March 2nd saw the beginning of the 2024 Formula One season, with the first race taking place in Sakhir, Bahrain. The race took place under the lights of the Bahrain International Circuit, albeit on a Saturday instead of its usual Sunday slot. The first race of the season is the first opportunity for both teams and fans alike to see how their cars are performing in a race setting, rather than simply relying on data from practice or qualifying. With that being said, which drivers and teams showed promise, and which drivers fell flat on the debut race of the 2024 season?
1)Max Verstappen
It goes without saying that Verstappen had the most successful weekend out of all of the drivers. Red Bull’s domination last year meant that all eyes were on the reigning constructors and world champion, and their performance certainly did not disappoint. Max secured pole in Friday’s qualifying, storming ahead of his rivals to take first place on the starting grid. And at lights out on race day, the results remained consistently in his favour, with the Dutchman easily bypassing Leclerc on the first corner in order to secure an easy first win of the season. Verstappen finished in first place with a gap of just over 22 seconds between him and his teammate, Sergio Perez.
Photo taken from https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappen-storms-to-victory-in-action-packed-season-opening-bahrain-gp.1rH6Yjju9FqISPgJy2NCCe.html
2)Carlos Sainz
After qualifying in a respectable 4th place on the grid, Carlos Sainz was already in a strong position to gain a good amount of points on the track. Sainz had been showing promising signs throughout practice and qualifying, with just under .4 of a second between Verstappen and himself during Friday’s qualifying session. And when it came to the race itself, it was evident that his impressive qualifying was not a fluke. The Spaniard maintained a strong and composed race, even when racing against his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc. The two drivers met a couple of times throughout the race, with Leclerc struggling to maintain pace due to an brake issue. Sainz capitalised well on this, and chose to take matters into his own hands by proving that his pace was indeed better than that of his teammate, securing 3rd place on the grid and a place on that all-important podium.
3) Charles Leclerc
As previously mentioned, Leclerc showed clear signs of struggle and a lack of confidence in his car, citing a braking issue as the main problem. Despite qualifying in an impressive 2nd place position on the starting grid, the Monégasque driver fell flat in Saturday’s race. For Ferrari fans, it was certainly a painful watch, with Leclerc failing to maintain good pace and struggling with rear tyre grip which ultimately saw him unable to keep his starting position. Despite this, the driver finished in a deserved 4th place, in spite of his clear problems with his car. Fingers crossed that Ferrari can iron out these issues in time for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and allow Leclerc to be in a much more dominant position come next weekend.
4) Valterri Bottas
The 2024 season saw the beginning of the newly named Stake F1 Kick Sauber team, previously known as Alfa Romeo. Behind the wheel of one of the neon green liveries was Valterri Bottas, a racing driver with a wealth of experience within this sport. Despite its eye-catching design, the Kick Sauber display was not one to watch, thanks to an unfortunate pit stop that saw the Finnish driver complete his race in a depressing 19th place, 3 places lower than his starting position. On Lap 32, Bottas was stuck in the pits for a painful 52 seconds, as a result of a wheelnut issue that resulted in a hefty delay and ultimately cost him a good first race.
Photo taken from https://www.sauber-group.com/shots/2024-bahrain-grand-prix-saturday
Overall, the Bahrain Grand Prix showed the first glimpse of what we can expect from the rest of the 2024 season. If Red Bull continues to dominate as much as they did in this beginning race, it could easily be said that Max Verstappen could be taking home a fourth World Champion. But, of course with it only being the first race of the season, it really is all to play for at the moment.
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