Racing Point F1 Team seems positive after the two 2019 pre-season tests after Sergio Perez completed over 100 laps on final day, even though overall they have low mileage.
With the team going for a overhaul after being bought by Lawrence Stroll and co midway in the 2018 F1 season, Racing Point had a huge task ahead with the building of a new car while the change of ownership carried on behind the scenes.
The team made its track debut with the RP19 in the first Barcelona test and only managed 248 laps – the second lowest – with Perez stating that the low mileage was expected due to less new parts available at their disposal.
They had some minor issues as well to tackle in the first test. It bounced back well in the second test where it completed 377 laps but it still was the second lowest. In the overall list as well, the team is second lowest with 625 laps – only ahead of Williams.
Even with the low mileage, both Perez and the team sounded positive ahead of the season start in Melbourne. “It’s been a positive final day in the car for me,” said Perez. “We did a lot of work and I think we have a good idea of where we stand with the car.
“Today [Day 4] were about final race preparations with lots of long runs. Every time we go out, we learn more and more, and I feel ready for the season ahead. It’s been a long winter and I’m extremely motivated: I can’t wait to go racing again.
“Starting the season with some points would be good, but in the end it’s a long season so we need to get to Melbourne and see how we really compare to the other teams.” The Mexican completed 289 laps to Lance Stroll’s 336.
Once again, the two Racing Point F1 drivers stood only ahead of the two Williams drivers. Meanwhile, team’s performance engineering director, Tom McCullough said: “It’s been a successful eight days of testing where we have achieved all our main test objectives.
“We were able to get a good understanding of the RP19 launch car and of the five tire compounds we will be using throughout the season. Today was a useful day: the car ran reliably again, as it has done all week, which is encouraging.
“Our race runs were slightly hampered by the timing of the red flag, but we still finish the day having learnt a lot about our car. We have plenty of work to be done between now and Melbourne, but we can look forward to the start of the season.
“Overall, it has been a huge effort by everyone in the team, both at the track and back at base.” With the lack of running, especially on the performance side, it puts Racing Point in the lower half of the midfield for now with its rivals doing much more in the tests.
The talk from the team as well the the drivers is for an upgraded car for the Australian GP but it remains to be seen who is where in the tight midfield fight which includes everyone from Renault to Racing Point, except for Williams.
Co-written by Omar Alvarez