2024 Bahrain GP Preview – With testing now complete, the stage is set for round one of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, which returns to the hot desert and under the lights in Sakhir at the Bahrain International Circuit this weekend for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024. This will be the 20th Grand Prix that Bahrain has hosted. This will be the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix season-opener race to start a Saturday since the 1982 South African Grand Prix. The Bahrain Grand Prix was set for Saturday to comply with regulations that require a minimum of one week between Grands Prix, as the following Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place on March 9. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was moved a day forward to avoid a conflict with Ramadan, which begins March 10. This season will also feature a record-breaking 24 race calendar.
2024 Bahrain GP Preview – A look at the Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit is a permanent racing facility which opened in 2004 and is used for the FIA Formula One World Championship, FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the traditional 24 Hours of Bahrain. It is located at Sakhir, 30 kilometres south-west of the island’s capital Manama.
The circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, the same architect who has designed many other modern circuits on the Formula One calendar. The main contractor for the project was Cybarco-WCT. The multi-million-dollar project started back in September 2002 when the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a long-term deal to host the first ever Middle Eastern round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The circuit costed approximately 56.2 million Bahraini Dinars (US$150 million) to build and construct. It has six separate tracks, including a 6.299km endurance circuit, a test oval and drag strip.
The circuit posed a unique problem as it was positioned in the middle of a desert, there were worries that sand would blow onto the track and disrupt the race weekend. However, organisers of the event were able to keep the sand off the track by spraying an adhesive on the sand around the track to keep it still.
The surface of the track is made of Graywacke Aggregate, shipped to Bahrain from Bayston Hill quarry Shropshire, England. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula 1 drivers for the high level of grip it offers. The same type of material is used at the Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 5.412 km Grand Prix circuit was designed to give spectators the best possible experience, with 50,000 grandstand capacity seating, all providing great views of the circuit. Those spectators (A total of up to 100,000 on the race weekend) get to see the cars charging into the external desert area, before coming back into the oasis-styled infield section. Over 500 journalists from around the globe can also witness the action from the venue’s purpose-built media centre.
A modified ‘endurance’ style track layout was used for the season-opening 2010 event, with an additional complex starting at Turn Four extending the lap to 23 corners from its original 15 and 6.299 km, but the event reverted to its original track configuration for 2012. It gives the driver a unique experience in the way the circuit’s width varies at the end of the different straights. This allows for diverse racing lines, and the 15-turn design provides three great places for overtaking.
The circuit places a lot of great challenges on the cars including cooling, braking performance, and traction. The smooth tarmac and gentle kerbs encourage the drivers to attack the many medium speed corners. Tyre wear is normally on the cusp between a two-three stop strategy although the evening’s race takes the extreme temperatures out of the equation with track temperatures dropping fast as the sun goes down.
Another tough challenge for the engineers and in particular the drivers are the variable levels of grip that afflict the circuit. With high winds common, the circuit is frequently swept with dust from the desert, leading to the unusual circumstance of the circuit sometimes “devolving’ during the sessions.
The Bahrain International Grand Prix Circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 5.412km (3.363 miles) in length with 15 corners.
The race distance is 308.238km (191.530 miles) in length with 57 laps in total.
Pedro De La Rosa holds the fastest lap record at the Bahrain International Circuit set in 2005 with a 1:31.447 in his McLaren-Mercedes MP4-20.
Lewis Hamilton has the most Bahrain Grand Prix victories with five to his name.
Scuderia Ferrari are the most successful Constructor at the Bahrain Grand Prix with seven victories.
2024 Bahrain GP Preview – A lap of the Bahrain International Circuit
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Bahrain International Circuit from last year’s event, set by Max Verstappen in his Oracle Red Bull Racing-RBPT RB19 racer. The reigning World Champion posted a solid 1:29.708. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMpWukELqCc
2024 Bahrain GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2022: Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari. 2021: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2020: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2019: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.
2024 Bahrain GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them the red-marked C3 “Soft” tyres to Bahrain alongside the yellow-branded C2 “Medium” compounds and the white-marked C1 “Hard” rubber over the race weekend including the green-marked “Intermediate” and blue-marked “Full Wet” tyres in case of rain.
Drivers will have eight sets of the softs, three sets of the mediums and two sets of the harder compounds.
2024 Bahrain GP Preview – DRS Zones
There will be three DRS Zones for the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. The first detection point is 50 metres before turn one with the activation zone 23 metres after turn three. The second detection point is 10 metres before turn nine with the second activation zone 50 metres after turn 10. The third detection point is 108 metres before turn 14 with the third activation zone 170 metres after the final corner.
F1 2024 Season Preview – What’s New For 2024?
In response to extreme weather conditions resulting in cockpit overheating during the last year’s Qatar GP, teams will now be allowed to install a scoop to the car that is intended to cool the driver and cockpit area.
Wheel covers aimed to reduce spray in wet weather conditions will be further tested during the season.
