Formula One Vault

This Grand Prix – Bahrain

Hello, welcome to This Bahrain Grand Prix, it is Saturday evening or Sunday morning don’t worry it’s not Monday! We left you three months ago with this statement “The challenge however is the same as they head into 2024, challenging Red Bull.” After race one the ominous predictions of Red Bull dominance were true, Max Verstappen delivering a twenty-two second win ahead of Sergio Perez.

General News

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has given the clearest indication yet that some European events will be rotated from 2026 onwards. Several of the core European races Monaco, Imola, Spa and Zandvoort contracts which end in 2024 or 2025.

Madrid has already been announced as the new home of the Spanish GP from 2026, while Silverstone has signed a new deal until 2034. However, Barcelona is understood to still have a contract to hold a race that season, albeit one with options on F1’s side. While Paul Ricard since dropping off the calendar in 2022 has been seeking an alternation deal.

Rotation has been talked about for a while, with the Dutch and Belgian events most likely to be paired and run on alternate years. Intriguingly, that would drop the total to 23 and open up a slot for a twenty-fourth, previously filled by Russia until its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, race in 2026, which could potentially be available for Barcelona should F1 so desire, although it’s believed that at the moment there are no plans for that to happen.

But places like South Africa, Korea and Turkey are also seeking a return to the calendar.,” when asked about 2026 said Domenicali, “That is a year where there will be a lot of grands prix, mainly in Europe, where we have different options that we can take. I think Madrid shows one thing that was very important for us.”

“To see that the attention of F1 is there, also in the old continent, where everyone was thinking, ‘Oh, you know, we need to move out of Europe because there’s not anymore the interest.’ But we showed the opposite.”

Alluding to rotation, he added: “I think in ’26, you’re going to see something interesting. We are discussing with other promoters in Europe to do something that will be announced soon.”

Speaking about the recent run of long-term contract extensions, Domenicali insisted it wasn’t just about having guaranteed income streams, but also the stability to build up events over time. The problem is getting the funding, compared to most races in the Middle East and Asia, European races tend not to have state funding and need to be financially viable.

I think the coming five years could be a defining period in the future make-up of the calendar and the direction of the sport in a business sense

Weekend Recap

FP1 saw RB’s Daniel Ricciardo top the times with a 38.254, which put him ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, however, are unrepresentative of qualifying and the race. Norris split the two Australians after he was almost two-tenths faster than his McLaren teammate.

FP2 saw Lewis Hamilton lead a Mercedes one-two with a 30.374, two-tenths faster on the soft tyres than his teammate George Russell. Fernando Alonso was third eight hundredths behind the two Mercedes, with less than a second covering the top ten.

Qualifying saw Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc by two-tenths to take pole. However, it was tighter as Red Bull didn’t appear to surge ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes. Russell was third for Mercedes just under eight-thousandths of a second behind the Ferrari, which underlines how close it has become behind Red Bull. The Englishman going two hundredths faster than the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz

Verstappen took dominant victory in driving another smooth race making it look easy as he beat his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez by twenty-two seconds as he took a clean sweep this weekend.  Verstappen made a brilliant start as he fended off Charles Leclerc into the first corner. He steadily opened the gap from the off another leaf out of the Verstappen textbox as he sailed off into the distance. Sainz eventually finished third, two and a half seconds behind Perez, beating his teammate Charles Leclerc by fourteen seconds after overcutting him at the first stop.

Red Bull

Red Bull believes its rivals have cottoned on to the secrets of success of the current generation of ground-effect cars, based on some “interesting” development paths. Nearly all its nearest rivals, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes have radically redesigned their cars going into the new season as they try to close the gap.

while just making a Red Bull clone is no guarantee of success, as teams need to understand what makes the concept work, the indications are there that this is happening.

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache thinks that some development routes that teams have taken offer the best indication that the opposition now understands what made the previous cars so good. Wache told Motorsport.com, “I don’t know if they understood what we did, but I think they understood from what I saw in the development of their cars.”

“Even if it’s not exactly the same path, because I’m sure we are not right everywhere, they have found their own path in the sense that you develop a tool, or certain paths of development, based on the issues you have and based on your understanding.”

Going into the weekend its rivals were convinced that Red Bull  will be the team to beat for the season opener, and could have an even bigger advantage than last year. But Wache is not so confident about things and believes that Ferrari’s long-run form in particular has left the team as a potential challenger.

