F1 in 2016: The wait is over, Formula 1 is back for winter testing
Car launches galore ahead of pre-season testing on Monday
By William Esler
Last Updated: 23/02/16 8:35am
The wait is finally over!
A little over two months since quiet descended on the Yas Marina Circuit after the last race of 2015, F1 will return in earnest on Monday morning with a splew of car launches before the teams take to the track at the Circuit de Cataluyna.
Pre-season running this year will be limited to just eight days, the shortest ever testing programme, ahead of the longest F1 campaign in history with 21 races on the 2016 calendar.
The new 2016 Mercedes, the W07, broke cover on Friday in a shakedown at Silverstone, although the world champions will officially unveil their new challenger on Monday morning.
Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams are currently the only teams to have revealed their new cars while Red Bull staged a livery launch on Wednesday.
F1 in 2016: The cars revealed so far
Sister squad Toro Rosso will have their 2016 car, the STR11, present for the first test, but it will run in a blue livery, before their new colour scheme is revealed ahead of the second test.
By Monday 10 of the 11 teams will have revealed their cars, with Sauber the only team bringing an old car to Barcelona, albeit in 2016 colours.
The 2016 season will see a brand new team on the grid with Haas making their debut and the readiness of the American team, supported by their technical partnership with Ferrari, will be one of the key features of interest this year.
Barcelona test talking points: Make or break for Alonso?
Discussing Haas' partnership with Ferrari, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said it's "clearly a very intelligent way of entering Formula 1" which "opens up an avenue for new models of collaboration".
Of the teams that entered in 2010, Manor are the only outfit remaining and the backmarkers, who failed to score a point last term, are tipped to make big strides forward this season.
The team have been boosted by an aggressive recruitment policy over the winter. Former McLaren man Dave Ryan has joined as sporting director, with ex-Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis appointed chief aerodynamicist and fellow Scuderia exile Pat Fry arriving an as engineering consultant.
The highly-rated Pascal Wehrlein will drive for the team in 2016, with the German the reigning DTM champion and under contract with Mercedes.
Barcelona testing driver line-ups
Test One
Day One, Monday February 22
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
Williams: Valtteri Bottas
Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo
Renault: Jolyon Palmer
Force India: Alfonso Celis Jr
McLaren: Jenson Button
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz
Haas: Romain Grosjean
Sauber: Marcus Ericsson
Manor: Pascal Wehrlein
Day Two, Tuesday February 23
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
Williams: Valtteri Bottas
Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo
Renault: Jolyon Palmer
Force India: Sergio Perez
McLaren: Fernando Alonso
Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen
McLaren: Fernando Alonso
Haas: Esteban Gutierrez
Sauber: Marcus Ericsson
Day Three, Wednesday February 24
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen
Williams: Felipe Massa
Red Bull: Daniil Kvyat
Renault: Kevin Magnussen
Force India: Nico Hulkenberg
McLaren: Jenson Button
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz
Haas: Romain Grosjean
Manor: Rio Haryanto
Sauber: Felipe Nasr
Day Four, Thursday February 25
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg
Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen
Williams: Felipe Massa
Red Bull: Daniil Kvyat
Renault: Kevin Magnussen
Force India: Alfonso Celis Jr
McLaren: Fernando Alonso
Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen
Haas: Esteban Gutierrez
Manor: Rio Haryanto
Sauber: Felipe Nasr
The first Barcelona test starts on Monday February 22 and the Sky Sports F1 Digital team will be providing live commentary from dawn until dusk on all four days of both Barcelona tests while Sky Sports News HQ will also deliver live updates from trackside.
