Red Bull Beat the Off Track Distractions to Secure 1-2 in Bahrain

Red Bull picked up where they left off in the drivers and constructors championship with a repeat of last years Bahrain Grand Prix finishing 1-2. Verstappen finished 22 seconds ahead of Perez with Perez leading the pair of Ferraris in 3rd and 4th place. The early weekend pace of the Mercedes proved to be a fluke as the Mercedes weren’t able to keep up with the front runners; having to settle for 5th and 7th.

“It’s unbelievable,” said race-winner Verstappen. “I think today went even better than expected. I think the car was really nice to drive, on every [tire] compound I think we had a lot of pace. It was just super enjoyable to drive today, we really stayed out of trouble and it’s a great start to the year – it couldn’t have been better.”

The McLarens seem to have gotten the best of Aston Martin as the two teams tangle for the top 4 designation. Aston Martin finished P9 and P10. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were well behind on pace when compared to the McLarens. The team will need to bounce back in the next round so they don’t find themselves in a hole they can’t climb out of.

Haas Improves, Williams Back to the Bottom

Haas had a poor outing during practice and qualifying this weekend. However, Kevin Magnussen led the charge during the Bahrain Grand Prix to secure a P12 finish. While the effort wasn’t a point scoring one Haas seems to have found something in terms of performance that they just didn’t have last year. With the exit of Guenther Steiner and the promotion of Ayao Komatsu to team Principal. Haas is looking to turn their fortunes around and start scoring championship points again. The pressure on Haas is at an all time high to perform as they have not had a successful season in recent years.

Williams had another unfortunate outing with Alex Albon finishing P15 and Logan Sargeant finishing dead last on the grid 2 laps behind the leaders. It appears that Williams hasn’t made any progress during the offseason. Questions will be raised as to whether Sargeant is still the man for the seat as he has failed to launch a presence in F1 since his debut.

Racing Bulls Fail to Score Points in Opener

The 2023 season ended in controversy for the Racing Bulls when reserve driver Liam Lawson was denied a seat with the team after outperforming Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in the races he participated in. Ricciardo and Tsunoda once again failed to score points in the season opener. Every race that goes by without points scored will raise tensions in the Racing Bulls camp leaving questions around whether they chose the right drivers for their seats.

Now that the dust has settled in Bahrain the teams go back to the factory to analyze where they stand in the pecking order as work on 2024 upgrades begins. The next race is Sakhir in Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from March 7-9. 

Full Bahrain Grand Prix Results Are Below