The pre-season of Formula 1 concluded on Friday, after two weeks of work in the Circuit Barcelona-Catalonia, where one more year Mercedes leaves for the first race of the World Cup, the GP of Australia, with the duties done and with the favorite vitola , this course, to win the seventh world title followed.

After six days of rehearsals, spread over two weeks, Mercedes finishes in shape and Ferrari revealing that what has been seen in Barcelona is what the Italian team will offer in Melburne on March 15, since it does not hide anything, as guaranteed this Friday in Montmeló the team leader, Mattia Binotto .

If Ferrari is not going to present battle to Mercedes, one can only hope that the performances of the Dutch Max Verstappen in Red Bull (this Friday ended as second fastest after Bottas ) can put some trouble in the German cars, to avoid that one more year Toto Wolff's team will walk again for the 21 races scheduled.

In fact, the calendar has been altered by the suspension of the GP of China, and this Friday the head of F1, Chase Carey , was in Barcelona to talk with the teams to determine what measures can be taken in the face of uncertainty It is generated in part of the world by coronavirus transmission. Without going any further, this Friday the Swiss government canceled the 90th edition of the Geneva motor show, in line with what happened a few weeks ago in Barcelona when the organizers also suspended the Mobile World.

Australia, Vietnam and Bahrain remain

Pending an official pronouncement, Melburne's career remains on the calendar, as is that of Vietnam and Bahrain, before F1 returns to Europe. This Friday, Casey maintained minimal contact in the paddock with the media, to whom he transferred a position not as firm as that held on Thursday in a video conference with the United States, and showed that everything is at the expense of how the situation evolves .

On the sports plane, the sixth and final session ended this Friday again with the Mercedes as the fastest car, which in the afternoon session was that of the Finnish Valtteri Bottas , who left the clock at 1: 16,196, reducing by 89 hundredths the one signed in the morning session by Renault of the Australian Daniel Ricciardo (1: 16.276).

Bottas leaves Barcelona having been the fastest driver of the preseason, with a schedule on Friday of last week that he left at 1: 15,732, which only the tester pilot of Alfa Romeo, the experienced Polish, has approached these days Robert Kúbica (1: 15,942).

Only one day Ferrari gained all the prominence, when on Thursday Sebastian Vettel ended up being the fastest of the day (1: 16,841), with a time higher than the best reached by his partner Charles Leclerc (1: 16,360), the fourth faster this Friday.

The head of Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, had no doubt this Friday in showing his letters publicly, saying: "I already said that I cannot be optimistic, as I was last year. I can already confirm: we are not the car anymore fast. Our direct rivals are very fast. "

Another of the teams that should encourage the races is Red Bull, which with its second year riding Honda has Max Verstappen at its best. This Friday, the Dutchman was the second fastest and completed a better lap at 1: 16,269, 73 thousandths of Bottas. The Austrian team is called to be the alternative to Ferrari, if the Italian team disengages from the fight to stop Mercedes.

Concern at McLaren

In the intermediate zone there are also many doubts, due to the performance that some cars have been offering, such as the Racing Point and AlphaTauri, with times in these six days that have raised concerns in McLaren, British team of which the Spanish Carlos Sainz said This Friday you may have to review the expectations for the season.

Sainz concluded on Friday the day with 163 laps, and a better time of 1: 16,820, below his new opponents, who from Australia will want to relegate McLaren from the fourth position reached last year.

"After the Racing Point performances, we have to check our expectations. This Racing Point is so similar to the Mercedes of 2019, and when we finished the season in Abu Dhabi, we were 1.5 from the Mercedes. And this preseason we have not improved that 1.5", said the Spanish pilot, who warned that an objective that he will not put down is to enter each qualification on Saturdays in Q3.

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