Formula 1 is back. Let’s look ahead to the Bahrain Grand Prix and the 2024 season’s opening round.
The 2024 F1 season begins on the heels of a dramatic offseason, which saw Lewis Hamilton announce his departure from Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025 after a decade with the team, and other big moves, including Haas parting ways with long-time team principal Gunther Steiner.
With the Bahrain Grand Prix just hours away, let’s examine some major storylines heading into the opening race of the season.
Can Verstappen and Red Bull maintain dominance, and win fourth Drivers’ Championship?
For Red Bull and Max Verstappen, last year’s performance will be hard to top. They won 21-of-22 races, with the Dutchman claiming 19 in his own right, and runaway wins in the drivers and constructors’ championship.
For them, the question becomes: can they do it again? If pre-season testing is anything to off of, then all signs point to yes. Verstappen was able to push the new RB20 over a second faster than the next-highest driver on the first day of testing. The team’s other driver, Sergio Perez, put in similar times on the second day, although he was beaten for the fastest lap time by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
The new design of Red Bull’s car, the RB20, is certainly a bold concept put out by chief technical officer Adrian Newey and his team. The design is reminiscent of the Mercedes’ failed W14 concept, with Newey calling it “a third evolution of the 2022 car”, which successfully won a constructors’ championship and served as the basis for the 2023 car.
Who will challenge them?
Another contributing factor to Red Bull’s domination last season was the inability of any other team to challenge them effectively. For the other top constructors, being able to put together a complete season of results will be key in emerging as a competitor for the top of the table.
For top rival Mercedes, 2023 was yet another year of disappointment with a car that struggled to be a top contender for most of the season. This, combined with the shock of Hamilton’s departure, might start the season off with uncertainty. However, in the aftermath of last season, Mercedes made several high-profile changes on the technical side of the team, including the reinstatement of James Allison as technical director. This, combined with ample resources, an elite driver pairing, and a strong engine, should leave Mercedes in a strong position to compete.
Other teams that cannot be counted out are Ferrari and McLaren, both of whom came on strong down the stretch last season and were able to challenge Red Bull at times; with Ferrari being the only other team to pick up a race win in the 2023 campaign. Both teams showed strong results at pre-season testing this past week and will no doubt be fighting for those top positions.
Another team which will be vying for the top is Aston Martin. Early in last season, they appeared to be the consensus number two team before falling back and eventually finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship. With a strong driver pairing in Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll — and the backing of the latter’s father, Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll — Aston will certainly be looking to improve in this 2024 season.
Shakeup in the midfield and backmarkers?
Pre-season testing revealed some very interesting news which could have major impacts on the lower end of the grid this season.
It has been reported that Alpine, who finished sixth in the constructor’s championship and stood on the podium three times last season, has reportedly struggled at testing, leaving room for other teams to move up into the midfield.
One team looking to take advantage will be Williams, who had a strong finish to the 2023 season, scoring 28 points and finishing seventh in the constructors’ championship. Veteran driver Alex Albon, responsible for 27 of those points, will be looking to follow up on a season where he increasingly looked like one of the best drivers on the grid. For Logan Sargeant, he will be entering his second season and looking to move past the growing pains of being a rookie driver.
Another team looking to advance will be Racing Bulls, formerly known as Alpha Tauri. Driver Daniel Riccardo showed a strong performance on day one of testing, and with his reported ambition to reclaim his old Red Bull seat, he will be looking to put points on the board in bunches this season.
For their other driver, Yuki Tsunoda, this season will be critical in the fight to keep his seat in 2025, especially after strong performances from reserve driver Liam Lawson, who filled in for Riccardo during his injury last season.
The lights go out on the Bahrain Grand Prix at 10 AM, Saturday, March 2nd. Check times, news, stats and results here.