The drama off track didn’t stop Verstappen taking pole by two-tenths, but he didn’t headline all three segments of qualifying with Leclerc’s Q2 topping time being the fastest overall time during the qualifying hour by nearly a hundredth and a half.

Asked where the leap in time over qualifying had come from, Verstappen could not pinpoint a particular reason and stated, “I just had a bit more grip somehow. On the first run, it just didn’t really feel that great and the car never really switched on.”

The three-time champion reckoned that the three tenths, masked the closeness of the first qualifying of 2024, and that it had not been clear who was going to secure pole position for the season opener. He added that the breezy conditions present around the Sakhir circuit had ensured that it was tricky to stitch a cohesive lap together and that it placed greater value on gaining time in the corners.

Adding “I think if you look at the weekend so far, it didn’t come easily to us. Testing was very good, but then it was very windy so far this weekend and it was just, I think, a bit more difficult to get the balance of the car together. I do think that we made some good improvements over the car, and I think that made us then do the lap for pole.”

Sergio Perez was left rueing a mistake on his final lap in qualifying that left him four places behind Verstappen three and a half tenths, both Ferraris and George Russell. Despite his campaign getting off to a frustrating start, he remains optimistic after Red Bull’s testing promise translated into a comfortable pole for Verstappen.

When asked by Motorsport.com if the world champion’s pace was encouraging, Perez said: “Yeah, definitely. It’s been a positive day for the for the team. From my side, I messed up Turn 1, and lost a tenth and a bit. And that was enough to take me from probably P2 or P3. We’ve seen the gaps.”

“It was also a shame that we lost the second set into Q2 without a need. We ended up aborting. It was already a scrubbed tyre, but anyway, plenty of things to look forward for tomorrow.”

Perez says he feels more comfortable with the RB20 than its predecessor, having struggled to match Verstappen for much of last year. he said, “I feel there is good potential, and there is good understanding. I think we’re making good progress. It’s the first time we’ve run it at such a light fuel, and even through qualifying we were making some good progress.”

Perez gave a clear indication of the key area that he believes has been addressed relative to the RB19. He said “I think the entry stability is better. It’s obviously still a Red Bull car. But I think it’s where we’re taking good steps.”

It was a dominant race win and one of those races we have gotten used to by Verstappen and that’s despite a major concept change and it I think was one of these smooth and controlled drives from the Dutchman. Verstappen beat Perez by twenty-two and a half seconds.

He said after the race, “Unbelievable. I think today went even better than expected. I think the car was really nice to drive on every compound. We had a lot of pace. It was just super enjoyable to drive today; we really stayed out of trouble. Great start to the year. I mean, it couldn’t have been better.”

He continued: “It was a lot of fun. I felt really good in the car. It’s always very special to have these kinds of days because they don’t happen that often it just all goes perfect, and you’re just one with the car and everything just feels great.” It’s still to be seen whether Red Bull have an as dominant car because Perez had a few issues with the braking and tyre graining on his car.

But the Mexican reckoned second was the best possible return on his side of the garage. The Mexican said: “Well, I think it was the maximum we could have achieved. It was quite a tricky race with the management of the tyres. I think there’s plenty we will learn from tonight’s race, which will be important for the championship. But overall, I think it’s a great way to start the season.”

Horner more questions than answers

On Wednesday Red Bull’s internal investigation cleared team principal Christian Horner has been cleared of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague. The drinks company launched an investigation into his behaviour but it says it has found no evidence.

A statement issued by the Red Bull company in Austria said: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal. The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation”

But throughout the weekend, questions about the investigation continued to raised by both rival teams calling on the FIA to take steps to ensure everything had been conducted properly.

Asked about Red Bull’s findings from the investigation, Toto Wolff said: “Well, I just read the statement, which was pretty basic. My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain. At the end of the day there is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR and said there is an issue and it was investigated. And yesterday, the sport has received the message: ‘It’s all fine. We’ve looked at it.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown added: “I’ve read this statement. I think, from what I’ve seen, there continues to be a lot of rumours, speculation, and questions. I think the sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport, to our fans, and I think to all of us in Formula 1… I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them.”

