Kimi Raikkonen rejects Test 2 updates: Alfa Romeo to use Test 1 configuration for Melbourne. Kimi Raikkonen rejects Test 2 updates.

The Hinwil technicians decided to postpone the use of their new floor and new rear wing, after the updates were rejected by Kimi Raikkonen in the second testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. However, Alfa Romeo will not completely dismiss the package and instead will evaluate it again in the tests that will take place after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alfa Romeo has therefore decided to take a step back in view of the trip to Melbourne. The C38 made its debut in the first session of the Barcelona tests and immediately received excellent indications, confirmed both by the data and the feedback provided by Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi. A crackling start that of Alfa, which has immediately indicated as being the surprise of the year. In the following session of the Spanish tests, the team brought on track some important updates: a new floor and a new rear wing, but the results didn’t meet the expectations from the wind tunnel data.

This was immediately understood by Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, who complained about driveability problems and subsequently confirmed by the team. The decision was made not to take risks in view of the first two races of the year, leaving Alfa Romeo to use the “Test 1” configuration for Melbourne.

The technicians directed by Simone Resta and Luca Furbatto have not however definitively set aside the new floor and new rear wing brought last week to Barcelona, ​​updates which will be evaluated again outside the race weekends, or in the tests that will be held in Bahrain after the second event of the 2019 Formula One season. The first races of the championship are always crucial for the ranking of second-tier teams, as proven last season by McLaren, who in 2018 scored 40 of its total of 62 points in the first five races of the season, which in the end helped them finish in sixth place.

Alfa Romeo has therefore opted to follow the best known route, especially considering the potential of the initial project. There will then be time to calmly reassess all the available options.