Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend?
It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.
Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Bahrain International Circuit.
Driver performance summary
| Driver | Q stage | Q pos. | Q gap to team mate | GP grid pos. | GP pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Q3 | 1 | -0.358s | 1 | 1 |
| Sergio Perez | Q3 | 5 | +0.358s | 5 | 2 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Q3 | 9 | +0.225s | 9 | 7 |
| George Russell | Q3 | 3 | -0.225s | 3 | 5 |
| Charles Leclerc | Q3 | 2 | -0.100s | 2 | 4 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Q3 | 4 | +0.100s | 4 | 3 |
| Lando Norris | Q3 | 7 | -0.069s | 7 | 6 |
| Oscar Piastri | Q3 | 8 | +0.069s | 8 | 8 |
| Lance Stroll | Q2 | 12 | +0.399s | 12 | 10 |
| Fernando Alonso | Q3 | 6 | -0.399s | 6 | 9 |
| Esteban Ocon | Q1 | 19 | -0.155s | 19 | 17 |
| Pierre Gasly | Q1 | 20 | +0.155s | 20 | 18 |
| Alexander Albon | Q2 | 13 | -0.373s | 13 | 15 |
| Logan Sargeant | Q1 | 18 | +0.373s | 18 | 20 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Q2 | 14 | +0.149s | 14 | 13 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Q2 | 11 | -0.149s | 11 | 14 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Q1 | 16 | -0.001s | 16 | 19 |
| Zhou Guanyu | Q1 | 17 | +0.001s | 17 | 11 |
| Kevin Magnussen | Q2 | 15 | +0.678s | 15 | 12 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Q3 | 10 | -0.678s | 10 | 16 |
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Vote for your driver of the weekend
Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?
Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?
Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.
Who was the best driver of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix weekend?
- No opinion (2%)
- Kevin Magnussen (2%)
- Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
- Zhou Guanyu (3%)
- Valtteri Bottas (0%)
- Yuki Tsunoda (1%)
- Daniel Ricciardo (1%)
- Logan Sargeant (0%)
- Alexander Albon (1%)
- Pierre Gasly (0%)
- Esteban Ocon (0%)
- Fernando Alonso (1%)
- Lance Stroll (2%)
- Oscar Piastri (0%)
- Lando Norris (0%)
- Carlos Sainz Jnr (40%)
- Charles Leclerc (5%)
- George Russell (1%)
- Lewis Hamilton (1%)
- Sergio Perez (2%)
- Max Verstappen (38%)
Total Voters: 121
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When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.
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
Debates and polls
- Will Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
Osnola
2nd March 2024, 18:31
The best driver was of course mqx verstappen.
But sainz was the one who spiced things up.
Oops…
Simon (@donsimoni)
2nd March 2024, 18:52
Vocal about the issues he had in practice, kept his head down in qualifying, took everything that can be counted during the race. Of course it’s Max.
The only record that will probably be safe from Verstappen in 2024 is most overtakes per season.
Honorable mentions to Leclerc, Russell and foremost Sainz for creating some entertainment during qualy and race.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd March 2024, 19:25
VER without a doubt for both DOTW & DOTD. No one else really stood out even for a honorable mention.
elchinero (@elchinero)
3rd March 2024, 12:31
#44 got a vote! ?
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
3rd March 2024, 23:54
At least did not T-bone anyone, for a change.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
2nd March 2024, 19:29
If you score a grand chelem you have to be driver of the weekend in my view.
Max scored his 5th of his career moving him ahead of Stewart, Mansell, Senna and Vettel who all have 4.
Schumacher and Ascari also have 5, Lewis is 2nd with 6th and the legendary Clark is leader with 8.
Max scored the 68th grand chelem in F1 history, with 1,102 races that is just 6.2% of races. That also shows how rare and difficult it is to score a grand chelem certainly these days with FLAP often taken at end of race for extra point or a late pitstop due to damage.
V. Chris (@vasschu)
2nd March 2024, 19:40
Pretty much this. Carlos was most fun to watch but grand chelem is rare to see even in dominant car. Somehow I doubt this will be the last one this year…
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
3rd March 2024, 23:53
What do you need to make a grand chelem?
1 Win the race – obviously
2- Get the flap. This is much a matter of luck. When some other driver behind has built a big enough gap over their following drivers, they will probably go for it with fresh new rubber and there’s little you can do. Or even it maybe a forced late pisttop for damage. Still out of your control. Of course if you are winning and have built a large enough gap you can go for it, but your engineer will probably scold you for taking the risk.
3- Be ahead every lap. This is mostly a matter of being the last to do your first pitstop (or rarely, building a large enough gap in your first stint that you can make your pitstop and still come out ahead of those who have not pitted yet. You need good tyre management, and a machine that helps making them last (which I would say is the key factor in RBR’s present dominance, they are not much faster than the rest and Ferrari can often outperform them in pure pace).
Ok Max made a grand chelem, but it all looked effortless after the first turn, with near zero entertainment value. I voted for Carlos.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
4th March 2024, 6:42
“Ok Max made a grand chelem, but it all looked effortless after the first turn, with near zero entertainment value. I voted for Carlos.”
Effectively turning a poll on driver performance into a poll about popularity and entertainment value.
Sainz was outqualified by his teammate, lost a place on the start and only finished ahead due to technical issues his teammate had.
It makes no sense for Sainz to be driver of the weekend if you purely look at relative driver performance.
RR
2nd March 2024, 19:51
I don’t think any driver ever made it look as easy as Max. Clean sweep of everything. The only possible worry is the RB team destabilising from within, who knows…
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd March 2024, 20:52
Without Sainz and some issues from Leclerc, we could have just ended the race after 20 laps and saved the gasoline and tires.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
3rd March 2024, 0:37
Did you just propose a sprint race…?
GmP (@gmp)
2nd March 2024, 20:52
Must be Max. From FP1 to FP2 to FP3, and then Q1 and Q2, learning, learning, learning. Come Q3 apply it to take pole, and then in the race deploy everything learned and make it look so easy. Yes, having a good car helps, but this is all the driver.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
3rd March 2024, 2:50
I voted a no opinion for the first time, then remembered it was driver of the weekend, NOT driver of the race. Felt too much that MV was driving well within himself in the race, but really should have given him the vote for the weekend.
Otherwise I struggled to single out one driver over others.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
3rd March 2024, 5:56
I voted Strall for a change. He dropped back when he was hit from behind at the start, but recovered nicely.
This especially impressive if one takes into consideration that he did this on merit without being helped by a safety car.
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
4th March 2024, 8:32
Max dominated his team mate, and dominated the race.
Sainz drove a brilliant race but qualified behind his team mate.
Driver of the race? Possibly Sainz.
Driver of the weekend? Definitely Max.