After a long season, the Formula 1 drivers only took their winter break in mid-December this year. And this is shorter than ever, because the car presentations and the first test drives in Barcelona (January 26th to 30th) start in January, although these take place behind closed doors.
Only at the following two test drives in Bahrain (February 11th to 13th and 18th to 20th) will the reporters be back on site and feed the fans with news from the paddock. The season opener will take place in Melbourne’s Albert Park on the weekend of March 8th.
The big question is who will come out on top. The comprehensive rule changes that have been implemented could cause surprises and major differences in performance. Some fans are therefore asking themselves: Will this make the World Cup more boring again?
If Fernando Alonso has his way, that won’t be the case. The Aston Martin veteran is certain that the teams will be able to make great progress with the new generation of vehicles. After the season finale, he confirmed: “I’m optimistic because everyone is starting from scratch and everyone has the chance to do a better job.”
At the same time, the two-time champion warned: “We have a long season ahead of us and a lot will happen in the first three or four months. We will then know who is taking which approach and we will learn a lot in the first few races.”
With a view to his own chances, he added with his usual self-confidence: “I’m optimistic because we now have our new factory ready, we have our own wind tunnel, Honda as an exclusive engine partner, Aramco and Adrian Newey on board… That means we have a few reasons to be confident. However, this sport is highly competitive and everyone does a good job. That’s why we have to wait and see how everything develops.”
