The first sighting of Red Bull’s RB20 prompted many to gawk at its virtuosic design. Adrian Newey and his design team, it seemed, had produced a car with so many innovations no one else had even dared to entertain. But still the real would only come once it hit the track in anger at the first race of the season.
Rarely has Adrian Newey conjured a car that wasn’t as fast as it looked. And the RB20 looked mighty. Max Verstappen confirmed this with pole on Friday, by leading every lap of the race, setting the fastest lap of the race, and winning the season opening race in Bahrain.
There were some question marks as the practice sessions concluded. As Verstappen didn’t top any of the free practice timesheets there was some speculation as to whether Ferrari and even Mercedes had managed to close the gap. And when Verstappen took pole by only two tenths from Charles Leclerc, the speculation amplified even more. Could Red Bull finally be challenged from the start of the season?
The question was quickly answered on race day as Verstappen easily cleared off at the front. He left the Ferrari’s and teammate, Checo Perez, to fight amongst themselves for the podium as he completed an untroubled run to win number 55 of his career. Perez ultimately finished second after starting the race in fifth. It was a solid race for the Mexican, but he won’t be pleased with the nearly 22 second margin to Verstappen.
Driver of the Day, Carlos Sainz finished third with a spirited driver. The Spaniard, to be replaced at Ferrari by Hamilton in 2025, scythed past his teammate, Leclerc, not once but twice. It was a clear statement of intent from Sainz that, in 2024, he is driving for himself and not the team that has booted him. It’s a welcome change to see a feistier version of Sainz, long may it continue.
Leclerc, who had struggled with brake issues throughout the race, finished fourth. Meanwhile, George Russell could only manage fifth for Mercedes after starting the race in P3.
Lando Norris ran just an okay race for McLaren to finish sixth ahead of Hamilton in seventh. Oscar Piastri was eighth in the other McLaren while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed the top ten. Aston Martin’s performance was a far cry from its 2023 start to the season which saw Alonso on the podium. It’s clear that team hasn’t been able to replicate its early 2023 form and has some work to do to find their way back into podium contention.
Elsewhere, it was a dismal weekend for Alpine who qualified at the back of the pack. Neither Esteban Ocon nor Pierre Gasly was able to make much progress as the pair finished in seventeenth and eighteenth respectively.
It is, unequivocally, a poor car that Alpine has produced. And an even poorer showing from what is a works Formula 1 team. Rumour has it that several high-profile people within the team have already resigned. It’s difficult to see how Alpine will recover from this and the writing may very well be on the wall for the French team.
The second round of the 2024 season takes place this weekend at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah circuit.
The race weekend has, like in Bahrain, been moved a day forward to accommodate the start of Ramadan. This mean that FP1 and 2 will take place on Thursday, FP3 and quali on Friday, and the race on Saturday evening.