Team will not be able to start wind tunnel or computational fluid dynamics work for the 2026 campaign, which will see major technical regulations change rule until January 1, 2025. However, teams may still do other preliminary research and development work, which is not covered by these restrictions.
The alternative tyre allocation trialled at the 2023 Hungarian and Italian Grands Prix, where drivers were given 11 sets of tyres in an attempt to reduce costs in the sport, will be abandoned. Therefore, teams will revert to having 13 sets of tyres available for all drivers during every Grand Prix weekend.
F1 2024 Season Preview – 2024 Sporting Regulation Changes
- The decision appeals process was changed for season 2024. The deadline to submit a right for appeal was reduced from 14 to four days after an event. In an attempt to stop any frivolous appeal attempts, the sporting governing body, the FIA will also introduce a fee for the process.
- The DRS rules for a Grand Prix have changed slightly. Drivers will now be able to use the Drag Reduction System one lap after the race start, safety car restart, or red flag restart, a lap earlier than in previous campaigns. This was tested during the Sprint events last season.
- After being increased for the 2023 season, the power-unit allocation per season was again expanded from three to four per driver for the 2024 and 25 FIA Formula One World Championship seasons.
F1 2024 Season Preview – 2024 Sprint Races
The sprint format will be run at six Grands Prix from this season onwards like last season. The six events where the Sprint Race Format will take place are the Austrian, Chinese, Miami, Qatar, United States and Sao Paulo Grands Prix. The structure of the Sprint weekends was changed for 2024, with the goal of rationalising Sprint events and separating them from the rest of the race weekend. The weekend begins with Free Practice 1, followed by the Sprint Shootout, which sets the grid for the 100km Sprint Race. The Sprint will be the first session to take place on Saturday followed by Qualifying to set the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
2024 Bahrain GP Preview – F1 2024 Pre-Season Testing Round-Up
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz posted the best time across the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship season.
Sainz set the fastest lap on the second day of the three-day test before the season-opening Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit on March 2.
However, the Spaniard set his best effort on the Pirelli C4 compound, which is not available this weekend.
His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was second fastest overall, setting his best time on the final day, as did Mercedes’ George Russell and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu. They all used the C4 tyre to post their efforts.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (who was quickest overall in last year’s pre-season tests) and his team-mate Max Verstappen lapped within a tenth of each other in fifth and sixth respectively as both drivers used the C3 tyre, which will be the soft compound this weekend.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda was seventh on the time-sheets and ahead of Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton who rounded out the top ten.
Aston Martin, Haas and Alpine ended the three days of testing without a car in the top ten.
F1 2024 Season Preview – Formula 1 2024 Pre-Season Testing Classification
| Pos | Driver (Car/Engine) | 21 Feb | 22 Feb | 23 Feb |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz Ferrari SF-24 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’32.584 69 |
1’29.921 84 |
1’31.247 71 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’33.247 64 |
1’31.750 54 |
1’30.322 74 |
| 3 | George Russell Mercedes F1 W15 E Performance / M15 |
1’34.109 122 |
1’30.368 67 |
|
| 4 | Zhou Guanyu Sauber C44 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’33.871 63 |
1’33.715 38 |
1’30.647 85 |
| 5 | Sergio Pérez Red Bull RB20 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’30.679 129 |
1’31.483 53 |
|
| 6 | Max Verstappen Red Bull RB20 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’31.344 143 |
1’30.755 66 |
|
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda RB VCARB 01 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’34.136 64 |
1’38.074 40 |
1’30.775 53 |
| 8 | Alexander Albon Williams FW46 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’34.587 40 |
1’30.984 121 |
|
| 9 | Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL38 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’33.658 57 |
1’32.328 35 |
1’31.030 91 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 W15 E Performance / M15 |
1’31.066 123 |
1’31.999 49 |
|
| 11 | Fernando Alonso Aston Martin AMR24 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’33.385 77 |
1’33.053 31 |
1’31.159 75 |
| 12 | Lando Norris McLaren MCL38 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’32.484 73 |
1’31.256 52 |
1’32.108 20 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo RB VCARB 01 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’32.599 52 |
1’31.361 88 |
1’37.015 70 |
| 14 | Nico Hülkenberg Haas VF-24 / Ferrari 066/10 |
1’35.906 82 |
1’37.509 31 |
1’31.686 89 |
| 15 | Lance Stroll Aston Martin AMR24 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’33.007 54 |
1’32.029 96 |
1’32.038 46 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon Alpine A524 / Renault E-Tech RE24 |
1’34.677 60 |
1’32.061 78 |
1’33.079 55 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly Alpine A524 / Renault E-Tech RE24 |
1’32.805 61 |
1’33.804 33 |
1’32.149 47 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas Sauber C44 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’34.431 68 |
1’32.227 97 |
1’33.528 28 |
| 19 | Logan Sargeant Williams FW46 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’33.882 21 |
1’32.578 117 |
|
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen Haas VF-24 / Ferrari 066/10 |
1’35.692 66 |
1’36.611 93 |
1’33.053 80 |
F1 2024 Season Preview – