Max Verstappen started the 2024 Formula 1 championship in winning style, taking a comfortable victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion took a hat-trick of pole position, win and the fastest lap to secure maximum 26 points to begin his 2024 campaign.Sergio Perez finished second, over 20 seconds behind his team mate. Carlos Sainz Jnr was third, a further two seconds behind.
With all 20 drivers starting the race on the soft compound, Verstappen held onto the lead off the line and led the early laps, pulling away gradually. George Russell took second from Charles Leclerc, before Sergio Perez moved passed the Ferrari into third.
Verstappen was the last driver in the field to make his first pit stop and switch to the hard tyres, emerging five seconds ahead of his team mate Perez, who had passed Russell following their respective stops. By lap 24, Verstappen’s lead over his team mate had doubled to 10 seconds.
A second round of pit stops followed between laps 30 and 40, with Verstappen again the last of the leaders to stop. However, both he and Perez fitted a fresh set of soft tyres that they had available. Verstappen immediately set the fastest lap, then both Red Bulls paced themselves over the remaining laps to secure a comfortably one-two finish to start the season.
Sainz finished on the podium, 25 seconds behind the winner but considerably closer than last year’s third-place finishers, Fernando Alonso. Leclerc took fourth after managing a braking imbalance throughout the race.
Russell came in fifth, with Lando Norris in sixth, Lewis Hamilton seventh, Oscar Piastri eighth and the two Aston Martins of Alonso and Lance Stroll claiming the final points. All 20 drivers finished the race, despite Williams’ Logan Sargeant briefly stopping at the outside of turn four early in the race due to a temporary problem with his steering wheel.
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2024 Bahrain Grand Prix
- Tsunoda accepts he got “a bit heated” in team orders dispute with Ricciardo
- “We’re fighting with one arm behind our back”: Hamilton and Russell’s race radio
- Red Bull say RB20 draws inspiration from rivals in less obvious areas
- All cars finish two consecutive F1 races for first time ever
- “I don’t know what the car’s going to do every time I brake”: Leclerc’s race radio
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd March 2024, 16:50
Unfortunate for Sargeant to suffer a temporary seemingly electrical issue.
Hulk threw up all chances by messing up his start & subsequently messing up T1 by trying to hastily make up for the lost positions.
On a little light-hearted note, Tsunoda’s radio rants returned.
Moi
2nd March 2024, 16:54
Well can you blame him? Ric got handed a superior race result by the team in a do-or-die season for both of them.
I’d be ranting too.
#teamtsu
Erkr
2nd March 2024, 16:57
+1, the swap ruined RBs chances of overtaking Magnussen. Mekies has a long way to go. Also why didn’t they put Yuki back on softs like Daniel.
notagrumpyfan
2nd March 2024, 17:26
The proper thing would’ve been swapping them back on the last lap.
Still surprised they couldn’t find a way past KMag. Maybe Sainz can teach them a thing or two.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:17
Mekies comes from ferrari, which tells you all you need to know, really.
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd March 2024, 17:05
You might argue that Tsunodas filibuster delayed Ricciardo too long to use the soft tires while they were fresher and cost the team a point.
Erkr
2nd March 2024, 17:08
Ricciardo was never in a position to catch Alonso with his pace… what are you smoking
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd March 2024, 17:27
Not Alonso. Zho. That would have been only eleventh I realize but it could have cost them two places. Or got them both ahead of the Haas. Also it looks like your hero tried to hit Ricciardo after the race in the cool down lap. Unfortunately unsurprising.
Jockey Ewing
2nd March 2024, 17:08
Tsunoda had the least worn hard tyres with half of the mileage compared to the few drivers ahead, when the call for swap positions came. While Ricciardo: he caught up with them, but on fairly worn soft tyres, by the end of the race Ricciardo covered 21 laps on softs, and Tsunoda 22 on hards, on an abrasive track. Drivers ahead: Stroll 30 laps on hard, Zhou 28 on hards, Magnussen 24 on hards. So all in all, Tsunoda was ahead on merit practically over the course of the entire race, and giving the opportunity to try the overtakes on softs what can run out of life soon is debatable.
