Formula 1: Red Bull – flying without wings in pre-season testing!

I would love to exchange locations with the voice-recorder which is present in the room, each time Red Bull Racing’s management team meets to evaluate what has happened thus far, in the soon to begin 2014 F1 season. Champions are never usually excited to reveal any form of weakness and in the cut-throat world of Formula 1 whenever a crack appears, in what was formerly an impregnable armor, the battle-cry from the opportunistic competitors can be heard from miles away!

At the first pre-season test in Jerez, Red Bull stumbled and due to ‘packaging’ and reliability issues, the defending World Champion Vettel and the team did not make an impressive debut. On the contrary, it was an embarrassment for a team which has lifted the World Championship multiple times. In four days, Red Bull Racing completed a mere 21 laps and actually left the test early!

I would expect fireworks the magnitude of that seen at the New Year’s celebrations in Times Square to dominate the minutes of the meeting which occurred prior to the Bahrain test. Well, whatever was said or discussed got lost somewhere in the air-conditioning unit. The words did not result in a significant improvement in performance at the Bahrain test.

McLaren

When the first Round of testing ended in Bahrain, the team (Red Bull Racing) had only one source of comfort – they completed more than a hundred laps. But when they glanced over their shoulders what they saw must have been frightening. Major contenders for the title, McLaren, Ferrari and victory-hopeful Williams, were busy, applying forced-induction and recorded 300+ laps! And if that was not enough, their speed would scare a Bugatti Veyron! Mercedes drivers, Rosberg and Hamilton, were fastest during the test and to demonstrate their level of preparedness, Mercedes completed qualifying runs and race-simulations!

Scuderia Ferrari, for the 2014 season, has 2 heavyweight champions  behind the steering wheel – Alonso and Raikkonen. At the Bahrain test, they were not at the top of the time sheet (P6 and P7), but they were able to complete a significant number of laps and they were ticking times that were tenths apart. Ferrari will definitely deliver an intriguing season with these two drivers.

So, a rapid perusal of the time-sheet from the Bahrain test, will reveal Mercedes occupying P1, followed by McLaren, Force India and Williams (they occupied the top eight spots on the grid). Where is Red Bull on the time-sheet? Red Bull is buried at P15 and P17 with Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Vettel!

We would be naive in thought to think that these are signs of the demise which awaits Red Bull, but we cannot confine the truth to a spot below the carpet. The reality is, Red Bull is flying without wings in pre-season testing! And if the glitches which are appearing in the Matrix are not resolved with alacrity, the team might need much more than energy drinks to rescue their season! The season begins in April!

Nb. The final round of pre-season testing begins Thursday.

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer