As the first of two pre-season tests for the 2019 season concludes, it’s difficult to see which team may have an advantage going into the start of the season. Lap times don’t offer a whole lot of insight in pre-season testing since most teams opt to run programmes that are not focused on pure performance. Instead, distance driven can be a greater indicator of what teams have the most reliable cars. So, which team logged the most miles?
As expected, there is a noticeable gap between the number of laps run by the two top title contenders and everyone else on the grid, with roughly 100 laps separating Mercedes and Ferrari from the others. Mercedes led the way, narrowly edging out Ferrari on mileage, while the Italian team bested the Germans in pace. Twice as many laps were run this year compared to the same point last year, mainly due to poor weather conditions during the pre-season test lap year.
Looking further down the grid, Alfa Romeo ran a large number of laps, running more than 500 throughout the four days. At the bottom, we see Racing Point with just 248 laps run and Haas above them with 384, despite some minor issues. However, Williams finds themselves at the true bottom with only 88 laps. The British team skipped out on the first two days of testing with development delays preventing the car from running with everyone else at the start of the test.