On Thursday, a series of emails began dropping of a dossier of documents that they alleged were related to the case to F1, FIA, all nine other teams and journalists at Motorsport, BBC News, Sky and GB News. An FIA spokesman said: “Red Bull gave assurances in their statement that their investigation was thorough. It is an internal employment matter.” F1 Vault is currently unable to verify the documents and has seen them.

The story wouldn’t go away with questions being asked about his marriage to the Spice Girl Geri Halliwell in some sections of the press. The couple walked into the paddock hand-in-hand in Bahrain on Saturday in a show of public unity. Following Verstappen’s win they were later pictured kissing.

While Geri is a regular in the paddock, this shot is one I think certain people needed to see given the nature of the allegations we know Horner was cleared of by Red Bull. When asked by Sky Sports whether he was confident about his future heading into the Saudi Arabian GP next weekend, Horner replied: “Yes, absolutely, I wouldn’t be here otherwise.

Horner when asked about intra-team unity said, “We are a very strong team. We have got tremendous support and we have got tremendous partners and great shareholders behind us as well. You don’t achieve this kind of result by not being united.”

Mercedes

Going into this weekend’s opening race, Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes have “definitely improved” their car for this season but Red Bull “clearly are out in the distance”. The seven-time champion said his team had “done a great job” in redesigning their car after abandoning their previous discredited philosophy.

A year ago Hamilton was frustrated between the test and race in Bahrain after Mercedes dismissed his concerns about their 2022 car and continued with the same design philosophy into the following season. But the new Mercedes is more conventional in following the design trend started by Red Bull two years ago.

While admitting Red Bull is “clearly out in the distance,” he says that the car was “enjoyable to drive” and “A good platform to work from, a much better car to start the season with.” He ended the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain with the 12th fastest time, having taken part in only the slower midday session, rather than the conditions for qualifying and the race.

In last weeks press conference, in his first since announcing he would join Ferrari next year months after signing a new contract. He says “An opportunity came up at the end of the year and I decided to take it. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. I’ve been with Mercedes, I think it’s 26 years they have supported me.”

“We have had an absolutely incredible journey. We have created history in the sport and I am very proud of what we achieved but ultimately I am writing my story and I felt like it was time to start a new chapter.”

Hamilton added his interest in Ferrari had begun by watching Michael Schumacher driving for the Italian team in his youth. The German won five consecutive titles for Ferrari from 2000-04. Hamilton’s F3 and GP2 titles were masterminded by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and Hamilton says “It really wouldn’t have happened without him”

Following Mercedes one-two in FP2, Russell said they are “not getting carried away” with topping practice that “exceeded expectation.” Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Russell, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in third.

And while Russell admitted Mercedes’ progress compared to testing “exceeded expectations”, he thinks Red Bull is still a cut above on race pace. Russell said, “We’re not getting carried away with ourselves. The qualifying pace looked really strong, we still need to understand why it was so good.”

“We made some changes from the test and it exceeded expectations. But ultimately, the long run pace is where it all happens and Max is still ahead of us. It was very close with Fernando, Lando [Norris] and the Ferraris, Lewis and I were very similar as well, so we have a real fight on our hands.”

Mercedes’ one-lap pace does provide it with a glimmer of hope that Red Bull isn’t “out in the distance”, as Hamilton phrased it last week. it did look better for the team than during testing on one lap pace, while you should expect that, you need to see all the cars perform in qualifying and the race.

Hamilton added he was “shocked” by Mercedes’ one-lap pace and progress compared to the pre-season test, but equally admitted his long runs wouldn’t be enough to keep up with Red Bull.

Russell was third in qualifying with Hamilton ninth, after the session the team admitted it had focused on its race pace may have cost him a chance of fighting for pole. But by doing that they hoped in the race they would have better race pace.

Reflecting on the form, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that the team had changed the set-up overnight to move away from where it was on Thursday, after feeling that it was not in the best window over race run distances.

He explained, “We changed the balance of the car for a set-up that was less aggressive on the tyres for tomorrow’s race, and probably we dialled out too much single-lap. “That’s why it wasn’t going as good as yesterday.”

Asked by Motorsport.com what the potential difference was, Wolff said: “Probably we could have had a car fighting Max, but I don’t think [with that car] we could have fought Max tomorrow.” But their could be questions they admitted, because they were running the plank high following disqualification for plank wear in Austin last October.

