Starting on 23rd February 2024, the Formula 1 Testing took place in Sakhir, Bahrain, for three days. The annual pre-season testing period has concluded, and now the focus shifts to the opening race of the 2024 season this weekend. The question arises: which teams can approach the Bahrain curtain raiser with confidence in their prospects, and who will have a disappointing start?
It is important to consider the limitations of winter testing, as fuel loads and engine mapping modes are undisclosed to the public. Haas had a disappointing season last year, earning only one point in the final 13 races and finishing at the bottom of the championship. However, their performance in pre-season testing showed promise, as they completed the most laps out of all the teams, totaling 439. Despite this, Haas’ new Team Principal, Ayao Komatsu, had already anticipated a challenging start to the season.
Kevin Magnussen, driving for Haas, had the slowest best lap time among the 20 drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg managing to surpass five other drivers with a late dash. However, Haas prioritized long runs during testing rather than chasing outright lap times. Their goal was to address the tire wear issues they faced in the previous season.
Sauber is another team looking to bounce back from a difficult season, where they dropped from sixth to ninth place in the overall standings. The Swiss team has undergone a revamp, presenting their C44 charger in a distinctive neon color scheme. Zhou Guanyu achieved a time of 1:30.647s, securing the fourth position. It is worth noting that Sauber is known for performing “glory runs” with low fuel levels. Zhou also achieved the second fastest time on the second day of testing in 2023.
Valtteri Bottas, driving for Sauber, had the third slowest lap time, which better represents the team’s pace. He also faced an interruption on the final morning due to a problem that required the team to halt their activities.
Sauber will hope to compete with Williams, who faced the most disruptions during testing and completed the fewest laps (298), 29 fewer than the next worst-performing team.
Logan Sargeant will need a significant improvement to keep his position for the upcoming season, but he had the fewest laps (138) and recorded the second slowest time as well.
The team based in Grove could find some hope in Alex Albon’s surprising performance, as he achieved the eighth-fastest time with a lap of 1:30.984s in the final hours on the C4.
Williams achieved its best position in the Constructors’ Championship since 2017, finishing seventh, and they have optimism that they have caught up to Alpine during the recent winter.
After finishing in sixth place last season, Alpine decided to completely revamp their car design and acknowledged that it would take time to optimize their new package.
The testing times confirmed this attention to detail, as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly ended up in 16th and 17th place respectively when the testing concluded.
Despite the lap times suggesting otherwise, the A524 still seemed to be a heavy and unresponsive machine when navigating through different corner configurations in Bahrain.
Gasly expressed his assessment that Alpine’s competitiveness doesn’t look great, but he remains hopeful for a quick turnaround.
Leading the pack appears to be RB, who has rebranded from AlphaTauri during the winter and aims to continue their momentum from the previous season’s end.
After a disastrous start to the previous campaign, the team based in Faenza began to take advantage of a closer technical partnership with the reigning champions, Red Bull.
This led to AlphaTauri consistently challenging for points in the later stages of the season, coming close to surpassing Williams for seventh place.
The rebranded team has high hopes of avoiding that particular battle this season, and Daniel Ricciardo even expressed his desire to compete for top-five finishes.
Although the experienced Australian has since retracted that specific statement, RB appears to have constructed a stable platform to build upon with its VCARB 01 vehicle.
Yuki Tsunoda achieved the seventh-fastest time late on with a lap of 1:30.775s on C4 rubber, while Ricciardo was outside the top 10 but did showcase some strong race performances.
However, at this stage, it seems unlikely that RB has closed the gap enough during the winter to alleviate the concerns of McLaren CEO Zak Brown regarding the setup.
McLaren had been identified as the team in the best position to eliminate Red Bull’s dominant pace, emerging as the Austrian team’s most consistent competitor.
The Woking-based squad experienced one of the most remarkable turnarounds last season, transitioning from struggling to score points to regularly achieving podium finishes.
Unlike many of its rivals, McLaren had the advantage of building upon a foundation that it understood. However, it remains uncertain if it has fully capitalized on this benefit.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that McLaren finds itself in a better position this time around, with Oscar Piastri posting a time that was three-tenths behind Max Verstappen.
The Bahrain International Circuit has historically exposed McLaren’s weaknesses, so caution should be exercised regarding the MCL38 until further notice.
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella claims that the team has improved rear-end grip, which should enhance its performance in slow-speed situations, but there is room for further improvement.
Lando Norris has ruled out being a contender for a podium finish in Bahrain this weekend, although he is known for expressing pessimism about his chances.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin had a strong start last winter but took a more conservative approach this time, with both drivers finishing outside the top 10 positions.
However, Mercedes Technical Director James Allison was impressed with a race simulation completed by Fernando Alonso in the later stages, which garnered attention.
The Silverstone-based team had expressed its intention to create a foundation that would ensure the competitiveness of the AMR24 across all types of circuits throughout the season.
Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll can rely on a car that is gentle on its tires, but will it be enough for the Spaniard to challenge for a podium once again?
One team that should be well-prepared to compete for a podium position is Ferrari, who demonstrated an impressive burst of speed with its revamped SF-24 charger for 2024.
The Italian brand claimed the first and second positions at the end of testing, with Carlos Sainz setting the fastest time of 1:29.921s on the C4 tire compound.
However, it was the Scuderia’s performance during race simulations that drew attention, as Sainz surpassed Sergio Perez’s Red Bull during a comparable stint on the second day.
Ferrari had made it a priority to develop a car that was more predictable and adaptable compared to its problematic predecessor, which resulted in the team finishing third.
Charles Leclerc confirmed the success of the modifications, noting that the SF-24 was unaffected by changes in wind direction unlike its previous model.
Similarly, Mercedes has committed to a complete overhaul in 2024 in order to eliminate the “difficult” characteristics of its rear end that hindered its drivers in the past.
While Mercedes personnel appeared disappointed a year ago, the German team enters the new season with renewed optimism following a positive test.
Mercedes primarily focused on long runs during testing, but George Russell showcased the potential of the W15 when he achieved the second-fastest time on the third and final day.
Both Russell and Lewis Hamilton expressed confidence in the direction Mercedes has taken, but they also acknowledged that one team still holds an advantage over the others.
Since Formula 1 returned to ground effect aerodynamics in 2022, Red Bull has dominated the competition, winning all but one of the 22 races held last season.
Despite claiming to have pursued an evolutionary approach with the championship-winning RB19, Red Bull has managed to push the boundaries with innovative solutions.
The team’s new car features a vertical slot inlet on the sidepods, reminiscent of Mercedes’ abandoned ‘zeropod’ concept.
Any hopes that Red Bull’s rivals had of encountering unforeseen difficulties were shattered on the first day, as Verstappen set a time over a second faster than anyone else.
Although the reigning champion dropped to sixth on the overall timesheets, Verstappen and teammate Perez did not use the C4 or C5 tire compounds during their runs.
Red Bull experienced minor technical issues, but nothing that disrupted their program, leading their rivals to acknowledge that the RB20 is in a league of its own.
Therefore, Red Bull appears to be the team to beat, but the extent of their advantage remains uncertain. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to discover this season’s true hierarchy.