The first pre-season test of the 2018 season has now finished. Unfortunately, due to the extremely poor weather, the test likely didn’t yield as much data as the teams would have liked and it has likely set many teams behind in the test programmes.
Heavy rain, low temperatures and even snow limited running a lot throughout the week. Despite that, Toro Rosso was able to set the most laps in the test, proving that the new Honda power unit is more reliable than last year’s engine. Force India completed the least amount of running in the first test with Haas and Red Bull also having completed substantially less laps of running compared to their rivals.
Overall, the first test was not very useful for teams to iron out issues and it was not a clear indicator of the teams’ performance relative to their competitors. Hopefully the weather will be improved for the second pre-season test and the test will be more productive for the teams.
