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Formula 1 pre-season testing is a hot topic amongst drivers, engineers, and fans alike. After just three days of testing in Bahrain before the first race on Sunday, some argue that it’s not enough time for the teams to properly prepare for the challenges ahead. However, Formula 1 pundit Ted Kravitz disagrees, calling those who disagree with him “fools”.
On the launch day of Mercedes’ 2023 car, the W14, George Russell pointed out the fact that F1 drivers are some of the only athletes in the world that aren’t allowed to regularly practice or train for their sport.
“Could you imagine Rafa Nadal spending 12 weeks without hitting a ball and then going straight into the French Open with one-and-a-half days of training?” he asked. However, Kravitz sees things differently.
“He’s a driver, so he wants more practice, which is valid,” Kravitz said on Sky Sports F1 Vodcast.
“The engineers want more so that they can do their engineering thing, which is not valid.
“They can do one, basically.”
Kravitz’s point is that while it may be beneficial for drivers to have more practice, if engineers get more time with their cars, the unpredictability and wow factor of the sport may dissipate on the first day of the season.
“It’s interesting because they will all get to the first race slightly undercooked,” he said.
“Apart from Red Bull. Although, they have their own little issues in the middle of some race runs… but it’s much better for us viewers, us on TV and us fans to get to the first race and have something going on rather than just a procession.”
Is more testing more boring?
Kravitz goes on to explain that more testing could lead to a lack of excitement in the first race of the season.
“When all the engineers say, ‘Oh, we had a great 12 days of testing. That was fantastic. Reliability is faultless.’ They’ve all got perfect setups, they all get to the Grand Prix, 20 cars finish and nothing happens.
They all finish where they qualify. Round and round and round. Engineers say, ‘Well, fantastic. I loved that. It turned out exactly as I predicted. Aren’t I clever?’ That would make a disastrous first race.”
“Anyone who said that three days of testing wasn’t enough, is a fool, basically.
“It was perfect, it was enough. There was loads of running. People were doing three Grand Prix distances in a day because the reliability was so good. So it was fine.”
It remains to be seen how the limited pre-season testing affects the first race of the season, as Formula 1 season sets off in Bahrain.