The meager 2024 Formula 1 preseason, of only three days of training, came to a close yesterday in Bahrain with an uninspiring conclusion for the spectacle and rivalry starting next Saturday, March 2, when the World Cup will start: the championship will return to be a Max Verstappen and 19 other drivers who will fight for the crumbs left by the insatiable Dutch champion.
This has been made clear by the three days of testing at the Sajir circuit, in which the new Red Bull RB20, with its revolutionary aerodynamic solutions, has once again proven to be one step ahead of its rivals. The Dutchman, who led the first day (1.1s faster than his pursuer, Norris's McLaren) and on the last day was the fastest on the medium tire, will once again be the top candidate for the title.
All rivals see him as even more dominant than in 2023, when he won 19 of the 22 races (86%, an absolute record), and Red Bull won 21 (the only one he did not win was stolen by Carlos Sainz in Singapore) .
“I would say, I think, that after seeing Max and the Red Bull car this year, there is less chance for everyone to win a race this season. But that's the way things are,” Fernando Alonso admitted without sugarcoating the harsh reality after seeing how the RB20 went in the three test sessions.
Such has been the superiority of the Dutchman, without the need to put on the softest tires to show muscle, that the Asturian does not hesitate to assure that Verstappen will not have any rival to overshadow him: “I think that 19 drivers in the paddock now think that We will win the championship. This happens 99% of the time in your career,” assumed the Spaniard from Aston Martin.
Alonos bows to bullfighting superiority: “Max is the world champion and Red Bull is dominating F-1. The concept they have presented this year is also a surprise,” he commented in relation to the new aerodynamic concept that Adrian Newey has cooked up for the Red Bull: with Mercedes-style cannons on the engine cover and vertical air intakes on the sidepods – which They were precisely discarded by the star team.
The result has been that Red Bull has moved a little further away from its most direct rivals and has surpassed itself: in Bahrain it was 1.5 seconds faster than the 2023 RB19 on the first day of testing, and distanced the McLaren at 1.1s, the Ferrari (Sainz) at 1.2 and the Aston Martin (Alonso) at 2s... Yesterday, at the close of the preseason, the Asturian, 8th on the day, was 4 tenths behind from the Dutch with the same average compound, and the Madrid native, 9th, 5 tenths away.
"We have to be positive with the car because it is an improvement and that is a fact," commented the Spaniard at the close of the preseason. "I think it's hard to say now [if we have a winning car]," he said, without getting wet about his options for the new season. Alonso was fourth in the 2023 World Cup, with eight podiums, but was denied victory number 33.
“I'm not surprised by Red Bull. They will start with an advantage and are the favorites. I hope we have a car that allows us to fight Red Bull, also in the race,” commented Sainz, who concluded the tests as the driver who set the best time of the preseason, the only one who dropped below 1m30s, on the second day (with tire soft C4).
At least, the man from Madrid reinforces his optimistic feelings by confirming that the Ferrari SF-24 is very fast on a single lap, as evidenced yesterday by Leclerc with the best time... Although in the long runs, the Red Bull continues in another orbit: unattainable.
Lewis Hamilton, who will sign for Ferrari in 2025, closed his preseason with a very discreet 12th time with supersoft tires (C5), 1.6 seconds behind Leclerc, which portends difficulties for the Englishman from Mercedes at this start of the season. season, too far from Red Bull and Ferrari.
