Breaking news
Formula 1 Austrian GP
Racing Point "as fast as feared" in Austria, say rivals
Racing Point’s rivals say the team is as fast as they feared in Formula 1 pre-season testing, and could even be a genuine top three contender this year.
Jonathan Noble Oleg Karpov
Edited: Jul 4, 2020, 8:35 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Silverstone-based outfit had played down its expectations after a strong two weeks at Barcelona in February, but it proved its strength on the opening day of practice in Austria as Sergio Perez emerged as the closest challenger to Mercedes.
The car’s form on both short and long runs has impressed the team’s competitors, amid expectations it will keep up its pace in qualifying.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen said that while nobody could have been certain about Racing Point’s true pace after testing, now it was clear where it stood.
“I would say that's as fast as we feared they would be,” said the Dane, when asked by Motorsport.com for his thoughts on the team’s performance.
“They look very fast, but you never know in testing whether they gun for a glory run with zero fuel and soft tyres. But they seem to live up to the expectation.”
Read Also:
- Racing Point: No concern over “pink Mercedes” F1 protests
- Verstappen blames damaged wing for gap to front
- Renault won't update F1 engine during 2020 season
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz reckoned that Racing Point was out of touch for his team.
“Racing Point were particularly quick today,” said the Spaniard. “We were expecting them to be quick, but on such a short circuit, to have the advantage they had over the rest of the midfield was particularly impressive.
“My opinion is that they are way too far away to try and mount a fight to them, but at least Renault, we look to be in the ballpark with them. It’s going to be good fun.”
Romain Grosjean said that long run analysis of Perez’s pace had suggested that the team wasn’t just top three material – it could also be a match for Valtteri Bottas.
“What I heard, I didn't get the time to see the timing in details, but I heard that they were matching Bottas – or Sergio was matching Bottas' on the long run,” he said.
“Obviously they have that partnership with Mercedes and their car is very similar to the Mercedes one, which is the best one out there, so you know, good on them.
“We have a partnership with Ferrari. Maybe we work a little bit differently. But I think is a great model. And it's going to be good to see a little bit of diversity and change of colour fighting for good positions.”
Looking at the overall formbook, Grosjean added: “We can set the field in to three trenches. Mercedes, Red Bull and Racing Point. Then I would say Ferrari, McLaren and Renault. And then AlphaTauri, Sauber and ourselves, with Williams just behind.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article FIA rejects Red Bull's Mercedes DAS F1 protest
Next article Renault talking to “big names” to replace Ricciardo in 2021
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Racing Point
Aston Martin: Vettel can help bring out the best in Stroll
Formula 1
Formula 1
Aston Martin: Vettel can help bring out the best in Stroll
Stroll: 2020 results answered own questions over F1 capability
Formula 1
Formula 1
Stroll: 2020 results answered own questions over F1 capability
Aston Martin set for February F1 livery and car launch
Formula 1
Formula 1
Aston Martin set for February F1 livery and car launch
Latest news
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
8 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
9 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
9 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe