sensors.
[04:45.560 -> 04:50.000] The best part of Formula 1 testing, for me, is when the cars turn into Autobots.
[04:50.000 -> 04:54.400] To track performance data, the teams put a lot of sensors on the cars.
[04:54.400 -> 04:59.000] These sensors are mounted on grill-like contraptions that are attached to the front, the rear and
[04:59.000 -> 05:00.600] the middle of the car.
[05:00.600 -> 05:03.920] These contraptions test the airflow over the car.
[05:03.920 -> 05:08.400] And I kid you not, the cars almost look like a prop out of your favourite Transformers
[05:08.400 -> 05:09.400] movie.
[05:09.400 -> 05:14.320] And then there's the Fluovis paint, a fluorescent-ish paint that also helps teams understand airflow
[05:14.320 -> 05:17.160] over various parts of their car.
[05:17.160 -> 05:20.960] You'll also see F1 cars in an avatar you would have never ever seen before in your
[05:20.960 -> 05:27.920] life, often with really exotic testing liveries that the silly teams don't use for the whole year. I know it's a sponsor's nightmare but
[05:27.920 -> 05:34.960] have you seen the camouflaged zebra Red Bull from 2015? Only in testing.
[05:37.480 -> 05:43.120] So here's the tricky part, we've now understood what a Formula One pre-season
[05:43.120 -> 05:46.360] test is, why it is conducted and how teams
[05:46.360 -> 05:50.800] track the performance of their car and also of their rivals.
[05:50.800 -> 05:55.880] But the tricky part is that the results of the pre-season test almost mean nothing for
[05:55.880 -> 05:57.300] the season.
[05:57.300 -> 06:00.920] Can one predict which team will be the quickest from pre-season testing?
[06:00.920 -> 06:02.300] Not really.
[06:02.300 -> 06:04.600] Can one predict individual driver performance?
[06:04.600 -> 06:05.800] Basically, who's the
[06:05.800 -> 06:09.360] favorite for the season's World Championship? The answer to that is a
[06:09.360 -> 06:15.280] strong no as well. Let's get to why this is an impossible task. Firstly, Formula
[06:15.280 -> 06:19.720] One teams are like wily foxes. They almost never give away their pace
[06:19.720 -> 06:26.040] advantage in preseason testing and also in what area their strengths lie. Quite often we tend
[06:26.040 -> 06:31.080] to look at testing times and get super excited about a certain team having a promising year
[06:31.080 -> 06:36.280] and potentially winning the title, mostly Ferrari, but it always doesn't work that
[06:36.280 -> 06:41.480] way. In testing, teams are often looking to run the cars in a way that they can test as
[06:41.480 -> 06:45.680] many different scenarios as possible. There are so many variables
[06:45.680 -> 06:51.600] to account for. Fuel loads, tyre compounds, time of the day when the lap time was set,
[06:51.600 -> 06:55.600] driver performance, whether or not the team allowed the driver to push, different power
[06:55.600 -> 07:01.800] unit modes and just so much more. Only once these things are uniform can we possibly compare
[07:01.800 -> 07:08.460] car performance and even then so many things influence that too like circuit characteristics, weather conditions and so
[07:08.460 -> 07:13.380] on. Long story short you can't ever identify who's certainly going to win
[07:13.380 -> 07:17.500] the title but you can figure out which teams look strong and at what parts of
[07:17.500 -> 07:21.380] the circuit which can then provide a pretty decent indication of the car's
[07:21.380 -> 07:25.120] strengths and its weaknesses which need to be worked on. By
[07:25.120 -> 07:28.600] the way I have a very very good tip for you. Do you want to know how to lose a
[07:28.600 -> 07:33.720] million dollars? Just bet on the results from pre-season testing. Simple, easy,
[07:33.720 -> 07:37.560] effective, always works.
[07:39.640 -> 07:45.400] Let's remember topping pre-season testing isn't a team's key objective. Their focus is going to be on running thoroughly through their pre-season testing isn't a team's key objective.
[07:45.400 -> 07:49.140] Their focus is going to be on running thoroughly through their pre-season testing programme
[07:49.140 -> 07:56.240] to evaluate all the car parts, set up possibilities, evaluate the performance parameters and also,
[07:56.240 -> 07:58.840] crucially getting the drivers settled in.
[07:58.840 -> 08:04.200] Because guys, the Formula 1 drivers, they've not been at work since Abu Dhabi last year.
[08:04.200 -> 08:05.340] So it's really important
[08:05.340 -> 08:10.580] for them to get back in the rhythm or brush off some rust as we call it in the world of
[08:10.580 -> 08:17.800] motorsport. This rust also exists for the pit crew. They've done hundreds and thousands
[08:17.800 -> 08:23.580] of hours of practice in the factories at the off-season. But at the pre-season test, they'll
[08:23.580 -> 08:26.260] be practicing in more real conditions
[08:26.260 -> 08:28.180] after a long time.
[08:28.180 -> 08:34.600] Now given that this is the only pre-season test before the season starts, reliability
[08:34.600 -> 08:40.980] that is key from the teams and the drivers. Teams that have poor reliability, guys, they're
[08:40.980 -> 08:47.600] really going to be under the scanner, you know, during these gruelling days of testing, everyone's gonna be watching them.
[08:47.600 -> 08:52.720] Because if your car doesn't run, how will you collect data on what parts work well and
[08:52.720 -> 08:54.720] what isn't working?
[08:54.720 -> 08:59.120] This will only further limit performance and you know, it could leave teams like Williams
[08:59.120 -> 09:03.760] in 2019 lost and alone at the back.
