Verstappen fastest as F1 preseason tests begin

The author of this article, Laurence Edmondson, wrote it on February 21, 2024 at 4:21 PM.

In Bahrain, Max Verstappen ended the first day of the Formula One preseason testing where he had also ended last year's championship - with a significant lead over the other drivers.

On Wednesday, the Bahrain International Circuit began the first of its three-day testing session, leading up to the first race of the season on March 2, which will also be held at the same track.

An extensive manual for F1's preliminary trials

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Although headline times during tests may not give the full picture, Verstappen's lead of 1.140s ahead of his closest competitor Lando Norris is a worrying indication for the other Formula One teams. This is particularly concerning given Red Bull's back-to-back championship wins in 2022 and 2023.

In this year's racing season, Verstappen hopes to win his fourth straight title. He succeeded in setting his best lap time using the C3 compound tyre during the final hour of testing. He improved his previous best lap time by 0.3 seconds earlier in the day, which made his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, in Red Bull's garage extremely happy.

In the next couple of days, the testing phase will give a clearer idea of Red Bull's lead as other teams tweak their cars and know its ins and outs. There are several aspects that can affect the lap times during testing, such as fuel quantities and engine configurations, hence determining the true advantage that one team has over others by observing their long-term performance.

Additionally, while Verstappen's time was certainly remarkable, it still fell short of the fastest time recorded during last year's preseason test at the same track by a margin of one second. It was also more than 1.6 seconds slower than his own outstanding pole position time for the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.

On Wednesday, Norris from McLaren achieved the second-best time of 1:32.484. He used the same C3 tyre as Verstappen, but earlier in the day when the sun had not yet set and the track was still warm. Norris managed to edge out Carlos Sainz's Ferrari by 0.1 seconds, while Sainz was only 0.015 seconds faster than Daniel Ricciardo driving for Red Bull's second team, now called RB.

Although it was anticipated that Red Bull would maintain a certain level of advantage, other teams were hoping to reduce the margin during the off-season.

Many teams have taken inspiration from Red Bull RB19, which was the top performer last year, in order to catch up to them. However, during this same period, the reigning champions seem to have made even more progress and advancements.

The new RB20 features a unique cooling design that stands out the most. The design includes narrow horizontal inlets on the sidepods, which has resulted in a more significant undercut below the sidepod.

The latest modification in the design of Red Bull's engine includes noticeable bumps throughout its length, which has resulted in people comparing it to the car design that Mercedes was developing for the past two years but eventually gave up before the winter season.

Despite Mercedes using slim sidepods that were popularly called the "zero pod" design, Red Bull's latest car maintains traditional sidepods while keeping similar features.

On Wednesday, Toto Wolff, the principal of Mercedes team, stated that each team has their own approach towards development and strives to improve lap times through simulations, virtual worlds and wind tunnel tests. He also mentioned that irrespective of what other teams do, the designs generated by each team are applied to their respective cars.

We have abandoned our initial idea of the zero-pod concept and discarded some of its features as we believed it lacked performance. Instead, we have opted for a more conventional design for the bodywork, which may seem ordinary at first glance, but we will deploy it on a superior platform to improve efficiency.

Mercedes is predicted to be one of Red Bull's main rivals this year following their second place finish in last year's championship. During the first day of testing, George Russell took the wheel of the new W15 car and managed to secure the 12th fastest time. On the following day, teammate Lewis Hamilton will take over driving duties before he and Russell share the car on the final day of testing.

At this time in the previous year, the drivers representing Mercedes had already expressed their concerns about their car for the year 2023. However, during a press conference held on the first day of this year's event, Wolff stated that the initial indicators for the team were looking more positive.

Yesterday we had a day of filming and this morning we did some testing. We will get a clearer idea of our performance by looking at the lap times later on. However, the drivers gave us some positive feedback that we can use to improve, which is a good sign.

The racing teams of Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin are predicted to give Red Bull a good run for their money. Nevertheless, Ferrari's team leader Fred Vasseur expressed some doubt about catching up to Red Bull despite his team's third-place standing on Wednesday.

When asked if the gap between Red Bull would lessen, he replied with uncertainty, saying, "I'm not sure." However, he believes that the other teams will certainly catch up, due to the consistent regulations.

On the beginning day, Williams experienced a major problem with their reliability. One of their drivers, Logan Sargeant, spun during the afternoon session which caused a driveshaft issue. As a result, the team only managed to complete 61 laps. This setback meant that they had to make up for lost ground during the next two days.

The preliminary trials are ongoing at the Bahrain International Circuit on Thursday.

Preseason Testing Day 1: Final Standings

Max Verstappen cross the finish line in record time of 1 minute, 31 seconds and 334 milliseconds while racing for Red Bull.

Lando Norris from the McLaren team managed to record a time of 1 minute and 32.484 seconds.

The driver named Carlos Sainz, who drives for the Ferrari team, finished a lap around the race track with a time of one minute and thirty-two point five eight four seconds.

In the latest racing event, RB's very own Daniel Ricciardo secured an outstanding time of 1 minute and 32.599 seconds. He truly showcased his skills on the track and left his competitors in awe. It was clear that his hard work and dedication paid off during this event. Overall, his performance was truly impressive and we are excited to see what he will accomplish in his future races.

Pierre Gasly from the Alpine team did a lap in one minute and thirty-two point eight zero five seconds on the track.

Lance Stroll from Aston Martin achieved a time of 1 minute and 33.007 seconds.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc recorded a lap time of 1 minute and 33.247 seconds.

Fernando Alonso, who is racing for Aston Martin, achieved a lap time of 1 minute and 33.385 seconds.

Oscar Piastri from the Mercedes team clocked in at 1 minute and 33.658 seconds.

Sauber's Zhou Guanyu recorded a lap time of 1 minute 33.871 seconds.

This portion of the blog pertains to the performance of Logan Sargeant from Williams team. Sargeant has completed his lap in 1 minute and 33.882 seconds.

In the free practice session, George Russell from Mercedes managed to complete a lap in 1 minute and 34.109 seconds.

Yuki Tsunoda of the Red Bull team managed to clock a time of 1 minute and 34.136 seconds.

Valtteri Bottas from the team Sauber managed to record a time of 1 minute and 34.431 seconds.

In the recent racing event, Williams driver Alex Albon managed to clock an impressive time of 1 minute and 34.587 seconds. The skilled driver showcased his abilities and managed to put up a great performance on the track. His dedication and hard work definitely paid off in this event. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this talented driver.

Alpine's driver Esteban Ocon achieved a time of 1 minute and 34.677 seconds during the race.

Kevin Magnussen from the Haas team completed the track in a time of 1 minute and 34.692 seconds.

The driver of Haas, Nico Hulkenberg, completed a lap in 1 minute and 34.906 seconds.