Bahrain – EL1: RB and McLaren show up, Verstappen in control

• We can officially say it: the 2024 season of Formula 1 is thrown ! Hostilities began this Thursday with the first free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. A first hour of driving which allowed the teams to continue to refine their cars in preparation for the inaugural event, a week after the winter tests on the same Sakhir track. And during this session, it's not the reigning three-time world champion Max Verstappen who stood out but the RBs and McLaren.
• The Italian and English teams were among the only ones to put their drivers on soft tires (Sauber also did it but not with the same success). This therefore made the business of Daniel Ricciardo who topped the rankings with a best lap of 1'32"869. On the line, it didn't matter much since the Australian was only ahead Lando Norris than 0“032. Also on the “soft” rubber, Oscar piastri et Yuki tsunoda placed themselves behind their teammates in the lead car, with the Australian just ahead of the Japanese. Fernando Alonso appeared as the first driver in the standings not to have achieved his best time on soft tyres.

Smooth recovery for Verstappen

• As for the world champion, nothing to report. As usual, Max Verstappen came out in the first moments to settle at the top of the table before rolling out his work plan. Ultimately, this time was not enough for him to dominate his comrades but the Batavian, aware that the most important sessions take place at night, preferred to save his soft tires for later. Nothing alarming with this 6th position at 0“369 from Daniel Ricciardo. During EL2, scheduled for 16:00 p.m. (French time), it would not be surprising to see the driver Red Bull increase your pace.
• To Alpine, the trend of winter tests seems to be confirmed. While internally there was already concern, on the track things were not necessarily better. To find traces of the A524 you have to go down to the 17th and 18th rows, Esteban Ocon et Pierre Gasly only ahead of the Haas de Kevin Magnussen et Nico Hulkenberg. The weekend promises to be very long for the Blues.

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