Hamilton, who qualified ninth, felt that he moved much further away from the Thursday set-up than Russell, although he hopes it is a move that will pay dividends on Saturday. Adding “Yesterday, George and I were identical car set-ups, and the car was really great, and we veered off: he went one way, and I went the other. You could say that the one I was on is not good on the single lap. I hope that it’s good in the race!

I think this backs up my feeling that Mercedes look better than they did last year, but they still have work to do on both qualifying and race pace. They could be fighting for best of the rest one they sort out race pace, as they both looked in testing to struggle with balance.  Both believed going into the race that they had ““a car we can fight with.”

Asked by Motorsport.com how excited he is compared to 12 months ago – when it was quickly apparent that the W14 was not the step it was expected to be – he admitted that the session had been frustrating given what should have been possible. he said, “I mean, in this moment, I’m ugh…! For the first qualifying session to be as poor as that…so much preparation went into this today, and then it didn’t go the way it should. But that’s racing, but in terms of the season, for sure, to know that we have a package that we can potentially fight with is really pleasing.”

Mercedes hopes of a better race failed to materialise after an engine issue cost them and their three customers half a second a lap. Russell was fifth and Hamilton ninth having started third and ninth respectively. Russell had in the early phase been second just under two seconds behind Verstappen.

However, the impressive start was undone by having to switch focus to nursing a power unit issue caused by a cooling miscalculation, which required lifting-and-coasting measures to combat rising temperatures. Hamilton was also hurt, further afflicted by a cracked seat. Williams also had engine issues Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant suffered, with the latter additionally coming to a stop with a temporary steering wheel electronics fault.

Asked by Motorsport.com to explain the reliability woes, Mercedes motorsport boss Wolff explained: “[Pre-season] testing was pretty good. Also, the performances on Thursday and on Friday were encouraging. The car was stable, was good. The drivers like it. When we started the race on the soft tyre, everything pretty much [was] to plan.

“then, unfortunately, we had to start pulling the engine more than we expected. We can’t understand yet where that came from. We have one of our customer teams, Williams, who had the same issue. The other two [McLaren and Aston Martin] not. That was unexpected.”

Wolff reckoned that the performance drop-off, thought to be a result of both engine overheating and a battery issue, and the preventative measures combined for a lap time loss of more than half a second per lap.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc says that Ferrari has made “a step forward” on the wind sensitivity issue that plagued the team last year. This has in turn during lead to much-improved consistency over a stint, which was the key weakness that hampered the team in races in 2023.

Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz struggled for much of the year to maintain consistent form, even with different sets of the same tyre compound. While the situation was improved with car development, Leclerc says that the SF-24 represents a further step, with strong long-run performance evident in Bahrain testing.

Asked by Motorsport.com about the wind issue. he said“On our side it’s quite a lot better. In last year’s car, I think one of the main weaknesses was the wind sensitivity. Whenever the wind will change a tiny bit, our car will be extremely difficult to drive. Huge differences in terms of balance from one corner to the other.”

Leclerc said that the improvements were already apparent in the Maranello simulator, and were successfully transferred to the real car in Bahrain. However, he cautioned that it remains to be seen how that improvement translates into overall form. That’s important no one yet knows how the new cars work and whether the gap has closed to Red Bull.

Following Thursday’s practice, Leclerc joined Mercedes in saying that Red Bull’s true performance  remains a mystery. Red Bull focused on Thursday on shorter stints rather than proper race simulations as many other teams did.

While Ferrari had some encouraging performance in testing, especially during a strong race sim from Carlos Sainz on the second day, Leclerc remains cautious about reading too much into it. Its s deeper analysis of the three days suggested that Red Bull elected not to show its hand and give rivals any clue about what its RB20 can really do.

Asked by Motorsport.com whether Ferrari’s form in testing offered it a clue about its chances against Red Bull, Leclerc said: “The thing is that Red Bull is one of the only teams that didn’t do a full race simulation during the test, which is normally what helps us to understand where we are exactly.”

“So it’s very difficult to know where they are. We know where we are obviously, and some of the [other] teams have done some race runs, so we have kind of an idea where they stand. But Red Bull is not the case. For now, it’s impossible to understand where we are.”