Jockey Ewing
2nd March 2024, 17:19
After reporting my own comment, I add:
Looks like, the hards were quite good for many of the drivers, even as the temperatures were not really high. I was a bit surprised to see quite mamy wearing jackets and beanies, but I checked on a weather site and it was somethign like 15-16 Celsius, and the track was somthing like 21-22 Celsius at the end of the race. I thought that 20+ laps are a bit brave on softs abrasiveness-wise (but they have the intel not me), and there is a risk that the hards will not be too good at the late race if the temperatures are low, so tyre strategy-wise it offered an interesting decision, but everyone pulled it off without problems, so maybe it was not an obvious choice, but was not an over the top challenge either. On the other hand, maybe if the tyre choice would be so challenging that it would cause problems for multiple entrants over the course of a race, that would incude some booing from some fans. I would still go towards that direction, with grip-wise slightly less durable tyre compounds :XD (As I think strategy and planning is and should be a huge element at this level.)
kcrossle (@kcrossle)
3rd March 2024, 4:27
About the hard / soft business: with about 15 laps to go, iirc, Sainz inquired when Perez’s Softs were going to go off. They didn’t.
So, to think that DR was going to perform miracles with his soft shoes. well that now seems rather far-fetched.
CarWars (@maxv)
2nd March 2024, 16:52
Lets make it a 10 race season and call it a day.
Imre (@f1mre)
2nd March 2024, 17:06
Let’s cherry pick the tracks we are interested in and not watch the rest. Wont happen to me but this would be the smart move.
Yellow Baron
2nd March 2024, 18:22
May as well do a reset every 8 races this season and also have an A, B and C champion.
AlanD
2nd March 2024, 23:04
Ten? Ten? I’m not sure I can cope with two.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:24
Indeed, I watch races on websites like racereplay.net and the likes, and they have a function to send forward or backwards by 10 seconds, and for the first time since I found those websites, after I saw the dull circumstances again in the fight for the lead, I spammed the send forward button, so it took 9-10 clicks per lap and watched when there was some action, so needless to say the race went very quickly, I’m no longer ok with wasting 1,5h watching no competition races, when there’s competition I notice it immediately, I was checking to see if verstappen would pull away and compared to the first race of 2018, where hamilton had 1,5-2 tenths per lap in hand over the closest chaser, this time I could notice 8 tenths-1 sec per lap, no way I’d watch that again.
Nitzo (@webtel)
2nd March 2024, 16:53
Maybe recency bias but as a race, this was one of the most boring starts to a season…perhaps they should start the season with another circuit!
ppzzus (@ppzzus)
2nd March 2024, 16:55
It’s not the circuit, not by a longshot. Bahrain typically produces very good racing.
Kyle S
2nd March 2024, 19:13
The Desert Duel, 2014
Amazing race.
Nick T.
2nd March 2024, 20:41
And honestly it’s had so many other good races. This race was as dull as dishwater. Though the spread is tight, it’s still not tight enough on race pace and this was awfully dull.
AlanD
2nd March 2024, 23:08
When Bahrain first came onto the calendar, it used to produce such boring races that it was known as Bore-rain.
thegamer23
2nd March 2024, 16:55
24 races like this….ouch
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:25
If you don’t have a “I watched every race for x years, I can’t possibly lose my streak” statistic you care about, it might be a good time to start skipping!
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
2nd March 2024, 16:56
Mark my words – F1 will introduce Balance of Performance at the latest in 2026 with the new rules and active aero. It can already happen this or next year, but it would have to be done with “success ballast”, which is more problematic than rigging race results with a push of a button. Liberty won’t tolerate Max’s greatness and him being clearly so much better than the rest of the field.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:27
Except that, while he’s a great driver and probably still the best of the current field, the car is the problem here, surely you don’t think perez is the 2nd best driver? Cause he came 2nd!
MichaelN
2nd March 2024, 16:58
And they keep out Andretti because they’re allegedly not competitive?
As opposed to this current bunch who are proven not to be.
Okay…
That’s all one needs to know. The other teams have no clue.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
2nd March 2024, 17:00
Agree
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 21:22
But why would Andretti want to join F1? There’s no way they can be competitive to start and once they join it’s impossible to catch up.
