Alphatauri

acing Point was another team to raise the pulses of journalists and team principals back in February due to the unveiling of what appears to be a very close relation of the Mercedes W10, only in pink. Granted, the team uses the same windtunnel as Mercedes and is maybe privy to some of the data, but there’s no doubt that the car is rapid. Sergio Perez says the RP20 is the best racing car he’s ever driven, and Lance Stroll impressed at times in the Barcelona tests, putting in some fast tours on the C4 tyre.

There are subtle differences between the 2019 Mercedes and 2020 Racing Point around the front wing flaps and bargeboards, which you would expect. But, as technical director Andy Green has said, why shouldn’t they follow Mercedes’ lead? He seems somewhat surprised that other teams haven’t done the same.

The car looks planted and the

Rchange of direction in the final part of the Barcelona lap was impressive. The front suspension looks strikingly like the Mercedes’, with the front top wishbone attachment to the upright and the articulated pushrod, but there the similarities end, according to Green, with all internal workings being in-house designs.

The rear bodywork is squeezed in tightly to the engine and ancillaries in a similar way to the Mercedes’ and has the same shape of shark fin. The rear wing main element looks to have quite an aggressive nose-up attitude, suggesting the team is looking for more performance.

I’m not sure Racing Point has made the step to worry the top teams, judging by the long-run times, but the team was focusing on shorter outings in search of the best set-up. The RP19 was only the ninth fastest car on average last year, but the

‘pink Mercedes’ looks like it’ll be further up the order.