Red Bull may have introduced a slight variation of their dominant RB19 and still outperformed their competitors this year, given the significant lead they had over the field last year. This year, Adrian Newey and his team of designers acknowledged Mercedes and their unsuccessful ‘zero-sidepod’ concept that proved detrimental in 2022 and half of 2023.
Possibly influenced and even impressed by Mercedes’ attempt, Newey seems to have demonstrated how it should truly be executed. The RB20, crafted by his team, was seven-tenths of a second quicker than any other car on Wednesday morning in Bahrain.
During the initial run of the new 2024 F1 cars, Verstappen completed 65 laps. The RB20 appeared stable as the triple F1 World Champion experienced the car that could potentially secure his fourth title.
Today, just over 90 minutes into the morning session, Verstappen began setting the pace, achieving the fastest lap time and maintaining his position. An hour later, despite a slight error on his best lap of that period, he managed to go even faster, setting the morning’s best time: 1:32.548.
Charles Leclerc came in second, indicating a promising start for the Ferrari SF24. Similarly, the Aston Martin AMR24 was a few tenths behind in third place.
Significantly, as the session concluded, Verstappen cheekily overtook Leclerc on hot laps. It seems like Max is daring his competitors to catch him, while Charles envisions chasing the Red Bull throughout the year.
Regardless of the circumstances after the first morning of F1 testing, with considerations of sandbagging and keeping strategies hidden, the initial impression is that the Red Bull RB 20 has once again established the standard, with Verstappen leading the way and the others in pursuit. It’s the same familiar story.
Report in progress…
According to the Source grandprix247.com