There is a team that literally has 2 teams in the sport, the greatest designer of all time, is allowed to overspend, and has the governance of the sport in their back pocket allowing them to break every rule on track and also there to assist them in winning the championship even changing rules mid-race to benefit Red Bull.
Who in their right state of mind would want to join the sport? Audi is clearly not thinking straight cause they might as well take $1 billion and throw it down the drain.
I guess the only reason is the monetary value of owning a F1 team and bragging rights… Sadly, they are right that Andretti cannot be competitive. Look at Alpine… They are Renault. Look at Williams and what they went through.
MattDS (@mattds)
2nd March 2024, 23:17
They are not allowed to overspend, that is a blatant lie. They’ve had a financial and a sporting punishment in line with the regulations. Other teams can do the same with the same punishment. The fact they don’t do it is testament to the fact that a 10% reduction of windtunnel time is considered worse than an additio al 400K of development budget.
They are not allowed to “break every rule on track”. Another blatant lie.
The FIA isn’t “there to assist them in winning the championship” and have even removed the individual that was the cause for the controversy surrounding AD21.
Please stop being this toxic and polarizing. I know you think you’re some kind of king of the comment section around here, but at least keep it to facts and opinions that aren’t baseless to begin with. This site would gain from it.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 2:21
@mattds
Of course they are allowed to overspend – did the penalty seriously affect them? How? It reduced their wins from 10 to 19 – that’s an increase…
Of course Max can. He overtook everyone last year in the tunnel. He had so many violations in qualifying and got away with it and let’s not talk 2021.
So many of his pushes out wide are automatic penalties if your last name isn’t Verstappen.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
3rd March 2024, 4:06
@freelittlebirds
How can you literally state they were ‘allowed’ to overspend, and acknowledge the penalty in the same sentence…… and then go on to imply the penalty had positive effect on their win rate. In fact it is almost pointless starting to highlight the fault and contradiction in your statements given the amount of it you have managed to squeeze into so few sentences.
It is not unreasonable to disagree with how rules are interpreted and implied. Nor even to suggest that the severity of punishments are unequal or insufficiently meaningful. But why wrap the whole thing up in fan fiction?
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 5:09
@cairnsfella Because a penalty should be meaningful, otherwise it’s really not a penalty and clearly the team has not received a penalty based on their results last year.
However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Red Bull and their preferential treatment.
Anyone joining F1 would have to keep in mind that they will be competing against this team and reaching the top is very unlikely.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:31
Michael, since I know you like hamilton, but you also think a penalty should be meaningful, as I do, then surely you don’t think hamilton’s silverstone 2021 penalty was meaningful, he took out his main opponent and didn’t even lose a position cause of it.
It goes both ways, and I think both hamilton’s penalty in that circumstance and red bull’s budget cap’s penalty were slaps on the wrist.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:33
I also don’t think red bull have preferential treatment, you can go back and cite many episodes that would make you think merc had preferential treatment in the past, the thing I agree with is the 2nd team advantage red bull has: that is a massive advantage.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 14:53
I have explained a million times that Silverstone was Max’s fault and no one has provided a single more compelling explanation. I loved how Max dove into the corner with Russell last year and says “Oops, he didn’t see me” and Russell gets a penalty. But Max wasn’t anywhere close to where Lewis was heading into the corner…
The rules are a travesty. I can literally breathe on you and you dive and I get a penalty and you can come and kick me down, kick me again, keep kicking me and I’ll get the penalty for not avoiding the kicks or they won’t investigate it.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
2nd March 2024, 16:59
Kudos to Red Bull for a fantastic machine, fast and doesn’t wear the tires. But the racing is horrible. Andretti deserves a chance as the engineers at other teams such as Mercedes have lost the plot.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
2nd March 2024, 17:06
Jeez that one was boring. 24 laps in I was already wishing it was over.
Asd
2nd March 2024, 17:12
Once spring comes and the weather becomes nicer, I will not spend 2 hours on a Sunday to watch this ever again.
This guy
2nd March 2024, 18:07
But tomorrow you are going to watch the whole race all over again?
Nick T.
