Leclerc Leads Final Practice Ahead of Qualifying In Australia

Charles Leclerc has positioned himself at the top of the table in practice thus far this weekend. In FP3 Leclerc edged out Max Verstappen by 0.02s suggesting that the Ferraris can consistently match qualifying pace of the Red Bulls but need to find a way to translate that to race wins. “It’s been a couple of tough weeks leading to today and to be honest I’m very happy I could complete both sessions feeling reasonably comfortable. I will continue to take it step by step to make sure I come to qualifying and to the race in the best form possible. I’m confident tomorrow will be better and overall, the car seems to be in a good place this weekend. We’ll try to maximize everything from body and machine!”

Qualifying is just a few hours away.

FP3 Results

Max Verstappen once again led the effort at Red Bull ahead of teammate Sergio Perez to secure a 1-2 finish for the Red Bull side at Jeddah. The Red Bulls dominated the race and made a definitive statement in terms of their pace this season. F1 fans had anticipated Red Bull would sweep the season again but no one thought they’d do so by the margins they have. Here is how it all happened in Jeddah.

Gasly and Stroll Out Early

Pierre Gasly unfortunately didn’t make it one lap in the race before having to retire the car. Gasly suffered from a major failure related to his gearbox rendering his day over before it could even get started. 6 laps later Lance Stroll made contact with the wall at Turn 22 which resulted in his suspension being terminally damaged. The crash triggered the safety car which prompted a flood of pit stops given the 11s time loss compared to the typical 20 seconds under green flag conditions.

The majority of the cars pitted for Hard tires including the front runners Verstappen, Perez and Charles Leclerc to extend their initial stints and take care of their mandatory tire switch early as the race developed. . An unfortunate hurdle for Sergio Perez added 5 seconds to his race time for an unsafe release. Ultimately it didn’t make a difference in his finishing position as the pace of the Red Bulls proved to be too much for the competition and he was able to climb to 2nd by the end of the race.

Bearman Scores Points in F1 Debut in Jeddah

Oliver Bearman was called up from his F2 weekend at Jeddah to substitute for the recovering Carlos Sainz who was ruled out this weekend due to appendicitis. Bearman had a good qualifying but had to settle for P11 at the start. Despite that Bearman proved that he is good enough to hang with the best drivers in the world. After making some sensation passes Bearman finished the race P7 and helped Ferrari claim a double points finish. Bearman commented on his F1 debut.

“What a great experience and opportunity to have my first race in Formula 1 with Scuderia Ferrari, ” said Bearman. “It was physically demanding, especially in the end when I had Lando (Norris) and Lewis (Hamilton) behind me on Softs. I had to push flat out to maintain the gap and had to stay really focused, always checking my mirrors. It was a shame that the Safety Car came out so early, as I was comfortable on the Softs, but of course it was the right call to pit then and I’m very happy with the result.

I’m confident that I maximized everything today and had great fun out there. I’ll never forget this weekend. Thank you to the whole team for their support and for giving me the chance to race.”

Aston Martin Outperforms Mercedes Again, Mercedes Has No Answers

Mercedes is left scratching their heads in Saudi Arabia. They were out performed by Aston Martin again leaving the team dejected and wondering where they went wrong. To make matters worse both McLarens finished ahead outscoring Mercedes by 6 points on the weekend.

Mercedes Team Principal said, “Today was not a good day for us. It is clear that we are struggling with the car in the high-speed corners. We are competitive elsewhere but in three corners here, we were losing about half-a-second. It was therefore incredibly difficult for the drivers to attack with. We tried something different on the strategy but unfortunately, with the low levels of degradation we saw across the field, it didn’t work out for us. Congratulations must go to Ollie Bearman; he jumped in the car at such short notice and drove a great race, particularly in that final stint. It shows just how high the level is in Formula 2.

Wolff Continued…

There is so much learning we can take from these first two race weekends. We need to get our heads down to analyze, understand and improve. It’s clear that we’ve got a lot of work to do but these tough days make you better. Everyone is committed to getting the car into a better place and we look forward to coming back stronger in Australia.”

