25/02/2020
NEWS STORY
With last week's three days of testing effectively the FP1 and FP2 for the 2020 season, things will ramp up this week as we head into FP3 and Qualifying, as the teams switch from consistency and reliability to performance and pace.
Friday's numerous red flags played havoc with the race sims, so no doubt we should see more of these in the coming days, while this Friday should see the 2020 machines really stretch their legs, allowing some to make a psychological point as the circus heads off to Australia.
While the pace and reliability of the Mercedes is a given, it remains to be seen whether Ferrari and Red Bull can close the gap.
While Ferrari claims that it has no intention of ramping up the power during testing, it will surely want to curb some of the negativity that arose over the course of last week's test.
Then again, following Mercedes claim that the Italian team is deliberately running its power units at a lower rate than its customer teams it will be interesting to see if this continues in the days ahead.
Like the Maranello outfit, Red Bull has yet to show its hand, but the overriding feeling is that the Austrian team and its engine partner has taken a step forward.
Amidst speculation that Racing Point may have the edge on Ferrari, observers will be keen to see not only whether this might be the case, but also how the whole midfield shakes out, with particular focus on McLaren and Williams.
With Melbourne just a couple of weeks away we are likely to see more updates over the next few days, though it remains to be seen if there are any further innovations similar to the dual axis steering system that grabbed the headlines.
In many ways, last week was the calm before the storm, and over the next three days as the expectation increases in line with the demands from both man and machine, it is going to be fascinating to see how things unfold.
| Team | Wed 26 | Thu 27 | Fri 28 |
| Mercedes | Ham/Bottas | TBC | TBC |
| Ferrari | Vet/Lec | Vettel | Leclerc |
| Red Bull | Alb/Vers | Vers/Alb | Alb/Vers |
| McLaren | Sainz/Norr | Norris | Sainz |
| Renault | Ricc/Ocon | Ocon/Ricc | Ricc/Ocon |
| AlphaTauri | Gasly/Kvyat | Gasly | Kvyat |
| Racing Point | Stroll/Perez | Stroll | Perez |
| Alfa Romeo | Kub/Raikk | Giovinazzi | Raikkonen |
| Haas | Grosjean | Magnussen | Mag/Gros |
| Williams | Lat/Russ | Latifi | Russell |