2nd March 2024, 20:42
lol, that was an actually amusing twist on his words.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 21:25
I just asked F1TV for a discount. I won’t get one but at least they know where I stand – borefest of the century. Might as well be watching paint dry.
Tiaki Porangi
3rd March 2024, 0:40
I woke up at 4am Sunday to watch the race. For next weekend, which is also 4am Sunday for me, I’ll record the race, won’t wake up to watch it live.
If the news reports I read later in the day are interesting, I’ll watch the recorded version. Otherwise, the highlights online will do.
It’s a habit, watching F1, not an easy one to break, but this year just might do it.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:36
Completely agree, I get bored not watching f1, but that’s no reason to watch an even more boring season.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:34
Less than 10 laps here, thank god for the skip 10 sec ahead function on racereplay.net.
Ronald (@mosquito)
2nd March 2024, 17:06
For the third year in a row Merc seems to have missed their targets. Apparently they are only capable of winning when they can outspend everyone else. That must hurt.
MichaelN
2nd March 2024, 17:12
That’s a bit unfair; Mercedes won when teams were able to develop both car and engine.
But their own silly bosses agreed to this engine freeze, so … I hope they enjoy it.
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd March 2024, 17:33
Rarely is there one factor in a complex system, but it’s Newey. I was watching the Brawn doc and the most amazing part of that was how Newey totally changed the back of the RBR, diffuser and suspension, several races into a season from a clean sheet and made it a race winner and overtook Brawn on pace. At the beginning of the hybrid era Mercedes had a super team of technical directors. And that’s what it took. They don’t have the same depth now.
Craig
2nd March 2024, 18:05
Brawn had no money for development, but if we’re going off money remember who was found to have breached the budget cap.
Yellow Baron
2nd March 2024, 18:30
In real terms the breached it by more than the numbers say.
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd March 2024, 17:09
RBR completely revised their aero concept and the other teams fell further behind while working away for years on prior designs.
Edvaldo
2nd March 2024, 17:09
This was already the most uninteresting winter ever, and now it opens with this snooze fest of a race.
2023 was awful, this is going to top it, and it’s going to be longer.
Jes
3rd March 2024, 0:48
I laughed bitterly at that. All the talk of Ferrari and Mercedes getting closer, and already 1 race in 20 seconds behind, rinse and repeat of 2023.
Commentators working hard to not sounding fed up themselves.
The only way to even slightly enjoy this is to watch it for 2nd, 3rd, or even just the middle order.
Depressed
Gusm.ai
2nd March 2024, 17:11
Congratulating VER fro his fourth WDC title sounds like old news.
It seems teams wouldnt be able to bring something competitive until 2026.
So, lets hail the 5 time WDC champion: MAx Verstappen.
Johns
2nd March 2024, 20:12
Is it just me, or did VER catch up the last points paying position?
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
2nd March 2024, 17:29
25th year and i don’t remember ever being this deflated after a season opener.
not even anything intriguing going on behind. everything is just a samey goo.
MattDS (@mattds)
2nd March 2024, 23:22
@mrboerns
2004 springs to mind.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
2nd March 2024, 23:29
@mattds i stand by what i said.
2004 Had some intrigue about BAR turning things around and especially the season opener, i distinctly remeber being excited about Renault and Alonso teasing some of the things to come (last time i was excited about Alonso until USA 2022). I was devastated as a Kimi fan, but it wasn’t this utter resignation like today.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
3rd March 2024, 5:57
2010 Bahrain was very dull. Everything turned around at the Aus GP a couple of weeks later and the season was fantastic! I suspect Max will run away with the title but, as with just about every season, we should still get a bunch of great races (even if the majority are for 2nd place).
Jazz (@jazz)
2nd March 2024, 17:37
I would rather have had a bowl of Coco Pops than watch the race, they’re my favourite.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 21:02
I’m deciding if I should renew my F1 subscription and/or whether I should ask for a steep discount…
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
2nd March 2024, 22:45
Have you tried them wearing a skirt? @jazz
David BR (@david-br)
2nd March 2024, 17:39
plus ça change
Carlos Sainz, though: Charles must be relieved he’s leaving ;)
chimaera2003 (@chimaera2003)
2nd March 2024, 17:45
I know that F1 currently has a Christian Horner PR problem but they will have a shareprice problem soon enough if there is much more of this quality of product on the TV coupled with curtailing a big opportunity to make F1 more relevant in their no 1 target market.
RBR will be putting all their resource into the 2025 car in fairly short order guaranteeing the same outcome next season for good measure.
The cost cap and engine freeze has basically killed off any real chance of the level of development needed to catch RBR in any reasonable timeframe.
Miane
2nd March 2024, 18:46
Maybe the cost cap should be proportional to the team finishing position, like wind tunnel and CFD time.
chimaera2003 (@chimaera2003)
2nd March 2024, 23:01
A variable cost cap wouldn’t be workable as successful teams would be forced to fire staff and this would disincentivise high performance of staff.
As others have said, good and honourable intentions were in play when the cost cap came in but not sure it is conducive to delivering a competitive constructor motorsport championship with a very small talent pool of people who can design race-winning cars. Conducive to maximising team financial value, but for the racing product I’m not so sure.
MichaelN
3rd March 2024, 1:29
The budget cap is not a real cap. It would be if Red Bull had to choose between paying its huge design office and star designers, or doing tests. Or between hiring Verstappen and bringing ten different upgrade packages throughout the season. Of course the big teams – not just Red Bull – purposefully pushed for this situation, so they can keep hiring the best people with big bags of money, all outside the cap, and then pretend there’s a level playing field. There isn’t.
sato113 (@sato113)
2nd March 2024, 17:48
Wow a 4th WDC in a row! Congrats max :) sheer dominance. Well done red bull too! Bring on 2025.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 20:59
I’m not sure why people cheer that. It’s not like he has any competition. It’s like running the only Hypercar in LeMans and winning or taking penalties without a goalie and scoring. Of course, you will win…
When winning is the expected outcome, losing becomes more impressive…
MattDS (@mattds)
2nd March 2024, 23:24
@freelittlebirds did you cheer in 2020? No competition, the only hypercar in the field.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 2:27
@mattds 2020 was a lot more competitive than last year… Pierre Gasly won a race in 2020. Last year Gasly was driven off the road by Verstappen at Monza for no reason at all and without a penalty because why give penalties for blatant racing violations?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:40
Gasly won a race cause hamilton got a stop and go, which made him lose 30 sec and basically start way further than the bottom of the field. Do that with verstappen and maybe someone will win a race, they’re similar.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 15:00
@esploratore1 don’t make us laugh – a stop and go for Verstappen. If he drove over the entire field and left no one alive, I still don’t believe he would get a stop and go. And as for your Silverstone comment, Lewis was allowed to actually go diagonally there and push Max off the road to the stands. That’s what Max usually does when Lewis is around… So he gave him the space of the century there, it’s just that Max wanted to take the corner at the max speed and realized that he was racing and look at the moment when he realizes that Lewis is still racing and didn’t surrender like Max expected him to. A rookie mistake if there ever was one.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:41
The comment above might be sarcastic, let’s get it over with immediately, they might not actually cheer for red bull.
Craig
2nd March 2024, 17:57
I think while the Budget Cap was introduced with good intentions it’s instead ended up damaging the sport. Whether you believe Red Bull gained an insurmountable advantage or not by breaking it, it means no one else can develop to catch up regardless of how good they are.
Osnola
2nd March 2024, 18:30
The amount they ” overspend” was about enough for one front wing.
If you really think thats the difference you should gain some aero knowledge.
In the past mercedes was able to spend millions on a b spec. Now thats not possible anymore they show their real potential.
Craig
2nd March 2024, 20:12
Imagine this; There is a competition to see who can cover most distance with a hard and fast rule of only taking 100 steps. The competition starts, but one of the competitors take 120 steps. They’re told off but not told to get back in line with the others. They’re told to race again from where they are currently standing. The one who took 120 steps previously takes 100, but they remain 20 steps ahead.
The overspend people like to dismiss, which was greater then what people believe, was more then a mere part and they still have this advantage over the whole field who can do nothing about it. Simply put they cheated, gained an advantage and have been allowed to keep it when they should have been made example, otherwise what’s the point of a budget cap?
