The first day of testing for Formula 1 2024 is over. With Max Verstappen one second faster than his competitors in F1.
– Really really impressive, says Red Bull’s Helmut Marko.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull rolls out during test day 1 in Bahrain. (AP-TT)
Max Verstappen, Red Bull, drove an impressive best time during the evening when the temperature dropped slightly. He was the second before a, McLaren during F1’s first test day in Bahrain. Verstappen pushed 143 laps in the updated car from Red Bull with its aggressive sidepods. He was fastest in all sectors during the first day of testing Formula 1 2024.
– The concept works, it looks good, greets Helmut Marko via motorsporttotal.com.
– More or less completely without problems.
Max Verstappen fastest at the test for Formula 1 2024
Yesterday, the talk was mostly about Christian Horner and rumors about his future.
Another stable that we have been curious about is Mercedes which has a completely new concept and George Russell was the first driver out. Mercedes had problems with the hybrid system and lost valuable time during the morning, but still got many laps.
– It was fantastic to drive the W15 on the track, we immediately got the feeling that we have a good base, says the Mercedes driver.
– We are aware that it is not about feeling but about speed, but today it was about learning things. Don’t chase times.
First day’s tests before F1 2024
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) February 21, 2024
One team I’m thinking about a bit, however, is Aston Martin where Fernando Alonso pushed in 77 laps during the morning, while Lance Stroll did 54 and actually lost a rear-view mirror. Williams had problems both during the morning (Albon) and the afternoon (Sargeant) and lost a lot of time, which also becomes clear when we look at the number of laps. Then we can state that Haas drove the most laps – but the drivers were the slowest of all. Four seconds behind Verstappen in one lap.
Here you can see a good list of results, even if it is in German.
You can see most of today’s laps here:
Day 1️⃣ of pre-season testing: ✅
Lots of mileage was completed for all the teams except Williams – a fuel pump problem for Albon in the morning session and a suspected driveshaft issue for Sargeant in the afternoon.
Are you excited for more action tomorrow? 🤔#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/DnoWfPbeeR
— Autosport (@autosport) February 21, 2024
You can find an interesting compilation here, a comparison between this year’s times and last year’s times on the first day of testing and Red Bull’s two teams have improved significantly, McLaren as well.
Just like Alpine, which this year has a completely new concept – Haas, on the other hand, is one second slower than a year ago. Note, however, that the stable may have had different programs during last year’s first test day and during this year’s first test day.
Times during F1 test 2023 versus F1 test 2024
Red Bull: -1,5 sekunder
Visa Cash App RB: -1,3 seconds
McLaren: -1.1 seconds
Alpine: -1.1 seconds
Aston Martin: -0.6 secondary
Ferrari: -0.3 seconds
Clean: +0.0 seconds
Mercedes: +0.3 seconds
Williams: +0.3 seconds
Haas: +1.0 seconds
Here is another opportunity to compare:
The technical race never stops 🧐#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/67nGac6WA9
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 21, 2024
The schedule for F1 testing day 2 in Bahrain:
Red Bull: Sergio Perez/Max Verstappen
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: tba
McLaren: Oscar Pinastri/Lando Norris
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso/Lance Stroll
Alpine: Pierre Gasly/Esteban Ocon
Williams: Logan Sargeant
Racing Bulls: tba
Sauber: Guanyu Zhou/Valtteri Bottas
Haas: Nico Hülkenberg/Kevin Magnussen
•••
See you at NK on March 5? Then there is the release of my book Cirkus Formel 1 and you submitted the proposal that it should be released with an opportunity to meet. I hope more of you show up.
Last year, in our podcast Plattan i Mattan, we talked about the fact that drivers who cause a red flag during a qualifier should perhaps lose their time. Now it is reality. In Formula 2 and Formula 3.
What do you think about that?