Results from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah

For more coverage be sure to check out F1.com

Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position at Jeddah today which felt like a bit of redemption after “the lap that never was” a few years ago that surely would’ve seen Verstappen set the lap record. His blistering 1m 27.472s lap sent him 3 tenths clear of Charles Leclerc who also had a late charge in Q3 to take P2. In third came Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

Fernando Alonso also put his name in the mix finishing qualifying with a best lap a mere 0.046s slower than Sergio Perez. Aston Martin displayed formidable pace in Q3. On paper this could see Fernando Alonso into podium contention. Jeddah is a track known for its tight, high speed corners. Jeddah is one of the least forgiving circuits on the Formula 1 schedule leaving almost no margin for error. Aston Martin is looking to bounce back after a disappointing first round of the season saw them fall behind substantially in pace to the McLarens. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished P5 and P6 respectively in Q3. It would be a mistake to write them off for podium contention.

Substitute Ferrari Driver Oliver Bearman Falls Short in Q2 but Shows Promise

Oliver Bearman got the call this weekend that Carlos Sainz would not be able to continue the race weekend due to a diagnosis of appendicitis. Bearman had limited time to get acquianted with the data gathered thus far and had to put it into practice ahead of qualifying. Bearmen successfully made it out of Q1 but fell just short in Q2; finish P11 overall. Bearman was excited about the opportunity to step up.

“It’s been a great day but it could have been even better. It wasn’t the ideal way of making my F1 debut and of course I send all my best wishes to Carlos for a speedy recovery. But it’s a great opportunity nevertheless. I would have liked to have come to [qualifying] with more than the 22 laps I did in FP3. But I can still be happy with today, even if Q2 was a bit messy. It was so close, but I made a mistake on my first push lap, so I had to do a second one and by then the tires were no longer at their best. Now I’m ready to make the most of this opportunity tomorrow. I will focus on bringing the car home, although points would be nice. But it’s my first race on a really difficult track, so I can’t expect too much.”

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix kicks off tomorrow.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

This morning is was announced that Carlos Sainz would be sitting out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to concerns surrounding a diagnosis of appendicitis. “Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery,” read a brief statement issued by Ferrari, who wished their driver “a speedy recovery. As from FP3 and for the rest of this weekend, he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round of the F2 Championship.”

Oliver Bearman will step up to take over for Sainz on the weekend. We will report more as this story develops.

Have the Aston Martins been reborn? After a lackluster round 1 in Bahrain Aston martin is looking to find that spark again like they did at the begging of the 2023 season. Today in FP2 we saw a glimpse of that brilliance when Fernando Alonso finished on top of the table in Jeddah. The street circuit is one of the most technical on the calendar and the drivers will be pushed to the brink in order to find consistency with lap times.

Alonso Sets the Bar for FP3

Alonso set a 1m28.827s lap time ahead of George Russell who was 0.0230s behind and Max Verstappen who was just over 3 tenths behind. Charles Leclerc finished in 4th ahead of Sergio Perez in 5th. Perez had positive thoughts on the day despite not finishing in the top 3. He said, “I think we’re in a good spot, in a good place – it was a very positive Thursday. We have a very good idea which direction we need to take to make the car faster and if we’re able to do that, it’s going to benefit the long run, it’s going to benefit the qualifying. So, very pleased with the day.”

Daniel Ricciardo Falls Behind Again

After finishing 12th in FP1 Ricciardo didn’t move in the direction he had hoped. With his job at RB on the line, moving towards the back of the grid is not what is going to convince Red Bull that they made the right decision to forgo Liam Lawson. To make matters worse RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda out performed Ricciardo yet again finishing the session 11th. Ricciardo said, “It was an FP2 session of two halves. We were competitive on the first set of the soft compound but instead, I struggled a lot with the second set.

The track was getting better, and everyone was improving, but I really struggled to improve my time because I encountered some traffic and didn’t feel that bite. The second set was a little bit of a mystery, so there’s something to learn from that, but looking at the first set, we don’t have to be too discouraged. We’ll get back to work tonight and understand how we can put it all together.”

Tsunoda Ends FP2 on Positive Note

Tsunoda moved in the opposite direction finishing behind Ricciardo in FP1 but ahead in FP2. He had more positive thoughts on the day. “Overall, today was a good day,” Tsunoda said. “There are still a couple of areas to look into tonight, but the car is feeling ok in terms of balance. The data we gathered in both Practice Sessions today is important and will help us find more time for tomorrow. I lost out on Q3 by seven-thousandths of a second last week in Bahrain and that shows it’s a very tight field, but this keeps the team and myself motivated and focused. Tonight is about finetuning and putting it together for tomorrow and the race on Saturday. Let’s see how we go.”

