2024 F1 pre-season testing | 6 talking points

The first grand prix of 2024 takes place this coming Saturday in Bahrain. Saturday? Well Ramadan starts on Sunday 10^th March – the day the Saudi Arabian GP was supposed to be held. That was brought forward to Saturday 9^th March, and as F1 regulations state two GPs must be held no fewer than seven days apart, Bahrain too was pushed back a day to Saturday 2^nd March.

So what can we expect this weekend? Drawing conclusions from testing has always been notoriously tricky, even more so now that it is so severely restricted. Fuel loads, tyres, power modes, the use of DRS and specific track and ambient conditions when times are set all have to be taken into account. But still, a general picture did begin to emerge last week from the Bahrain tests, so here’s our summary of what we know so far.

Red Bull: the strongest just got stronger

That’s the fear after a quietly impressive test for the new Honda-powered RB20. When Max Verstappen ended up more than a second quicker than next-best Lando Norris on day one, it seemed to confirm what technical directors up and down the pitlane had warned of happening: no matter how much the chasing pack improves, Red Bull always has room to step up its game too.

The gap was less pronounced over the final two days and indeed Red Bull didn’t end up at the top of the timesheets. But that doesn’t count for anything. Ominously, Verstappen set comfortably the quickest time for a race distance and the feeling was Red Bull didn’t show its full hand. No need, was there? Anything other than a Verstappen win on Saturday would be a major surprise.

Ferrari best of the rest

Carlos Sainz Jr. led Charles Leclerc to a Ferrari one-two in the overall times. Again, that doesn’t mean a great deal in itself, other than confirming the team hasn’t lost any of its proven pace over one lap. What counted for more was the upbeat first impressions from both drivers and what appeared to be decent race distance performance.

So far Leclerc and Sainz reckon the Ferrari SF-24 a more driveable and predictable car, which bodes well that Ferrari’s biggest weakness has been addressed. Leclerc took five pole positions last term, but wasn’t able to convert any of them on race day, while Sainz capitalised on Red Bull’s only off-weekend by winning in Singapore. Struggling to maintain tyre life and set a strong, consistent race pace was a tough flaw to live with at most tracks – but if the new car is easier to drive that could in theory mean tyre degradation is now better. The consensus seems to be Ferrari is best of the rest heading into the season, perhaps a couple of tenths off Verstappen’s potential. Pole position could be up for grabs on Friday, then – but a victory at this stage might be a tall order. Let’s see.

Optimism at Mercedes

Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made positive noises about the new Mercedes W15 as a car they can work with. The key is for teams to create something with a good platform for development through the season, as shown most obviously by McLaren last season. It seems Mercedes might now have this, following its decision to finally admit its previous design concept introduced in 2022 for the new regulations had missed the mark.

In the Bahrain tests, outright pace was still lacking, so expectations for this coming weekend should probably be tempered. But Mercedes is likely to be in the mix, perhaps behind Ferrari but with hopes to make progress as the early races are ticked off. In what will be his last season before switching to Ferrari for 2025, Hamilton should be in better shape – but will he really have a chance of ending his win drought that dates back to Saudi Arabia 2021? The jury must remain out for now.

McLaren and Aston Martin: a modest start

Suggestions this winter that McLaren might well be the best bet to take on Red Bull appear to have been a little optimistic based on what we saw in the Bahrain tests. Although compared to the dour state of play for the Woking team this time last year, Norris and Oscar Piastri had no reason for hand-wringing. A fuel tank problem and clutch trouble cost the team valuable track time over the three days and McLaren’s lap count was the second lowest behind Williams. But again, the hope is the new MCL38 will provide a decent base for the team to work from.

As we saw last year, form will likely shift as the season progresses and the team that has the most potential to add performance will likely prove Red Bull’s greatest challenger. Right now, it appears McLaren could be in the mix to challenge Mercedes for the title of third-best team.

Likewise, Aston Martin had a relatively low-key three days without any reason for alarm. It seems unlikely the Silverstone-based team will pull the kind of surprise that made it a podium force from the beginning last year. So Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll look set to be in the thick of that midfield dogfight this weekend.

Haas completes the most laps

The last-placed team in 2023 appeared to have a very specific agenda in Bahrain, which was to focus almost entirely on long-run pace as Haas grapples with the tyre-degradation horror show that hobbled it so badly last term. That’s why between them Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen logged the most laps of anyone – without setting the timing screens alight.

Williams completed the fewest laps, but there was no sense of a team in crisis as seen in the relatively recent past. Meanwhile, Alpine, Sauber and RB, the second Red Bull team, pushed through their respective programmes without major drama. Overall, the order in the second half of the field might not have shifted dramatically since the last race of 2023 – but that’s the thing with pre-season testing: you never know for sure.

Drain cover troubles cause a wrinkle

One annoying problem was the delays caused by a drain cover at Turn 11 coming loose – twice. Such occurrences are common at street circuits, most notably at Las Vegas last year, but it’s harder to accept on a permanent race circuit. A solution really should be in place for this weekend and excuses will be hard to come by if the cover lifts again. F1 and its teams will be hoping for a clean start to its record-breaking 24-race season – and hopefully a competitive one too. Let’s just hope Verstappen doesn’t run away with it.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.