Week one of F1 testing done, Mercedes continue to awe.

So with the first week of winter testing for the upcoming 2020 Formula 1 season all but complete, what have we learnt?

With testing further restricted this year to just six days running in total, teams were quick out of the box on Wednesday morning to rack up the miles on the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the season opener in Australia on March 15th.

The first day’s running seemed to go pretty well for everyone. Unsurprising, for what is the seventh year of the current Power Unit regulations; mechanical maladies have essentially been eradicated.

Several teams racked up almost triple race distances in that first day, something never seen before in pre-season testing. This however, was not the most eye-catching and unique take-away from the opening foray of testing.

No, that award goes to Mercedes.

The German (and British) team have dominated the sport over the last seven years, being unbeaten in two sets of regulations and their super-star driver, Lewis Hamilton, only being beaten to the World Title once, by his former team-mate, Nico Rosberg, who arguably won due to Hamilton having an unfamiliar season of bad luck in 2016.

To the depressing dismay of teams and (non Mercedes) fans alike, the Silver Arrows finished the first day of running with perfect reliability, the fastest lap-times and terrifying race pace. What caught everyone’s eye however, were Mercedes technical innovations.

At this late stage of a run of technical regulations, it’s unusual to see teams bring out new concepts. Designs are perfected, evolved and honed.

First off, Mercedes have adapted a new rear suspension set-up, which has moved the rear wishbones forward. This causes more lateral strain on the wishbones, so therefore they have needed strengthening, meaning added weight. Adding weight is normally a no-no in the world of motor-racing, but Mercedes are so confident in the the aerodynamic and grip benefits their design allows, that the weight penalty is worth it.

This innovation had people around the F1 paddock in awe before the cars had turned a wheel. Then the cars hit the track and Mercedes had everyone rushing to TV screens and re-watching onboard replays of Lewis Hamilton pounding down the straights. To everyone’s amazement, Hamilton was seen moving his steering wheel back and forward on the straights. When he did so the toe-angle of the front wheels adjusted. Teams looked terrified. If Mercedes had developed such a system and it works as intended, replicating such a system is not the work of a moment.

The benefits of such a system, which has been christened DAS (dual-axis-steering) are numerous. All race-cars want a ‘toe-in’ set up as it aids corner turn-in. The flip-side of that, is it causes temperature build up in the tyres and increase wear on the straights. Being able to switch the toe angle on the go gives the best of both worlds. This is in addition to an innovation Mercedes introduced last year, where the car’s front ride-height lowered with steering inputs, to increase downforce in corners.

Are there downsides? Well, it’s debatable if the system is legal within the rules. Mercedes have said they have been discussing the system with the FIA, the sport’s governing body, for months and so far they have OK’d the device.

That doesn’t mean it won’t still be banned at a later date. Other teams can protest its legality, thanks to the intentional vagueness of the sport’s regulations, interpretation of the rules can be argued.

Also, it could be deemed unsafe. A movable steering rack on a 200+ mph race-car is something you wouldn’t want breaking at speed.

The system also means Mercedes will have to make very delicate adjustments to the suspension geometry at each track, to ensure optimum effect. Get that wrong and the car could become un-drivable.

That’s if they decide to run the system at all, because even if they choose not to, their car is superior regardless.

This is terrifying strength and dominance displayed by Mercedes before the season has even begun. It will be causing the teams to lose sleep; and fans will be saddened at what looks like another life-sucking season of dominance by the German outfit.

Is there any hope for everyone else? Well, the midfield again looks fierce. Racing Point seem to have serious pace, thanks to the fact their car looks suspiciously similar to last year’s championship winning Mercedes.

Mclaren appear to be continuing their improving form from last year, Renault have some bold design changes, in a hope to close the gap to the top three teams, HAAS look much more stable after a disappointing 2019.

Williams, thankfully, look like they might not be at the back of the grid all season and Alfa Romeo’s only negative from the week was Kimi Raikkonen running out of fuel at the end of day two, but they had planned to do this anyway.

And what of Mercedes’ closest rivals, Ferrari and Red Bull?

Red Bull completed the most laps of any team over the three days of running and they were quick at the same time. This continues the growth of their partnership with technical partner Honda. They may be Mercedes biggest headache.

Which, until now, was the role held by Ferrari.

Ferrari hasn’t won a championship for 12 years now. They’ve been in the running, but fell short, with no one else to blame but themselves.

The week started bad, with their veteran driver, Sebastian Vettel, sitting out the first day’s running due to illness. When he and team-mate, Charles Leclerc, did hit the track, they weren’t setting the times alight and the car looked unstable. Not to mention they racked up fewer miles than most of their rivals.

Then, to top it all off, on Friday morning, Vettel broke down on track. The only technical failure of any team all week. It is looking bleak for the infamous Italian team.

Maybe next week will be different.

There are three more days of testing and you have to take testing with a pinch of salt. Teams want problems to arrive in testing and not at a race weekend and it’s impossible to know what hand team’s are playing during testing . They may be sand-bagging to hide their true potential or over performing to show-face. Here’s hoping there’s a shake-up, for the greater good of the sport.