FP3 kicks off in a few short hours. Can Ricciardo return to podium challenging form?

Full FP2 Results from Jeddah

Red Bull F1 Racing has dominated the sport in recent years, and quickly became the team to beat after taking the crown in 2021. Now with three straight drivers championships and a 1-2 finish in the 2023 championship. Red Bull has kicked off 2024 in familiar fashion with yet another 1-2 finish in the season opener in Bahrain. However, this success has also come with challenges off of the track.

The latest scandal involved team principal Christian Horner. Horner was accused of inappropriate conduct which was later dismissed by a third party investigation. Shortly after an anonymous whistleblower shared a series of messages with a number of people in the F1 paddock circle. The sender claimed the messages to be evidence of Horner’s alleged transgressions. However, the validity of this evidence is very much in question. Horner continues to deny any wrong doing and would not speculate on them. There is nothing thus far proving that any of these messages were sent to or by Horner. The rumor mill continues to spread on social media despite no new facts being released about the case. For now its innocent until proven guilty for Horner.

Pressure is Mounting Regarding Verstappen’s Future

In addition to the internal pressures Red Bull has faced. They also are the center focus for external concerns. There are rumors that Max Verstappen’s father has been in talks with Mercedes regarding an exit clause in Verstappen’s contract. Regardless of if this is true a move to Mercedes seems like the exact opposite of what Verstappen would want to continue his winning ways. Mercedes has struggled over the last two seasons and if Bahrain was any indication of the gap to Red Bull it would be a step down in performance for Verstappen to leave. Toto Wolff admittedly described the opening round as underwhelming.

“Our race in Bahrain was best described as underwhelming. We were hopeful of a stronger showing after our performance in practice and qualifying. Both drivers were pleased with the balance earlier in the weekend, and the more stable platform provided by the W15.

Unfortunately on Saturday evening, our cooling performance didn’t match our predictions. That forced us into management mode early on, which had the knock-on impact of reducing tire temperatures below optimum. That cost us the opportunity to show something closer to our true potential. It was a frustrating way to start the season but one we will learn from.”

Whether Verstappen would make such a move is unknown but given his continued success and dominance at Red Bull he doesn’t seem too keen on leaving the winning side as of now. If Mercedes can turn around their performance woes in 2024 this discussion might become more realistic but for now its just a rumor.

Is the Red Bull -Ford Relationship Strained?

In addition to the other off track pressure mounting in the Red Bull camp. It is clear that Ford was not happy with the lack of transparency during the Horner investigation. Despite Horner being cleared of any wrongdoing. There are more rumors circulating that Ford wants to pull out of their power unit deal set for 2026. Our sources confirm that these rumors are completely false and have no merit. However, that hasn’t stopped social media fans from fueling the fire.

Whether this is a witch hunt to knock the top team off of their A game or purely speculation. One thing that’s certain is Red Bull will need to be more focused now than ever if they want to repeat last year’s result.

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

The Red Bulls have been outside of the top 5 all weekend in practice but Max Verstappen put down a 1m29.179s lap which allowed him to seal pole position in Bahrain ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell. Leclerc finished 3 tenths behind Verstappen in what seems all but a bad dream for Ferrari. After dominating 2023 the Red Bulls had split results in the first qualifying session of the 2024 season. Sergio Perez Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate ran a best fifth fastest in Q3.

Mercedes Has Mixed Emotions On the Qualifying Result in Bahrain

Emotions were mixed in the Mercedes camp. George Russell appeared to find some pace on his closing laps to secure his spot on the second row. However, questions have been raised about Lewis Hamilton’s pace. It’s not clear if he is still fighting the car similar to the last two years. Hamilton said, “I struggled throughout Qualifying as we have in the past couple of years.

The car is feeling really great, but I just went a little bit in a direction to help my race pace. I wasn’t feeling as comfortable with that yesterday so that was the focus. I’ve definitely sacrificed more single-lap performance than I hoped too but I hope that pays off tomorrow.

