So a new season starts for Formula One (F1) Grand Prix racing circuit! We had our first piece of big news even before the engines started for practice on Thursday, as an outside investigation has cleared Red Bull Principal Christian Horner of all charges of misconduct with a Red Bull employee. He will remain Principal of Red Bull....for now. There are still many questions left unanswered regarding this incident, so time will tell if any further action is taken.
As for the racing itself, Practice One (P1), on Thursday 3am (PST time) in Bahrain, Daniel Riccardo for RB won the P1, with both McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris for McLaren finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Not much to report from P1, other than the track at Bahrain was quite abrasive due to the heat and sand from racing during the day, and the winds, which were gusting at 15 MPH (a big deal on racing cars like those in F1, as the winds can throw off the driver's control on turns, and we saw several drivers overshoot some turns on the laps). P2 will take place in the evening (7amPST), which will be a better indicator of how the track plays out for the teams and drivers.
P2 at night, both the temperatures and the track are much cooler, teeth-chattering according to one paddock reporter. Drivers used the cooler weather to their advantage, using more of the soft tyres to get a better feel of the track. Should mention P1 , P2, and P3 times are one hour, btw. Takeaways from this P2 practice: No crashes, no problems with any of the cars, track is a bit bumpy and the cars are a bit stiff, which is kind of to be expected for first races of the season. Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished 1st and 2nd, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso finished 3rd. Tomorrow will be final practice (P3) and then Qualifying, which determines placement on the 20 car grid for the Grand Prix on Saturday!
Btw, here is an image of the Bahrain track!
P3 time! Another day practice, with the temperature warmer at 68 degrees, and the wind still around 15MPH, and most of the drivers in this practice are abandoning the middle tyres in favor of mostly soft (more speed) and hard (more durability). On laps, turns 8 thru 12, especially turn 11, seem to cause the drivers and the tyres on the cars some stress. McLaren has admitted that their car can be susceptible to the winds, and turn 13 has been a challenge in this practice. In the end, P3 top three standings were Carlos Sainz/Ferrari, Fernando Alonso/Aston Martin, and Max Verstappen/Red Bull. Now the real racing starts with 2024's first Qualifying! A note on how Qualifying works: There are three quick races to determine grid position for the GP on Saturday. First Quali the last five drivers are cut, second quali again, last five drivers dropped, and 3rd and final quali determines the top ten on the grid and the ever important pole (1st) position. It's night time in Bahrain, and now the competitiveness really begins! It's unseasonably cold and windy this night, so keep that in mind. In Q1, with 18 minutes of racing, the five slowest cars were both Alpine drivers, Ocon and Gasley, both Sauber cars, Bottas and Zhou, and Williams driver Logan Sargent, who will now be in the very back of the 20 car grid for the GP.
Q2 is 14 minutes of racing, and the bottom five teams/drivers were Albon for Williams, both RB cars with Tsunda and Riccardo, Stroll for Aston-Martin and Maggusson for Haas. Q3 and pole position is the last one to determine the top ten of the racing grid in 12 minutes. And for the 3rd time in Bahrain and 34 time in the Grand Prix, Red Bull's Max Verstappen take the pole (1st) for tomorrow's Grand Prix!
Here is your Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid for Saturday! Looks like a Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes battle, but anything can happen in a Grand Prix!
Some facts: For the Bahrain GP, there are 57 laps, 15 turns, and top speed on the straights up to 203 MPH. We have a nasty cross-winds affect that the drivers have to deal with, and this GP is a night race.
Now for the words we've been waiting to hear since last season ended: LIGHTS OUT, AND AWAY WE GO! I should note I am definitely not reporting on all 57 laps in this or any other race, just notable action. First note is the tyre strategy, which teams are starting on soft tyres (fastest, but degrades quickly) hard tyre (slower but durable), and teams will finish the last laps back to the soft tyres. All teams had switched to hard tyre by lap 18. LeClerc is having major lock-up problems, hence why he has slipped from 2nd place, and his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, who will NOT be with Ferrari next year due to Ferrari signing Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, is driving like a driver with something to prove to the other teams looking for a driver in 2025, has overtaken LeClerc twice so far. Sergio Perez has done the same to George Russell, overtaking him twice as well. Verstappen has a 30 second lead on all the drivers thru 18 laps, so Max feeling very comfortable at this point.
At lap 35, teams have now switched back to hard tyres on their second pit stop, will there be a third pit stop to switch back to soft for the speed? Verstappen with an 18 second lead, with the battle for 2nd thru 5th going on among several drivers. Judging by the radio interaction, Pierre Gasly of Alpine is not happy, making sailors blush with the salty language about his car! We're at Lap 50 of 57, and only Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Sergio Perez are using the soft tyres, which is paying off for them, as it looks like they will finish 1st and 2nd place. George Russell of Mercedes had a lock-up on his brakes, allowing LeClerc to jump ahead of him for 4th.
And crossing the finishing line and snagging yet another checkered white flag is VerStappen, finishing 22 seconds ahead of his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, with Ferrari's Sainz and LeClerc poling at 3rd and 4th respectfully. Mercedes Russell at 5th, McLaren's Norris 6th, Mercedes Hamilton 7th, McLaren's Piastri 8th, and rounding out the top 10 are Aston-Martin's Fernando Alonzo and Lance Stroll. The top ten teams and drivers score the first points in F1 Drivers and Constructors (team) leaderboard, the last 10 teams, nada points. If you notice, the pecking order of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston-Martin finishing in the top ten! Verstappen also picked up a point for fastest lap, as well. Sainz won the fan favorite poll for Driver of the Day.
Our Bahrain podium top 3!
And for some F1 "buzz" about a LOT of things that were happening this weekend, on and off the track ( I know my gossip girls) , check this very understandable video!
That's a wrap for F1 Bahrain Grand Prix! Off to Jannah, Saudi Arabia next week!
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