What we learned on day one of 2024 F1 testing in Bahrain

Did we really expect anything else?

Red Bull and Max Verstappen, on top of the times on the first day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain. That’s now in the books for 2024, just as it was in 2023 and 2021 – the Dutchman’s grip on this particular (non) accolade disrupted only this decade by Pierre Gasly leading the way on the opening day at the Sakhir track in 2022 when Barcelona preceded this event anyway.

But what a margin. Verstappen finished the day a whopping 1.14 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris – the pair having exchanged the top spot during the afternoon/evening session here on Wednesday.

But really, after Valtteri Bottas, Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso had enjoyed spells at the top of the times early on for Sauber, Ferrari and Aston Martin, this was Verstappen’s position to command throughout the eight hours.

His best time – a 1m31.344s set on the C3 Pirellis, which is 1.493s quicker than his best time on the opening day in 2023 – leaves him with the biggest margin at the end of a year’s opening day of F1 testing since Mark Webber was 0.848s slower for Red Bull than Jenson Button had been for McLaren at Jerez in 2013.

It’s the biggest gap of the modern era. That’s going back to 2009, when testing really started getting restricted (although with 20 sessions that year compared to the two of 2023 and 2024, that only feels like a limited amount when compared with when there was nearly five times the number of group tests during the running allowed in the mid-2000s and the manufacturer boom).

But it was nevertheless the right attitude to arrive at this event wondering if there was any hope of a different testing story.

Verstappen's lead on day one in testing is the biggest since 2013

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

After all, Red Bull is not even a week on from revealing its 2024 RB20 challenger has a dramatically different design compared to its RB19 predecessor than most observers had expected, given all the talk about car looks converging in such stable regulations.

The buzz was about Red Bull from the start of the day in Bahrain – the first appearance of the full real RB20 revealing an intriguing combination of both horizontal and vertical sidepod air inlets. Photographers and TV camera operators abounded, as, given how the latter aspect verges on the territory Mercedes so famously couldn’t exploit early in the current ground-effect era, questions over possible Red Bull hubris in unleashing such a big design change remained.

Then there were Verstappen’s various odd on-track moments early on Wednesday when also running the C3s.

He was regularly wrestling his car through such differing turns as the tight, downhill right-hand hairpin of Bahrain’s Turn 8, then again into the faster, double-biting Turn 13 right. Without stepping off the gas and gathering things up, he’d have been off the road twice. There was just enough doubt creeping in…

"I think it's clear. Formula 1, and what the teams do, we stand for inclusion, equality, fairness, diversity. And it's not only about talking about it, but living it day, day out," Toto Wolff

Then Verstappen’s 1m33.065s erased it as the halfway mark of the first session’s action approached. The triple world champion was then never headed from there on, other than when he put in a 1m32.548s nearly an hour later in session one, Norris edged ahead for all of 15 minutes before Verstappen responded with a 1m31.662s to pull 0.822s quicker than the Briton in the depths of session two, before Verstappen later capped Red Bull’s day with the headline time and advantage.

"It feels good to be back in an F1 car again and I had fun out on track today,” said Verstappen. “We covered a lot of laps and tried quite a few things with the car, which was important, so [I’m] happy overall with how it went.

“After the winter break, the first few laps always surprise you a little but then you get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. Overall, the car was responding well and considering this was only testing we had a nice day.”

The internal investigation into Christian Horner's conduct remains the biggest talking point for Red Bull

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

So, it seems Red Bull’s biggest headache continues to be the fate of team principal Christian Horner and the investigation into allegations about his behaviour made by a female employee.

The team is simply under even more scrutiny than would be expected of a dominant frontrunner at the start of a new year. A good example of this being the rapid social media analysis of Red Bull team manager Jonathan Wheatley giving a briefing to the squad’s mechanics once the evening action had concluded here in Bahrain.

This being the first gathering of the Piranha Club this year, Red Bull’s rivals also had their first opportunity to really comment on the situation.

Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff, alongside James Vowles from Williams, Aston’s Mike Krack, Fred Vasseur (Ferrari) and newly promoted Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu were all invited to share their feelings on the nature and length of the investigation, plus what it says about F1's attitude to sexual equality.

“Difficult question,” Wolff replied. “I think it's clear. Formula 1, and what the teams do, we stand for inclusion, equality, fairness, diversity. And it's not only about talking about it, but living it day, day out.

“This is the standard that we're setting ourselves. We are a global sport, one of the most important sports platform in the world. And we're role models. But having said that, there is a lot of speculation that's been happening over the last weeks, speculation that we have heard of. And lots of things that are going on.

“What's important in that stage, for process with rigour, what Red Bull started as an independent investigation, if this is done in the in the right way with transparency, and with that rigour, I think that's something that we need to look at – what the outcomes are, and what it means for Formula 1.

Toto Wolff made his feelings clear about the standard team bosses in F1 must uphold

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“And how we can learn from that. Because we want to talk about racing cars. And we want to talk about the sport, rather than these kinds of very critical topics that are more than just the team's issue. It's an issue for all Formula 1. And in general, for every individual that works out there."

Slightly stiff silence from his contemporaries followed. Vasseur appeared to be on the verge of answering before the press conference moved on. Wolff was next up, asked about the morale in the Mercedes camp and Verstappen’s assertions from last week that things might now be awkward for Lewis Hamilton and his soon-to-be former team.

“The morale in the team and the dynamics we have this year and all over the winter has been great…” Wolff began.

