Column | How the 2022 Formula 1 teams stand ahead of the Bahrain GP

The front end of F1

Although it has not yet become clear which team will be the best, a clear front group is visible. Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and Mercedes all showed something indicating a role at the forefront for this season. The question is what the proportions are within this leading group.

Ferrari was the surprise of this test week with the most miles driven of anyone in Barcelona and Bahrain. Unlike the competition, the Italian team did not come to Bahrain with major updates but continued on the solid concept from Barcelona. The car is fast, reliable and also seems to have the least problems when it comes to porpoising.

On that front, the Italian formation makes the biggest impression. During both test weeks, the team did not encounter any real problems. The question is how the car will sail in the race, and in and around the paddock there are question marks over whether there is more in the car.

The fact there was more to Red Bull Racing's RB18 that initially thought was demonstrated by Max Verstappen at the end of the test week. In Barcelona, the team came to attention because of their extreme side pods, not because of times. In terms of laps, the team was there at the front, but that test week was already not entirely problem-free.

In Bahrain, the same scenario unfolded until the final day. While Red Bull still had problems with porpoising during the first test day in Bahrain, those problems were completely gone with the updates on the third day. Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen both flew to fast laps in their cars and the smile on Helmut Marko's face spoke volumes.

We haven't seen those smiling faces for two weeks at Mercedes. The new W13 drove its laps in Barcelona without too many problems, but there was no speed in the car. The biggest problem for the German racing team, however, was porpoising, because the car of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell bounces tremendously on the straights.

Consequently, the drivers are not happy with their new car and the radical updates in Bahrain did not seem to help either. Although Mercedes always crawls into this underdog role during the test days, this time the team seems to have real problems. But, don't discount them for the season start in Bahrain and it would be classic Mercedes to pull it out of the bag at the weekend. 

Who comes next?

McLaren seemed to have joined this trio in Barcelona, but a dramatic week of testing in Bahrain has created some uncertainty. Brake problems kept Lando Norris inside the garage for longer than he would have liked, leading the British team to the fewest miles of any team in Bahrain.

In addition to making brake adjustments, McLaren also had huge problems when it comes to porpoising. When Norris turned it on for a fast lap, you could immediately see it in the car's behaviour. At Woking, the team had dreamed of a step up to the top, but it seems to have come just too soon at the moment.

While the top four seems pretty clear after the six test days, every team that comes after that could finish anywhere. The times, the reliability, the behaviour of the car or the attitude of the people in the garage give something away, but beyond the top four, the next six teams seem to be too close to each other to really say anything meaningful.

AlphaTauri drove two colourless weeks in Barcelona and Bahrain but did collect a mountain of information. The team completed 679 laps, making them the third team in that list. Pierre Gasly was not yet satisfied with his car and the bouncing of the AT03 is also a problem.

Williams caused a spectacular fire during the second day of testing in Bahrain as Nicholas Latifi's brakes caught fire and caused quite some damage to the rear of the FW44. Still, Williams managed 608 laps which put them fifth in that list. The team did not drive mega fast laps, but it was reliable, looked stable on the road and internally there seems to be a lot of peace and calm.

The setbacks of the winter tests

After the first week of testing, you wouldn't have started talking about Aston Martin this early, but during the second week of testing, the car of Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel came more and more to life. The team finally started to make some metres and was also reasonably fast. However, the technical problems and stalling earlier in the test week show that the team is not there yet.

Peace and quiet is clearly not there at Alpine. The French team had all its sights set on this year, but with a management change prior to the season, you can hardly expect to compete at the top. Alpine's test weeks were marked by problems: DRS did not work in Barcelona and Alonso crashed out on the last day of testing with a smoking car.

In Bahrain, things didn't go much better for the Alpine team. A fast lap was pulled out of the hat by Alonso, but a cooling problem on Thursday and another technical problem to Friday caused a stalled A522 on the circuit. There also seem to be problems with the new Renault engine, and with DRS open, the bounce is particularly severe for the car of Alonso and Ocon.

The back?

Alfa Romeo has designed a car that looks good, both in livery and design, but there are too many problems with the car. For example, Valtteri Bottas already openly doubted whether they would make it to the finish line in Bahrain. The C42 is fast and light compared to the competition, but Frederic Vasseur's team still has some work to do to be able to complete enough laps.

Despite the fact that Haas spent a year working on the 2022 car and did not pay any attention to its 2021 car, there are also many problems with the car.

The American team simply have too many problems to be competitive from day one. The VF-22 is fast, but whether that will be the case at the Bahrain Grand Prix remains to be seen. If Haas gets the car and keeps it in one piece, the team will be a dangerous customer, but until then it will probably be in the lower regions.

In that respect, the field can currently be divided into three groups. The front of Formula 1 is clear with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. Behind them follow three teams that have been very consistent in terms of speed or reliability, namely McLaren, AlphaTauri and Williams. Following last is the uncertain group. Aston Martin, Alpine Alfa Romeo and Haas may just come out fast at the upcoming Grand Prix, but of all the teams, these four teams were the ones with problems most often in Barcelona and Bahrain and people from inside the team did not express much confidence either.