I think that’s a fair assessment and in line with my own conclusions, the question we will be able to understand where they are compared to Red Bull.

Leclerc revealed his Ferrari suffered “more than 100 degrees split” in temperature between his front right and left brakes, which triggered lock-ups during the Grand Prix. You could see watching the race Leclerc lock up several times and that causes flatspots, leading to drivers losing time.

Leclerc, who had been expected to be Max Verstappen’s closest challenger, explained the issue struck from the opening lap before he was able to start managing it “at lap 15 or 20”.

Leclerc said, “It was impossible in the first 15 laps, the issue was getting a lot worse every lap. I was basing my braking for Turn 9-10 with the previous lap, which obviously fell too late all the time, but the issue was getting a lot worse. Every time I would brake three meters earlier, but I would still look up, then at lap 15 or 20, the issue stabilised.”

“The team told me on the radio that it was more than 100 degrees split between from front right and front left, which is huge. At that moment, I understood that the best thing I could do was just to bring the car home to the chequered flag.”

He also confirmed it was the first time he’d experienced the brake issue with the SF-24 and that Ferrari will investigate the issue after this weekend to understand if a permanent fix is required for next weekend in Saudi Arabia. I think Ferrari still may have big issues with race performance, but this was only the first race.

The Monegasque finished almost forty seconds behind winner Verstappen but just under fifteen seconds behind team-mate Sainz directly ahead of him, which came as a surprise given his brake woes.

McLaren

Going into the weekend Lando Norris believed that Bahrain wouldn’t suit the team’s car but it shouldn’t be indicative of where it starts the season. Last year’s ‘nightmare fortnight’ in Bahrain was behind its decision to change car philosophy which ensured it was behind in development over 2023.

This year has started more favourably with McLaren expected to be in a similar position to where it left off last season. Last week Norris said that the team ‘still had a long way to go’ and, that Bahrain was going to offer more of a struggle compared to other races on the calendar. While stressing that Bahrain wouldn’t decide the season.

He said, “Bahrain has never been a good circuit for us. We’ve never had one of our strongest races ever in Bahrain. But I think it’s way too quick to judge and just say, ‘okay, we’re not going to be great here in Bahrain, that’s the end of the season for us.”

“I think for everyone, because everyone’s so up and down, you have to give us two or three, four or five races to get the first honest review of where everyone stands against one another, and not just judge it off of the performance that we’re going to see here in Bahrain.”

Norris explained that the MCL38 was nonetheless a step up from its vastly improved MCL60 predecessor, a car that was transformed over the course of the season from a lower-midfield presence to a podium contender.

McLaren also joined in the urge for caution on Thursday about Red Bull’s pace, with Oscar Piastri saying the times were “much closer” than expected, but was intrigued to see how much pace Red Bull has been keeping back, only to unleash it in qualifying and the race.

Piastri grinned when speaking to F1, saying “Red Bull don’t look quite as quick as we thought, we’ll see how many sandbags come off tomorrow. It’s a lot closer than I expected. Mercedes looked quick, Fernando looked quick. It’s always a bit hard to judge on a Friday, but I think we’re sort of around the points.”

“With the teams we’re around, being near the podium or near tenth is very much a possibility, so hopefully we can stay near the front of that mix.” The Australian thought the times were “much closer” than expected, but was intrigued to see how much pace Red Bull has been keeping back, only to unleash it in qualifying and the race.

Piastri grinned when speaking to F1.com, “Red Bull don’t look quite as quick as we thought, we’ll see how many sandbags come off tomorrow. It’s a lot closer than I expected. Mercedes looked quick, Fernando looked quick. It’s always a bit hard to judge on a Friday, but I think we’re sort of around the points.”

Alpine

Going into this weekend, Esteban Ocon admitted it was a “possibility” Alpine could be at the back of the grid, amid suggestions the squad is struggling with its 2024 car. Last weeks test was challenging for the team as they looked to be lacking in both handling and pace terms against the opposition.

While the team has been open about bracing itself for a tough start, some analysis from the testing data pointed to Alpine actually being slowest of all with how its current car is.

Asked ahead of the Grand Prix if he was preparing himself for such a worst-case scenario, Ocon said: “If things don’t go to plan, obviously yes I’m prepared for that. But we haven’t driven the car yet in full competition order. We don’t know exactly. You guys [the media] are selling it [as] the worst. It is a possibility because we haven’t pulled it together with everyone else. But it’s not over.

