Formula One's Winter War

It may just be the hype of ot or maybe the lack of any spirited information on the sport fed to the fans and media alike but testing is just that, testing.... and changes.

Many people may think that what they are seeing in the testing session are glimpse into what the season ahead has to hold.  Don't get me wrong, you can definitely see what the teams are up to, but sprawled across the Internet are photos and articles of what the teams have changed since day one in Jerez.

And it's not just the top teams either.  Here we see just how Team Lotus has gone ahead and changed the exhaust cooling system outtakes on their car in just a few days.

Everything changes in the Formula One world on a daily basis.  The teams will roll out on launch day with what they think will work best for their drivers and after the first day of testing, may change everything but the chassis it's self.  The big thing this year is the downforce debate with the ban of double diffusers. We can see how the teams are adjusting their exhausts each day nearly.  Testing is about seeing which set up is best and which one can obtain both downforce and lateral speed.

The only thing that I find, can be taken from testing into the full season would be, as Mr Steve Matchett says, dependability and reliability of the cars and their engines.  Most people would be rehashing all the times, going through stats, all of the technical analysis (which is good fun) but all of it combined mean nothing really until the light go green in Albert Park on Sunday, March 27th.

Now don't get me wrong, testing is integral to the sport.  For 2011, the teams had designed the new cars without knowing much more past the name of the tyre provider.  All the teams, no matter the mileage on the cars, needed the testing to see just how their set up and cars would perform with the Pirelli's.

It is just so many people get trapped into believing that what they are seeing in places like Jerez and Barcelona is setting the stage for the up coming season.  What I like to think of it as is a little tease to the fans to see how the cars run, to hear the sound that they have been longing for since the previous season had ended. But as for deciding after only 14 days of testing and constant changes, who to bet my money on for driver's and constructor's title? Not a chance...