The Silver Arrows and Red Bull both looked back to form after an incident filled day 3 in Spain as last season’s title rivals held the top spots at the end of the final tests. Bigger news which appeases global scrutiny was that the FIA stated the Russian GP can no longer go ahead under current circumstances.
In an eventful day that saw marshalls take to the track as much as the cars, the morning kicked off with Fernando Alonso setting some blisteringly fast laps before a hydraulic issue in his Alpine caused him to stop at turn 13 moments before thick smoke and a fire engulfed the rear of his A522. Alpha Tauri were the first to damage the 2022-spec cars when Pierre Gasly went into the barrier and damaged his front wing.
Ghuanyu Zhou had two red-flag incidents, beaching in the gravel first before stopping mid way down the main-straight with technical issues. The final incident saw Vettel take charge with a fire extinguisher and attempt to douse a small fire that had emerged on his Aston Martin.
The afternoon session had the 4.655 km Spanish circuit artificially drenched with water so that the teams could test out the all new 18-inch Pirelli Wet and Intermediate compound tyres with the new challengers.
Positive affirmation on the regulation changes came in the closing stages of the afternoon session when drivers started enjoying the more-raceable cars against each other. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said the changes have made a big improvement with much less aerodynamic wake disturbing the following car.
The tests finished much the same way that the end of the 2021 season closed; with Mercedes and Red Bull filling the top spots of the session as Hamilton went quickest over the 3 days of testing with a time of 1:19.138. While the shakedown was more for teams to distinguish any major issues with their 2022 cars, it affirms that the tooth and nail battle from 2021 has not left either team on the back foot with the regulation changes.
The FIA has also stated that the Russian GP can’t go ahead under current warring circumstances and while it does not conclusively rule it out, the inconclusive statement has been well received by teams, fans and drivers. That being said the Russian GP which was scheduled to take place on the 25th of September would leave a vacancy and the governing body of Formula 1 has not stated any potential candidates.
Stay tuned for Alfa Romeo’s livery launch on Sunday morning at 10AM.
