In 2024, George Russell will hit the track for the F1 pre-season in the Mercedes W15. The cars have been revealed and tested, and now it’s time for the real action to begin in Formula 1 in 2024. However, the question remains, which drivers will be behind the wheel during pre-season testing?
This year, the winter testing will once again take place in Bahrain, with a single test spread across three days before the opening round at the same venue. Max Verstappen, the reigning World Champion for Red Bull, will be the first to try out the new RB20 on Wednesday. He will have the entire day to test the car in the desert.
On Thursday, Sergio Perez will share the driving duties with his teammate before taking both sessions to conclude Red Bull’s pre-season testing commitments. Mercedes has also decided to divide the driving time between two drivers. George Russell will be in the W15 on Wednesday, while Lewis Hamilton will take over on Thursday.
Ferrari’s revamped SF-23 challenger will be driven by Charles Leclerc and then Carlos Sainz on the first day of testing. However, the team has not yet revealed its plans beyond that. McLaren has confirmed that Oscar Piastri, entering his second F1 season, will start the day in the MCL38 and then switch with Lando Norris. This arrangement will remain in place for the second day, but on the final day, Piastri will conclude the testing.
At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso will begin his second campaign in green, with Lance Stroll also taking the wheel of the AMR23 in the afternoon session. Alpine will start their testing with Esteban Ocon on the first and third days, while Pierre Gasly will drive in the afternoon and the morning of Day 2. Williams will have both drivers on Wednesday, but Logan Sargeant will have the FW46 all to himself on Thursday, followed by Alex Albon on Friday.
The newly rebranded RB team will have Yuki Tsunoda and then Daniel Ricciardo driving on the first day, but the rest of their plans remain undisclosed. Sauber, now operating under the Stake name, will stick with the same driver lineup, with Valtteri Bottas starting their testing program in the C44. Bottas will then hand over to Zhou Guanyu in the afternoon, and they will switch again for the following morning before repeating the process twice more.
Finally, Haas has chosen to divide the driving time each day. Kevin Magnussen will drive in the morning on the first and third day, while the afternoon session on the second day will be taken by another driver.
According to motorsportweek.com
