Max Verstappen and Crimson Bull trounced the opposition within the first Components 1 race of 2024.
A cushty one-two dispelled any strategies their aggressive new automobile design won’t be as efficient as its predecessor. And it delivered a blow to their rivals who hoped that they had lower into Crimson Bull’s vital race tempo benefit over the winter.
However as all the time after only one race there stays a lot we haven’t discovered about how aggressive the sector is and should turn out to be over the subsequent 9 months and 23 rounds. Listed below are six the explanation why Crimson Bull should still face stronger competitors than final yr.
Their successful margin wasn’t as massive
It’s straightforward to get distracted by a number of the headline statistics from final weekend. Sure, Verstappen opened the yr with a ‘grand slam’ – win, pole, quickest lap and main each lap – which hasn’t been completed since Michael Schumacher at Melbourne in 2004. True, he loved the largest successful margin ever seen in Bahrain, main crew mate Sergio Perez residence by 22 seconds.
However Verstappen’s lead over Perez isn’t what issues. After final season, few realistically anticipated Perez to instantly emerge as a title contender.
The rather more vital determine is Verstappen’s lead over the closest non-Crimson Bull, and this was a lot much less. Fernando Alonso got here in 38.6 seconds adrift in third place final yr, however yesterday Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Ferrari was 25.1s behind.
That’s nonetheless a large margin. However there are different the explanation why Crimson Bull had been so laborious to catch in Bahrain.
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Technique amplified Crimson Bull’s benefit
The Bahrain Worldwide Circuit is essentially the most abrasive monitor on the calendar. The punishment it metes out to the tyres makes this one among few assured two-stop races in atypical circumstances.
Regardless of the novelty of their vehicles, the tyres held no secrets and techniques for the groups, as they spent three days pounding across the circuit final week. The medium tyre compound proved ineffective for race runs, however Crimson Bull knew they might make the comfortable tyre last more than their rivals.
Due to this fact they banked a recent set of softs for the race, which gave them the luxurious of protecting round one-third of the race distance on tyres which had been two phases softer than their rivals had been working on. That gained’t be an choice at most races this yr.
Verstappen wasn’t quickest in qualifying
All by final yr the Crimson Bull wasn’t as robust over a single lap because it was over a race distance. That trait clearly remained in Bahrain, regardless that Verstappen took pole place.
His 1’29.179 in Q3 put him on pole place by 0.228 seconds over Charles Leclerc. However the Ferrari driver had completed a 1’29.165 in Q2.
Certainly, the aggressive scenario behind Crimson Bull in qualifying was rather more encouraging than this time a yr in the past:
Even with the dominant RB19 at his disposal, Verstappen missed out on pole place 10 occasions final yr. He might discover himself beginning off pole place extra usually this yr, and additional again within the pack when he does so.
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Perez nonetheless appears a weak hyperlink
Final yr any slight efficiency drawback for Crimson Bull was amplified on Perez’s aspect of the storage. Extremely, he did not take the all-conquering RB19 into Q3 on 9 events over the course of the season.
Though Perez’s kind picked up on the finish of final yr, the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend gave no indication he has considerably decreased his standard deficit to his crew mate. His 0.358s hole to Verstappen was the biggest between any pair of crew mates in Q3.
As the info above exhibits, he’s going to have a more durable combat on his fingers this yr. That may restrict his usefulness to the crew’s efforts to attain factors and as his effectiveness as Verstappen’s wing man.
The chasing pack is even tighter
Had it not been for Alpine’s conspicuously poor begin to the season we might have the ability to say the F1 grid is nearer from the entrance of the grid to the again than it was this time final yr.
The upshot of that’s the drivers’ efficiency has a better bearing than earlier than. We will see extra clearly when somebody has carried out nicely or badly. One living proof final weekend was George Russell, who was the one driver within the high seven locations on the grid to place all his finest sector occasions collectively in a single lap. He was rewarded with third as an alternative of seventh on the grid.
The drivers recognize the nearer combat, even when it prices them at occasions, as Daniel Ricciardo admitted.
“It’s good that there’s a fairly aggressive area,” he advised the official F1 channel after yesterday’s race. “No less than within the midfield it’s very aggressive.
“Even qualifying yesterday, I’ve made a mistake in flip one and I paid the value. And it’s form of good – it’s not good once you make the error, however it’s good when you recognize you’ll want to put a extremely good lap collectively to be the place you need to be.”
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Mercedes had been compromised
Amongst all of Crimson Bull’s likeliest rivals, Mercedes had been those which appeared to exhibit the least of their potential in Bahrain. After topping second apply they by no means fairly received the W15 again the place they needed it.
That was partly by design. The crew elected to optimise their automobile extra for the race in qualifying, so had been dissatisfied to finish up third and ninth on the grid.
They anticipated to point out their hand within the race however found that they had misjudged their cooling ranges. Because of this George Russell and Lewis Hamilton needed to cut back their tempo so as to attain the tip, which created knock-on issues.
“We received the cooling stage fallacious right this moment and that price us,” crew principal Toto Wolff defined. “To handle the problem, we needed to do much more lift-and-coast and also you then lose efficiency with the tyres. It’s a vicious circle.”
Naturally the crew imagine the automobile might have been lots faster with out that limitation. Mercedes is attending to grips with a wholesale change of automobile idea, and probably have rather more to unlock from their new automobile over the approaching races.
Over to you
Are you continue to holding out hope Verstappen might face a stronger problem from his rivals this yr? Or does the above strike you as wishful pondering?
Share your views within the feedback.
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2024 Bahrain Grand Prix
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