As if he was ever going to say anything else. But, playing amateur psychologists for a moment if we may, the Austrian, for all his usual playful quips to Vowles on his immediate left and witty initial responses to unsharp questions elsewhere, wasn’t exactly bouncing with excitement following what he’d seen of the W15’s initial showings.

On what was an otherwise quiet opening day for the Scuderia, there appeared to be some positive news...

He did say, “so far the feedback from the drivers was this is something we can start to work with and that is encouraging”. But given Hamilton revealed he knew 2023’s W14 wasn’t a world beater even from Silverstone shakedown laps last year, every early clue – with all the typical testing caveats about testing fuel loads and engine modes that of course apply to every team at this time of year – from the Silver-Black Arrows camp is revealing.

Wolff was much more convincing when it came to another newsworthy element of the opening day. That is how certain Mercedes – and the FIA – is that its novel 2024 front wing interpretation is legal.

The central focus of the design is the thin carbon fibre chord that connects a much shorter and wavier fourth flap on the W15’s front wing to the endplates and nose. This is thought to produce a notable outwash effect that will likely increase dirty air for following cars, which is why the matter is being viewed within a ‘spirit of the rules’ discussion.

Mercedes' front wing drew a lot of attention in testing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

"What's being put on a car is always following a, let's say, exchange with the FIA all through the process," Wolff replied when Autosport asked for his and Mercedes position on the matter.

"It's no such thing that you have a clever idea, and then you bolt it on the test, and you think that could be or couldn't be challenged. That is a long process of dialogue that happens over the winter. So, I feel we are in an OK place [regarding legality]."

Mercedes only ended up with the ninth quickest time of the 10 teams on day one thanks to George Russell’s efforts over 122 laps. The only other driver to complete the whole first day was Verstappen and, utterly unshockingly, he led the way in that count too, hitting 143 laps completed by the day’s end.

Verstappen was trailed in the fastest lap count by Norris, as McLaren got off to a much smoother start in Bahrain than it had in its blighted events here in 2022 and 2023.

The Briton did have a pair of lock-ups at the tricky Turns 9-10 double left-hander complex as night fell, but each time he was able to continue on his way. The wind was also strong at that point, with the crosswind effect on cars that are very sensitive to such gusty trajectories a factor in those moments. Conditions are so far also noticeably chillier here in 2024 than they were a year ago.

Behind the McLaren came Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who ended up 1.240s adrift of Verstappen’s leading time and exactly a tenth back on Norris.

Sainz told the lunchbreak press conference that Ferrari hopes “with the aerodynamics [this year], we'll also make the car quicker in different types of tracks”.

Ferrari's new car showed some encouraging signs on Wednesday

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

He continued: “Like we saw in Qatar [in 2023], we were weak in long and medium speed corners where we were clearly suffering.”

On what was an otherwise quiet opening day for the Scuderia, there appeared to be some positive news on this front revealed in the GPS trace data logged from the SF-24 on its best lap (Sainz’s 1m32.584s) when compared to Verstappen’s leading time.

In the relevant Turns of 4, 8, 13 and the last corner here, Sainz did pull back time on Verstappen. The trouble was, that time and more was immediately lost pulling onto the ensuring straights.

Yet, with Charles Leclerc aboard the Ferrari in the first session, the car did appear to be navigating the course more lethargically than the Red Bull, which is an indication it may have been running a hefty dose of fuel. Just remember, it’s the hope that gets you…

Topping the pack behind, the pretty much ever-cheery Daniel Ricciardo was left to reflect how “the car felt in a positive way quite comfortable because it was similar to last year [and the floor update the team brought to the Abu Dhabi finale]” after finishing fourth in the RB.

“Looking at obviously, the big car, the Red Bull,” Ricciardo continued, “there is still some time to find. [But] it's nice to get the first day done and go to sleep quite happy to have driven an F1 car again.”

Aston made a low-key start to testing, with Lance Stroll’s 1m33.007s slotting it into sixth behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly – Sauber, Williams, Mercedes and Haas completing the opening day order that was spread by 4.348s from top to bottom.

Lance Stroll put the Aston Martin sixth on day one

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Stroll lost his left-side wing mirror as the day approached its final 20 minutes – the piece dodged by the following Ricciardo but struck by Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg. The ensuing debris, however, did not require a red flag to clear, as the day ran to time without any interruption.

The biggest risk of a stoppage came when Alex Albon brought the Williams to a drive-less halt inside the first corners with 20 minutes of the morning session remaining.

The car had suffered a fuel pump problem, with a suspected driveshaft issue later confining Logan Sargeant to the pits for a large swathe at the end of the second session.

Those issues, plus Sargeant suffering a wild spin into the mammoth runoff behind Turns 9/10 with just under two hours of the day to go, means Williams must go down as having endured the toughest start to 2024 testing.

But, of course, better to get such issues out of the way in testing – unless this is the start of a theme of the year for Williams.

Vowles did at least say the data his team has logged so far in Bahrain suggests it has made positive progress on its aim to make its package competitive on differing track types. That’s rather than just really on circuits with long straights, as has been the case in recent years.

“In simulation, it certainly moved that way,” Vowles said. “So far, we've obviously only done a handful of laps, 40 of which I think a rake was on the car for 20 of them [in the first session] and it looks directionally correct [on-track too].”

A stoppage for Albon and a spin for Sargeant made Williams' day tricky

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images