Complaining about Mercedes spending a lot always omits the fact EVERYONE ELSE COULD AS WELL.
Osnola
2nd March 2024, 20:22
Again and again..
The overspending was less then one frontwing.
You only fool yourself believing this still has impact. Delusional…
Craig
2nd March 2024, 20:46
Only delusion is those who try to downplay it with false figures.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 21:12
Exactly, the front wing makes a huge difference. Imagine Red Bull being the only allowed to develop a front wing and to have 2 teams and to steal championships and to drive diagonally etc, etc, etc.
On top of that they have best car designer of all time. Even with an average driver, you’re bound to sweep everything. With a fast driver, you’ll win every race.
What Craig is explaining to you is the compounded effect of an advantage just the same way that Mercedes had an advantage in the previous rules but Red Bull and Ferrari could catch up and spend as much as they wanted to do so.
Now the advantage is itself insurmountable as you have to spend smarter and let me reiterate – they have 2 teams and the best car designer.
Imagine playing soccer against a team with 14 players and 2 goalies named Buffon and Neuer. Good luck scoring… And they also own the refs in every match so any penalty only registers against your team.
Osnola
2nd March 2024, 22:28
Well as you mentioned those false figures. Please enlighten us with your profound knowledge. Its about figures so everyone is able to check them…
MattDS (@mattds)
2nd March 2024, 23:30
False comparison. In a 100 steps competition, they wouldn’t be starting from 120 steps but from about 100.2 steps. Furthermore the windtunnel reduction punishment would mean they have weights added to make them move slower, negating the initial advantage.
Now Red Bull have changed concept any perceived lingering advantage from the initial 100.2 steps has completely vanished anyway. It doesn’t exist anymore.
But the hypocrisy is immense as usual. This is exactly the same as if I would say that Mercedes’ illegal tyre test in 2013 gave them an advantage the way through 2020. I’m sure you wouldn’t agree with that.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 2:30
@mattds you keep talking about the draconian windtunnel reduction punishment. come on, you’re just trolling… you can’t be serious. Max had a 20-30 second advantage halfway through the race…
He could have lapped Sainz with his car and possibly Checo in his fake Red Bull.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 2:30
@mattds you keep talking about the draconian windtunnel reduction punishment. come on… you can’t be serious. Max had a 20-30 second advantage halfway through the race…
He could have lapped Sainz with his Red Bull.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:43
Finally someone who did the math right!
chimaera2003 (@chimaera2003)
2nd March 2024, 23:11
F1 had their bellies tickled by RBR when it came to quantum of the punishment. It was nowhere near strong enough and seemed sufficiently weak for others to seriously consider weighing up deliberate overspend to gain additional performance.
Given that the offence was at the start of the rules cycle, RBR would have gained move from it and this should have been considered when punishment was to be determined.
It would be bold to say that the only reason RBR are so far ahead is due to this overspend but don’t underestimate the design knowledge gained and time over which this gain would apply. Hence most people think it was at most a ‘slap on the wrist’.
Yellow Baron
2nd March 2024, 18:32
Thank Mercedes for their initial willingness to keep two closely matched drivers no matter how stressful it was for them. AND for letting them race.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 21:29
Yeah, we took that for granted and still so many people didn’t enjoy the Mercedes era which had some of the best rivalries of all time. Now we’re watching Nadal play the final at Roland Garros without an opponent.
Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace! Game Nadal
Time Violation by absent finalist Game Nadal
2 hours later
Game Set Match Nadal
The crowd goes crazy screaming Rafa! Rafa!
How does he do it? He just beat the empty air. Rafa! Rafa!
RR
2nd March 2024, 18:22
After quali Lewis told us he had set up the car for the race.
O dear.
Yellow Baron
2nd March 2024, 18:34
Yeah weird. It seems the initial setup was fine and better for Q and in fact the race as well. Even if George did struggle in the race compared to quali.
Having said that Lewis did say he just went too far towards the race set up and it makes sense
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 20:49
Well, if this is what races without Hamilton and Alonso are, then no thank you!
It’s kind of like MotoGP. Do I have to watch it without Rossi, Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, and Pedrosa? It’s watchable but hardly the same.