[09:03.760 -> 09:06.880] Mercedes actually put it very simply and very eloquently.
[09:06.880 -> 09:12.000] Reliability, correlation and learning, these will be the focus points when it comes to
[09:12.000 -> 09:14.200] pre-season testing in Bahrain.
[09:14.200 -> 09:21.480] Okay, so a few of you have asked why testing is held in Bahrain and only for 3 days.
[09:21.480 -> 09:30.160] Before we get there, and I know you all are very interested to hear about that, here's some history about pre-season testing with F1 Stats Guru Sundaram.
[09:35.920 -> 09:40.720] In the past, testing was absolutely unlimited. And so teams had a separate testing team within
[09:40.720 -> 09:48.640] the race team just to run the car every weekend sometimes even during race weekends. They would get days and days of unrestricted track time to
[09:48.640 -> 09:54.120] test new parts, systems, softwares and even drivers. In 2005, Ferrari spent close to
[09:54.120 -> 09:59.360] 130 days testing across 11 circuits using six different drivers. That
[09:59.360 -> 10:03.320] definitely wouldn't have fit into the current budget gap. Basically it was
[10:03.320 -> 10:10.080] playing to another famous motorsport adage, the more the money, the faster you go. But since many seasons, Formula 1 has
[10:10.080 -> 10:15.280] decided to offer the same testing opportunities to all teams, big or small. It's their way of
[10:15.280 -> 10:21.360] leveling the playing field. That is why pre-season testing is limited and in-season testing is banned.
[10:21.360 -> 10:25.320] Also, efficiency is now the name of the game in Formula One, not just
[10:25.320 -> 10:30.720] in terms of power units, but also in testing. A team gets only 3 days to test, and if you
[10:30.720 -> 10:34.960] are a driver, you will share the days with your team mate. So in effect, a driver gets
[10:34.960 -> 10:39.240] just a day and a half to settle in before the season. In fact, if you are driving for
[10:39.240 -> 10:43.560] a smaller team, then there is a chance that the team's official test or reserve driver,
[10:43.560 -> 10:47.500] who is probably paying to be a part of the team, gets a few sessions in as well.
[10:47.500 -> 10:51.500] But can you imagine, as a team, all you get is three days.
[10:51.500 -> 10:58.500] To see if thousands of parts are working up to expectations, and then to examine their relation and performance with each other,
[10:58.500 -> 11:01.500] keeping in mind performance and reliability.
[11:01.500 -> 11:05.360] And finally, why is the pre-season test held only in Bahrain?
[11:09.840 -> 11:15.360] In the past, testing always used to happen in Spain, either at the Circuit Barcelona Catalonia
[11:15.360 -> 11:20.480] or at Jerez. Have the Sheikhs paid extra to bring this to the Middle East as well?
[11:20.480 -> 11:25.920] Well, possibly. The Sheikhs are so obsessed with Formula 1 these days that they're actually trying to
[11:25.920 -> 11:27.760] buy the sport as we all know.
[11:27.760 -> 11:33.760] But anyway, testing shifted to Bahrain in 2021 when COVID was rampant and moving from
[11:33.760 -> 11:38.320] the team's headquarters to Spain and then back to Bahrain in just two weeks was just
[11:38.320 -> 11:40.440] way too much travel.
[11:40.440 -> 11:51.920] So they decided to cut one trip out, not for them but also the tons of freight involved and instead just decided to test in Bahrain itself and that's become a micro tradition that saves costs.
[11:52.540 -> 11:58.360] Spain still was and is quite the location to test though. Most Formula One teams are based in Europe
[11:58.360 -> 12:00.520] so transportation is easier via the road.
[12:00.840 -> 12:05.240] The circuit itself has very good facilities and is known as the most ideal
[12:05.240 -> 12:10.360] track to test a car's downforce around given its long straight and the different types
[12:10.360 -> 12:16.000] of corner profiles available. Nevertheless, as testing time has been chopped down massively,
[12:16.000 -> 12:21.000] the teams just find it more convenient to test and race in Bahrain one after the other.
[12:21.000 -> 12:26.000] And like I said, maybe just maybe, sheikhs are paying extra for it.
[12:26.000 -> 12:29.000] I am leaving out the best for the last though.
[12:29.000 -> 12:36.000] It is also in testing where we get to see teams introduce brand new innovations on their car.
[12:36.000 -> 12:41.000] I recollect how the dual-axis steering wheel on the Mercedes car turned heads in the parrock
[12:41.000 -> 12:45.760] and sparked several discussions among experts on whether the system was legal or not.
[12:46.680 -> 12:50.680] Let's see if something equally intriguing turns up in this year's pre-season test.
[12:51.400 -> 12:58.600] And finally, the brief glimpses of performance will tease our imagination wild on what to expect in the coming season.
[12:59.400 -> 13:02.320] Remember, the Formula 1 season is a long one.
[13:02.920 -> 13:08.000] And it's in pre-season testing where the hype train starts and most of us hop on board.
[13:08.000 -> 13:14.000] Thank you so much for listening to yet another episode of F1 Explained on the Insideline F1 podcast.
[13:14.000 -> 13:19.000] If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to leave a good rating, to subscribe to the podcast,
[13:19.000 -> 13:24.000] and share it with all your friends and family members who would like this episode as well.
[13:24.000 -> 13:28.320] Thank you for listening and we'll be back rather soon. Take care. Bye-bye.
[13:43.730 -> 13:45.730] you