It’s a lot of work to do to get past a lot of quick cars that are starting ahead of me, but I’m sure it’ll be fun. George’s position and the pace he showed today really highlights, and is a real testament, to the team. It shows just how hard everyone has worked over the winter. It’s amazing for us to have a car that we can fight with. It reignites the fire and the flame within us drivers. For me today, Bono and everyone else did a great job.”

George Russell Offered his Thoughts on the session

“Everybody at the factory has done a great job to give Lewis and I a car that we are much happier with. It’s a base that we can build upon. We’ve still got some catching up to do to be at the very front, but starting P3 for tomorrow’s race is a good place to be.”

Charles Leclerc Was Disappointed With Missing Out On Pole

“It was a good qualifying after what has been quite a tricky weekend,” said Leclerc. “We tried a few things in the free practice sessions and I found the sweet spot in qualifying. We went out on a set of used tires at first in Q3 which compromised our rhythm a bit, before switching to a new set but overall, it feels like we are in a better place than we were at the start of last year…We have to wait and see where we stand in terms of race pace and Red Bull still seem to be a step ahead of the rest of the pack. I’ll take any opportunity we have.”

The Ferraris are looking to bounce back after a disappointing year in 2023 that saw them win just one race. The Scuderia will have their work cut out for them in tomorrows race. The Aston Martins who saw early season success in 2023 couldn’t find the pace to set themselves up for good starting track position. Fernando Alonso will start P6 with teammate Lance Stroll not making it out of Q2 and starting P12. To add insult to injury Stroll was out qualified by both McLarens with Lando Norris finishing P7 and Oscar Piastri finishing P8. Tomorrow will be the true metric to determine if Verstappen will dominate the field like last year or of its someone else’s turn to rise to the occasion.

Full Qualifying Results from Bahrain Below

Formula 1 action kicked off today in Bahrain as the start of the 2024 season has finally arrived. FP1 and FP2 took lace today and Mercedes appears to be the front runners. No one in the F1 paddock expected Mercedes to start off so strong. Given the performance of their 2023 car many questions were raised as to how they would fair this season. Mercedes finishing 1-2 in FP2 well ahead of 2023 champion Max Verstappen.

Mercedes Drivers Comment on the Session

Lewis Hamilton

“It was very windy in FP1, and the track was very different to during the test. We didn’t know exactly where we would stack up against everyone else, but we had a positive FP2 session. The car was feeling good, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We know there is more to extract, and our long run pace isn’t in the fight with the Red Bulls.”
 
Overall though, I’m feeling much happier with the car than last year. We’ve made some good improvements and it feels much more like a race car. It’s a really good platform for us to build from. We just need to keep our heads down and keep chasing.

George Russell

“We’re not going to get carried away after one day of practice. Our qualifying pace did look strong. We made some changes from the test and the improvement exceeded our expectations. But ultimately our long run pace is where it counts. Verstappen looked comfortably quickest, and it was very tight with the Ferraris, the McLarens, and the Aston Martins. So we’ve likely got a real fight on our hands there.
 
Nevertheless, we’re pleased with how our day has gone; the car is performing well. We will sit down and understand where the main improvements came from and try to sustain that. We want to be fighting for good positions on Saturday night.”

The Aston Martin’s again looked strong in the session with Fernando Alonso finishing third fastest. FP3 will be more telling regarding true pace as the teams will begin testing their qualifying pace setups ahead of qualifying. Haas continues to struggle running at the bottom of the table despite a change in leadership with Guenther Steiner’s exit. More to come from this weekend.

Full FP2 Results from the Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend

One day after Christian Horner was cleared of any wrong doing in the latest inappropriate behavior investigation. The latest turn in this case involves an anonymous email that has been sent to multiple high ranking individuals in the F1 paddock. The messages at first glance appear to be screenshots of What’s App conversations between Horner and the plaintiff. However, the validity of these screenshots is very much in question as their source has not yet been verified.

After viewing the screenshots, there does not appear to be anything specifically damning for Horner in the conversations captured. However, given their questionable source and timing of release it appears that there could be more at play here. Despite this, no actions will be taken by Red Bull at this time. Horner again denied the allegation and would not give any validity to the messages. “I won’t comment on anonymous speculation,” said Horner, “but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations. I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.”

A Red Bull GmbH spokesperson stated: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr. Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.” We will continue to assess whether the files received are valid and if this evidence will have any bearing on this case.