2024-02-29 13:31:18
Just a few days following the end of the pre-season test drives, the GP stars were allowed to go out for the first free training session of the new season at the Bahrain International Circuit with an outside temperature of 19 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 35 degrees. The spectators didn’t have to wait long, as the first drivers took to the desert circuit in the first minute.
Nico Hülkenberg was credited with the first lap time; the Haas driver covered the 5.412 km on the medium tire compound (C2) in 1:38.955 minutes and was passed through accordingly quickly. The first to report problems was Sauber driver Guanyu Zhou, who had to immediately turn back into the pits because of concerns with the brakes.
After the first ten minutes, Max Verstappen also completed his first fast lap and took the lead with a time of 1:33.900 min. Behind him was his Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Pérez, who also accelerated on the medium mixture and stayed 84 thousandths above the Dutchman’s time. The drivers had to contend with the fairly strong wind, which caused some horseback riding, such as Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who went off the track in Turn 4.
Although Verstappen was able to take the lead straight away, his assessment of his racing car was not good. “Everything is bad, we are miles away,” complained the champion on the radio while Lewis Hamilton tackled his second ride. The seven-time world champion moved into second place, just 25 thousandths of a second behind Verstappen’s time.
Shortly followingwards, his Mercedes teammate George Russell made it to the top of the time monitor with 1:33.749 minutes, but his joy didn’t last long because Verstappen followed up with 1:33.535 minutes. Pérez was also able to improve and move into third place between the two Mercedes drivers.
World champion with worries
Shortly before the end of the first third, Hülkenberg braked in the tenth corner, while Verstappen specified his dissatisfaction with the handling of his RB20 and reported that the GP racer jumped when changing gears. The world champion team then took care of the long-time winner’s worries right in the pits.
After the first 20 minutes, the order was Verstappen ahead of Russell, Pérez, Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant, Pierre Gasly, Zhou, Kevin Magnussen and Hulkenberg.
McLaren hope Piastri was the first to switch to the soft tires shortly before half-time and set a new benchmark for the rest of the field with a time of 1:33.113 minutes. His teammate Norris followed suit and pushed the record to 1:32.901 min. Some drivers followed their example and Ricciardo soon took the lead with 1:32.869 min. His stablemate Tsunoda also improved and took fourth position, just over three tenths behind.
20 minutes before the end of the session, Verstappen, who had now passed through, switched to the medium-hard tires once more and improved to fifth position. Most of the drivers chose not to drive on the softest compound in conditions that were not particularly representative of the race and qualifying. In addition to the Racing Bulls stars and McLaren drivers, only the two Sauber drivers were on the red-marked compound.
The Haas drivers Hülkenberg and Magnussen got fresh tires, but were clearly in racing trim and therefore far from the best time. Both also occupied the last positions in the last ten minutes.
The two Alpine teammates were also at the back of the field, struggling with the handling of their company car, which, according to Ocon, was “not consistent”. His race engineer suspected that this had to do with the strong winds that continued to make life difficult for the GP stars.
Verstappen also complained regarding gearshift problems in the last few minutes, but in the end the champion took sixth place. Ricciardo was happy regarding the fastest time, Norris, Piastri, Tsunoda and Alonso completed the top 10.
1. Training, Bahrain
01. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bulls, 1:32.869 min
02. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:32.901
03. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:33.113
04. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:33,183
05. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:33.193
06. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:33,238
07. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:33,251
08. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:33,268
09. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:33,302
10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:33.354
11. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:33.385
12. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:33.413
13. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:33,583
14. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:33,868
15. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:33,923
16. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, 1:34,213
17. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:34,807
18. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:35,144
19. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:37.477
20. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, 1:37.938
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#Complaints #champion #Max #Verstappen