Ocon’s team-mate Pierre Gasly has admitted that Alpine has missed targets with its new concept of car, but says the focus has to now be on finding solutions rather than bemoaning where things are at right now.

he said, “Yes some targets have been missed in terms of timeline, but it still doesn’t mean that we can’t achieve them at some point along the season. As a competitive team, no-one is happy having a challenging start. This wasn’t the idea. But this is now the situation that we are in and we are facing it together as a team.”

it is believed that Alpine is battling the car being overweight as well as lacking overall downforce, Ocon suggested that there was one unidentified area that stood out.

Come qualifying Ocon’s prediction came true with him nineteenth a tenth and a half ahead of Gasly, confirming Alpine’s fears over starting the year on the back foot following a late car concept change this winter.

When asked by Motorsport.com how crucial it will be to be a patient leader through the early part of 2024, he replied: “Yeah, it’s super important, for sure. We don’t like the situation as a whole, no one likes to be at the back. We’re all competitors in this team. And it’s very important to be united, to keep the chin up and move forward.”

“This team some years ago they created a winning car and those ideas were made in the same place as it is today, Viry and Enstone. So, we can be repeating all these things, and I trust the team to be making a step forward.”

But it doesn’t look as dire as it sounds, as predicted the whole grid in Q1 were covered by under a second and Gasly was two hundredths behind Logan Sargeant.

Williams

RB

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda have voiced opposite opinions over RB’s swap call during the closing stages. Tsunoda was hunting down Kevin Magnussen for P12 place on hard tyres while team-mate Ricciardo was closing in on both on softs.

With seven laps to go, the team asked for the two to switch positions because Ricciardo was on the better tyre so he could attack Magnussen. the Japanese driver initially disputed, but belatedly swapped places a lap later.

Ricciardo was unable to overtake Magnussen but held onto P13 and finished directly ahead of Tsunoda. Throughout the incident, Tsunoda aired his grievances at the swap call over team radio and on the cooldown lap appeared to serve towards Ricciardo.

Speaking after the race, Tsunoda said he didn’t understand the RB team order and wanted to review the decision. Tsunoda said “I was just about to overtake Magnussen, I was side by side on the main straight and got a driver swap [for the] last few laps,”

“To be honest, I didn’t understand what the team thought. So, I have to understand what they were thinking, but so far I don’t understand. We have to review what was their thoughts, to be honest. I don’t really understand.”

However, Ricciardo said in the pre-race team strategy meeting that the scenario was covered so he expected the swap. explained Ricciardo “We talked about it before the race and we go through strategy and we have a few plans of what strategy that we might do. It was highly likely that we starting on the new soft meant I was going to finish the race on a new soft and have an attacking last stint. The call was quite expected.”

That to me sounds like a communication issue with the overall strategy and team orders, maybe they need to learn to work together. Ricciardo added he was happy to swap positions back with Tsunoda if the call came from RB after he was unable to overtake Magnussen.

However, while accepting it was unlikely for them to score points in the race, the austrilian believed the hold up cost him chances of overtaking Magnussen, and then Zhou Guanyu ahead of them who finished P11, having lost the peak performance of his soft tyres before being able to attack the Haas driver.

Facts and stats (Sean Kelly, F1/Sky Virtual Statman)

• Red Bull begin their 20th season in F1 with their 114th race victory, tying Williams for fourth on the all-time win table.
• Verstappen today won his eighth consecutive race, he now has two of the four longest winning streaks in history in the past 10 months (10 races, eight races). Today was Verstappen’s 42nd consecutive classified finish (the second-longest streak in history behind Lewis Hamilton’s 48).
• With Lando Norris P6 and Oscar Piastri P8, McLaren scored in the season’s opening race for the first time since 2021. Piastri scored as many points in this race as he did in the first five races of 2023.
• Lewis Hamilton’s P7 was his worst Bahrain result since the hybrid era began in 2014.
• Fernando Alonso was P9 for Aston Martin – he finished on the podium in the opening three races last year. With teammate Lance Stroll in P10, Aston Martin scored with both cars in Bahrain for the second consecutive year.
• There were no retirements in the opening race of a season for the first time in F1 history.

Results Summary

Championship Standings