Tough race for Max – he was fending them off for every lap. I have no idea how he held onto the lead. I guess you just need to press the gas and brake occasionally.
Edvaldo
2nd March 2024, 18:42
From this race, Mercedes was just very bad.
Russell just took an early advantage but then couldn’t hold it. All that fighting to finish 3.5s ahead of Hamilton.
Mercedes looked like 4th fastest this race, Norris just ran out of time to take 5th from Russell.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
2nd March 2024, 22:34
This is true. Merc started OK but drifted backwards as time went on. Purely on this evidence it looks like they’re in a battle with McLaren for 3rd.
miciek (@micio)
2nd March 2024, 19:59
You shouldn’t be allowed to keep a driver if he looses so much to his team mate. We need to make teams want the best drivers possible.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
2nd March 2024, 20:09
So, let’s focus on who’s gonna come second this season.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd March 2024, 6:46
Perez, I guess, the car seems stronger than last year and he made it despite a disaster season.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd March 2024, 15:11
I would actually love to see Perez in the same spec car as Max at least so they can both drive at full speed. Max would win but he would have some pressure in some races and for some laps.
It’s not going to happen of course because Sainz would be looking in his rear view mirrors and then see Max overtake him but miss Checo’s overtake as it would all happen in the blink of an eye.
If anyone else finishes P2, it’s probably Red Bull going to extremes to make that happen.
Osnola
2nd March 2024, 20:20
Just looked at the f1 site. .i obviously missed this race
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 20:44
Grand slam (chelem) for Max to boot (one of five). Even worse Perez was in P2 so even his car is quick.
I think we had to watch Tsunoda and Ricciardo discussing how to swap places for the last 10 laps while Max was lapping both for the 2nd or 3rd time.
End of season
GmP (@gmp)
2nd March 2024, 21:13
I enjoyed the whole weekend, including the race.
Mixed up results in FP1,2,3; tense qualifying, and then a race with a) perfection by the winning driver, b) some good early racing between several different drivers, and c) a nice can he catch second place action.
Had to wake up silly early, in particular for work days to watch it all (west coast USA), but was worth it.
Looking forward to see F1 live in Miami and Austin.
But first next week, hopefully as enjoyable as this opening race.
miciek (@micio)
2nd March 2024, 21:25
Yes, because his team mate doesn’t pose any challenge.
GmP (@gmp)
2nd March 2024, 22:06
Perez position has nothing to do with the perfection from Max. Check Max lines, times, anything. Lap after lap after lap the same. He figures it out in FP, in Q and then applies during the races. As long as he is in front, he is unstoppable. That is perfection.
It is not Perez role to keep Max away from the front. There are 18 other drivers who should try harder.
miciek (@micio)
2nd March 2024, 22:59
Everyone makes mistakes when under pressure. In a dominating car, it is team mates’ job to put the pressure on.
GmP (@gmp)
3rd March 2024, 4:54
Since when? And by which rule in the rulebook? Just because you say so? No responsibilities for the other nine teams?
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
2nd March 2024, 21:30
Straights are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers. Quote: Colin McRae. 10 Mar 2015.
Ben (@scuderia29)
2nd March 2024, 22:02
With this season marking 10 years of hybrid power units, and the 3rd season since the huge aero shakeup to supposedly produce tighter racing, I can only say F1 has gone backwards since 2013. Cars that sound dull, that don’t produce good racing, with the only overtakes we do see via DRS, tyres you can’t push and cars driven nowhere near the limit. With limited testing teams can’t seem to out-develop the teams ahead so we have eras now, vettel, then Hamilton, now verstappen. F1 appears to be doing well financially, but on the sporting side it’s destitute.
GmP (@gmp)
2nd March 2024, 22:16
Your opinion, and you are entitled to it.
I disagree. The “good old days” where every race several cars, even front runners, didn’t make it to the finish due to mechanical breakdowns, where a 107% rule was needed to keep bad teams/cars out of the races, make good YouTube highlights, but is not something I found better.
Like in soccer, I like to be fan of a top team: playing excellent soccer, might loose a game or two, three, but wins most times. Maybe you like middle of the pack teams better, win some, loose some, can’t predict when what will happen. Entertaining? For some. Not for me. I like to see the best players play in the best team, playing their best soccer, and win.
