Lights out and away we go! The 2024 F1 season has officially kicked off with the first race already behind us. The anticipation of Formula One fans worldwide has been rewarded with a solid first-race weekend showcasing a glimpse of what may come throughout the rest of the 2024 season.
The Race
As the lights went out and the cars sped towards turn one, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed the lead, a position he would keep until the end of this race. Close behind was Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, George Russel of Mercedes, and the second Red Bull car of Sergio Perez. At the back of the field, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was hit from behind by the Haas car of Nico Hulkenberg, resulting in a slow start for the Canadian international who dropped to last.
A few laps into the race, Russel and Leclerc battled it out for P2 with the Merc driver sending a great overtake around the outside of Leclerc’s Ferrari, taking the place from the Scuderia driver. Further down the field, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin was passed by both McLarens, dropping to P8 and giving McLaren control at the top of the midfield runners.
The second Ferrari runner, Carlos Sainz, pushed his teammate to the limits, showing great racing prowess and taking P4 from Leclerc who fell further down the field into P5. This battle will certainly be one to watch in future races as Ferrari’s incoming 2025 signing of F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton meant the decision to move on from Sainz. The Spaniard certainly seemed motivated to show the Scuderia the mistake they may have made as Sainz drove a fantastic race, eclipsing his teammate Leclerc on the way to a well-deserved P3 podium finish.
As the drivers settled into the race, there was very limited movement around the circuit. Places were steadily held in the top half of the table while the bottom half had some inconsequential overtaking and fighting. Lance Stroll came back in fantastic fashion, however, going from P20 to the points at P10, gaining an impressive 10 places with no help from a safety car along the way. Verstappen won the race, clearing his closest rival, Perez, by a little over 22 seconds. Sainz rounded off his incredible drive on the podium with teammate Leclerc trailing just behind.
The Review
None should be surprised by the continued dominance that Red Bull holds over the rest of the field. While pulling off a seemingly easy 1-2 finish, the racing outfit gave us an idea of how the rest of the season is likely to go. No car or driver came close to Verstappen or the rest of Red Bull throughout most of the weekend, with Charles Leclerc’s P2 qualification as the best chance of overtaking the Dutch driver’s supremacy.
Ferrari should be pleased with their performances, albeit perhaps with a few chewed-off nails from the battles between their drivers. Both racers drove well with Sainz claiming driver of the day after a standout performance on a track that, in past years, Leclerc seemed to enjoy slightly more.
The McLarens and Mercedes finished mixed together between 5th and 8th with Russel and Norris beating out their teammates in 5th and 6th respectively. Mercedes struggled with race pace, an issue that has haunted them in each of the past few seasons. If they have hopes of higher achievements, they are going to need to sort out that problem sooner rather than later. The Aston Martins rounded out the top 10 following Stroll’s understated drive to a P10 finish.
Of the bottom half of the field, very little can be said surrounding commendations to the drivers. It was a relatively boring race below the points line, with Zhou Gyanyu of the newly named Kick Sauber finishing best of the rest in 11th. Although he couldn’t sneak into the points, he gained 6 places from his starting position of 17th and showcased impressive race pace and consistency. Alpine was the epitome of dismal, putting in a really poor performance that left their French duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in 17th and 18th place respectively.
Overall, this race was nothing special. The 2024 season began just around as expected with no real surprises coming from the 20-car field. Everyone will be looking forward to the Saudi Arabia GP in Jeddah this weekend as F1 fans will most likely all feel a little let down by the quiet race viewed in Bahrain.
