Renault has completed its two-day test with a 2018 car at the Red Bull Ring, while Racing Point has run its 2020 Formula 1 car at Silverstone.
Esteban Ocon took over Renault’s R.S.18 in Austria after Daniel Ricciardo drove on Tuesday.
Ocon completed 143 laps of the venue that will open the 2020 F1 season in two weeks’ time.
The test was arranged as a preparation for the season itself as teams have been not operated cars since pre-season testing at Barcelona in February, and to operate with F1’s new safety protocols in place.
Renault used a 2018 car as F1 rules allow unlimited testing for cars that are at least two years old.
He's back.
🏎 R.S.18
📍 Red Bull Ring
📊 500km
🦡 115 laps#RSspirit @DanielRicciardo pic.twitter.com/mZREmbRAnW— Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) June 16, 2020
Mercedes did the same thing at Silverstone last week.
However, Racing Point utilised one of its remaining promotional days to run its 2020 car at Silverstone on Wednesday.
Lance Stroll drove the RP20 and completed the team’s limited 100km of running “early” in the day.
On promotional days, otherwise known as filming days, teams can conduct relatively brief shakedowns of their cars and collect media assets.
📂 File under: Things you love to see 😍@lance_stroll and the RP20 back in action at @SilverstoneUK! 😆#F1 pic.twitter.com/Rebs1YUYSO
— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) June 17, 2020
They tend to be deployed before pre-season testing to run new cars early.
Racing Point said in a statement that despite the nature of a test day, “the team left no stone unturned in ensuring that safety remained top priority for all team members trackside”.
“As part of stringent safety protocols, the event took place behind closed doors with no public access and all relevant precautions taken in terms of PPE provision,” it said.