And in F1 I enjoy the best driver in the best team race with perfection and win, most of the time. It were Schumacher, Vettel, Hamilton, and now is Max. I was not (and still am not) a fan of Hamilton, but I enjoyed the period he was the absolute top.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
2nd March 2024, 22:39
Sorry but this is just odd. It’s just boring, the world you describe. Ever heard of a thing called competition? It’s meant to be quite interesting I hear.
Ben (@scuderia29)
2nd March 2024, 22:56
I’m unsure if this is an unpopular opinion, but the fragility of the cars, the shock engine blow ups really added something to the unpredictability and excitement of the past, and with cars lifting and coasting now there are far less driver errors, uncertainty adds a great value to any sport
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
3rd March 2024, 4:26
@scuderia29 I can’t comment on the popularity, but I musty confess that I did enjoy the mechanical unpredictability of the old days. A bit harsh being out of the drivers control, but definitely contributed the drama.
Those days are gone though. Or at least as a grid wide phenomenon. New engine manufacturers may be prone to issues, but having one weak engine is not really an element of unpredictability. Maybe unlimited power unit development within existing budgets could see some frailty come through, though I still think teams would favour reliability over a high risk / reward approach.
Don
2nd March 2024, 23:21
More boring than NASCAR, and takes quite some doing.
F1 Person
2nd March 2024, 23:22
I guess for the rest of the season i just won’t bother. So dull, glad I skimmed it after Max was ahead after first pit stops. Eugh.
You can’t fault the leading car with a great driver, but man, it’s dull isn’t it?
Tiaki Porangi
3rd March 2024, 0:35
F1 has a big, big problem, and a seemingly inebriated Jeremy Clarkson summed it up best in his gridwalk interview with Brundle.
“I spent all of today looking at the lap times from last year to this year, and wondering – what have they all been doing over the winter? The gaps, by and large, are the same….It’s a strange thing to go from one year to the next, and for so little to have changed.”
James Bond (@jamesbond)
3rd March 2024, 0:38
Funny how British media and fans are complaining about how dull F1 has become because of Red Bull dominating.
Never heard them complaining when Lewis crushed everyone in his 1 second per lap faster Mercedes. But ofcourse then it was the driver that made the difference…
Edvaldo
3rd March 2024, 1:02
It was already bad with Hamilton or vettel.
People get more tired of uninspired races and whole seasons by the day. Time is passing by and there seems to be no fix for the bad entertainment Formula one is.
Hamilton dominated for years, there was one competitive season, and then we’re back to another domination.
Max’s supporters must love to watch him win, but not even them can deny the non-event this race was.
James Bond (@jamesbond)
3rd March 2024, 1:33
Domination is inherent to sport. Look at football. A club buys the best players and the best trainer and then you win everything. Just as boring.
You’ve got to respect Red Bull to achieve this dominance. It’s an oiled machine built around a great driver and great teammembers. The other teams just have to up their game.
Jes
3rd March 2024, 2:28
The thing is the competition was still much better, so the racing was better.
Lewis Hamilton’s best season saw him win 58% of the season
Max Verstappen last year won 86% of the season.
There was a 42% chance of seeing someone beat Lewis, so if you weren’t a Hamilton fan you could still believe that maybe your guy could do it, and if you were a Hamilton fan there was less certainty so you’d sit a little closer to the edge of your seat.
Now there is barely 14% chance is seeing someone beat Max. Nothing against any driver or team, it’s just these statistics are making F1 tedious to watch
Ferdinand
3rd March 2024, 11:41
It’s funny indeed. Especially since it came up immediately while RedBull was only in their first year (22) or second (23) of domination vs the 8 straight years of Mercedes borefest. There is a some excuse for the bias though.. which is that it is the 3rd consecutive streak of domination (Vettel – Hamilton – Verstappen) which has a fatigue element in it. And there is sour grapes a to how the transition between champions materialised.
Glenn
3rd March 2024, 4:13
Oh well.
At least the “competition” can start working now on their 2025 cars!
zzzzzz ………