BWT Racing Point full of optimism after productive Barcelona test

The BWT Racing Point team, partnered by Acronis, concluded a highly productive three days of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll running strongly at the forefront of the lap times.

Perez was third quickest on the opening day and second fastest on day 2 of the Barcelona test, the pace of the car highly encouraging and impressing journalists around the paddock, even drawing comparisons to the all-conquering Mercedes outfit due to the striking similarity in design philosophy.

“After a positive start to the first test, our second day of on-track running in Barcelona has been very productive,” commented Tom McCullough, Performance Engineering Director after the second day of running. “We’re still getting to know the RP20 more and spent the morning focussing on performance running before switching our attention to long-runs this afternoon.

“We managed to get through the extensive test plan that we had scheduled for today and have lots of data to go through as the learning process continues.”

Despite a gearbox sensor problem with Stroll’s car on the final day of testing, the team still managed to complete a substantial 369 laps, covering 1,717.695 kilometres as the team builds towards the Australian Grand Prix.

Look at @SChecoPerez Go! 🏎💨

Doing the business on Track 🤩👌

🎥 X @F1#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/PMdlIbL8H2

— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) February 19, 2020

“I think we can say that we have had a positive start to winter testing,” added McCullogh. “From here, we need to analyse the data that we have collected and come back next week to ensure that the final three days before Melbourne are as fruitful as possible.”

For his part, despite running in the top three for successive days, Perez was quick to play down the significance of those times.

“It’s still very early days – far too early – but I think it’s a solid base and I think we have something to work with for the coming races and for the start of the season,” added the Mexican.

What a week of #F1Testing it has been! 🙌

Great effort from the team, @SChecoPerez & @lance_stroll 🤜🤛

Onwards to Week 2 of testing! 🏎️💨#F1 pic.twitter.com/iYCSrjH6a8

— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) February 21, 2020