F1 Barcelona pre-season testing live commentary - day 5
Barcelona's F1 shakedown test is onto its final day. Follow along for updates as they happen.
Live Text
All's quiet at Barcelona
cjewell says: "Circa three hours into the final 'secret test' day and no on-track update of any significance ... has the world's secret service surrounded the track complete with intercept missiles?"
You're closer than you know - well, sort of. Security around the circuit has been heightened for the final day, according to those in the vicinity. Some suspect this is because Alonso's on the scene today.
So, for those not reading the comments - we'll throw this excellent excerpt from commenter Nik: "As its kind of quiet thought I'd throw this one in, around the turn of the century Toyota came close to entering F1 with TOM'S in the UK. I was there, dimensions of the engine were in the then new CAD system, we made a wind tunnel model etc, had meetings with senior Toyota folks who came to Hingham."
That's very cool - there seemed to be a phase of Japanese tuners/smaller manufacturers on the cusp of F1 in the '90s. I once spoke to Marco Apicella a few years back about the Dome F1 project - he said this:
"In that moment in Japan, the money was very good. So they tried, they built the car, they tested it - then something went wrong. Maybe just the money in the end, that's always the main problem! I'm not able to tell you what was the level of the car because we tested in Suzuka, but on the short track, and we tested in Tokachi, a race track that was never used in Formula 1, so it’s difficult to get any information for this. [But] it was good, the [Mugen Honda] engine was good. How fast [was it compared to other F1 cars]? I don't know."
Dome F105
Photo by: Dome Cars
Oh yeah, there's testing on...
Wasn't that a nice little tangent?
Per SoyMotor, Piastri currently leads the unofficial timing charts with a 1m17.446s. Verstappen has set a 1m18.552s, Bearman on a 1m19.079s, and Leclerc on a 1m19.230s.
All meaningless at this stage, but it goes to show that the times are keeping on. Alonso has only done installation laps thus far in that new Aston Martin.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: McLaren
Fake tales of the Nordschleife
Tim Havard has posted this wonderful nugget: "As a bit of entertainment given the lack of reporting possible on the test-cum-shakedown how about following the legendary DSJ's lead with the reporting on the 1977 German GP. Disgusted that F1 had abandoned the Nordschleife for Hockenheim, his report for Motor Sport was an entirely fictional account of a non-championship race at the Ring, including March running their 6 wheeled car, whilst the real race report was restricted to one page and entitled 'The Kleine Prix von Deutschland'!"
In a similar vein, Hunter S. Thompson's opus Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas was developed from a manuscript he'd sent to Sports Illustrated about the Mint 400 off-road race in Nevada. Originally a 250-word photo-caption assignment, he instead sent a 2,500 piece based on his 'experiences' which the publication rejected.
He was simultaneously writing an exposé on the death of journalist Ruben Salazar, who had been killed by the LA County's Sheriff Department at a Mexican-American march against the Vietnam war, for Rolling Stone - and so, a lengthier version of that manuscript was published there following HST's work (and ingestion of copious quantities of illicit substances) in Vegas.
The Mint 400 was a mere sidenote in the story.
DAS is gut
iain.coulson says "McLaren's F-duct was a good innovation, a pre-curser to DRS, and Mercedes Dual Axis Steering of course. Both hidden innovations to the naked eye, but genius none-the-less."
I was only a mere viewer when the F-duct came out, but it was a brilliant solution - it takes some level of ingenuity to think "let's put a little intake on the chassis, duct it through the cockpit and, when the driver puts their hand over it, it stalls the rear wing for better straightline speed". It's like I always say: F1's full of some of the brightest minds in engineering, all putting their intellect into making a car go fast...
I remember being in the Barcelona media centre when the DAS was first demonstrated in 2020. Lewis Hamilton bombed down the straight, beckoned the steering wheel towards him, and the front wheels both turned inwards very slightly - leaving many of us in awe. The rules said that only the steering wheel may operate the wheels, but did not specify that it could only be done so in one axis.
This was a tool that could improve the front-end tyre temperature distribution on an outlap, an area where the team had 'struggled' over the past couple of years.
The Mercedes W11 at Barcelona testing. The black livery emerged much later.
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Six wheels on my wagon...
DGSilva has suggested the Williams FW07D - this was the six-wheeler that the team tested, subsequent to the introduction of Tyrrell's six-wheeled P34.
While Tyrrell used four smaller wheels at the front, the FW07D had four at the back - all driven and of the same dimensions as the front wheels. Williams had identified that the then-massive rear wheels were a big factor in its aerodynamic drag and, as one of the pre-eminent teams using the Cosworth DFV, wanted a way to get more straightline speed from the car to fight against the turbocharged runners.
This was tested in 1982, leading to further running on a similarly laid-out FW08B. The rear-end traction was impressive, to the point where the FIA (or FISA at the time) set a maximum of four wheels, with only two being driven.
Keke Rosberg, Williams FW07D
Photo by: Getty Images
Innovations chat: Lotus 88
rjthirkettle says "I’m showing my age but the gorgeous Lotus 88 double sprang chassis."
This was an interesting car, certainly - for those who want to know more, it had a softly-sprung inner chassis that kept the tub reasonably well-damped, and a stiffly-sprung outer chassis that ensured all of the aero parts remained static.
The idea was to ensure the drivers weren't being put through the literal arse-ache of having to drive a ground-effect car, as they were left well-cushioned against the lumps and bumps of the circuits. Some of the drivers might have wished for something similar with the 2022-25 cars.
Nigel Mansell, Lotus 88 Ford
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Driver61 did a really nice video on it recently, if you want to check that out.
Weather watch
Victor N would like a weather report, so let's start with that. It's dry, and around 11C at the moment - so no inclement weather to speak of at the moment.
Very standard "January testing weather at Barcelona", really. Which is good, I suppose.
Piastri's pace
Spanish publication SoyMotor (which I think is supposed to be a translation of "I am motor", rather than a vegan alternative) reports that Piastri has clocked in a 1m18.950s today.
George Russell set the best time of the test so far on Thursday with a 1m16.641s.
Game time!
So, here's a game for you: what's your favourite unique F1 innovation? It could be a wing in a weird place, a cheeky little rules loophole, or just some hare-brained scheme that never had a chance of working.
I'm taking the X-wings from the Tyrrell 025. Apparently, this was tested on a whim in the wind tunnel with some spare bits of aerofoil, and it worked in high-downforce environments.
Mika Salo, Tyrrell 025 Ford
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Or we can just sit and chat about music, the Australian Open, non-league football, or baking. I'm easy.
One lap at a time
An encouraging start to the final day of the test: every team has now put at least one lap on the board this morning.
Shakedowns are all about trying to "break" the car. The tests in Bahrain will then be about exploring performance and what makes the cars tick.
The last time F1 did a Barcelona pre-season test...
F1 did its most recent collective test at Barcelona back in 2022, probably the first pre-season test I think many of us in the F1 paddock had been to since before COVID. Since then, a week or two in Bahrain has usually been sufficient for pre-season.
Of course, the 'fun' bit (and Haydn might have already told this story) was having our flights home cancelled as British Airways had a little IT meltdown. Since we never get to see actual Barcelona and usually spend our time staring at the Catalan trading estate the circuit sits within, we stayed in the city for a couple of extra nights.
Highlight was going to watch Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0, although Haydn probably missed a chunk of it as he was manning the news desk from the Camp Nou.
Before Mercedes unveiled its zeropod in 2022, it looked like this in the Barcelona test
Photo by: Erik Junius
Red Bull back on track after missing two days
After running on Monday and Tuesday, Red Bull had to sit and twiddle its thumbs over the following two days of running as it awaited the arrival of spare parts - a result of Isack Hadjar's crash.
But they're out today - Max Verstappen in the car for the morning.
Alonso hits the circuit
Our man Pol Hermoso of Motorsport.com Spain has found somewhere to sit and watch the action - and he's seen Fernando Alonso hit the road on board the Aston Martin.
The AMR26 only did five laps yesterday before Lance Stroll stopped on the track in the final hour of the test. Still, it's better than nothing...
And Merc would do 500 laps
...and Merc would do 500 more, just to be the Merc who does 1000 laps, but can't because they've already fulfilled the limit on three of the five days over this test. Da-da da da!
Doesn't quite scan with the Proclaimers' classic "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", but after doing 502 laps of the Barcelona circuit, Mercedes is done for the week. Racing Bulls has also completed on its three day limit.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Aston Martin AMR26 analysis
Early risers
For many of us, the morning can be a struggle. But, for those at Audi, Cadillac, Haas, Ferrari, Red Bull and Alpine, they've already got up, breakfasted, showered (hopefully), got to the circuit, and got a car running.
McLaren should be out in a bit, after losing a bit of running yesterday due to a fuel system issue, as should Aston Martin. Its Adrian Newey-led design turned heads when it briefly emerged yesterday...
Your live text guides for today
This morning, you're stuck with me (Jake Boxall-Legge) on the live decks. I was supposed to be on for Monday morning too, but McLaren's reveal stuff kept me a little bit busy. Feel free to comment with any questions, either about the test or one of my other interests.
At lunchtime, I'll then hand over to the Wirral's own Ed Hardy, who I'm sure will put the finishing touches on his F1 name Scrabble tournament. Did anyone suggest Fabrizio Barbazza yet?
The final day of shakedown
Good morning everyone - yes, it's Friday, so that means the final day of the Barcelona shakedown is upon us.
Let's get into it, shall we?
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: TWJB Photography
By: Autosport Staff
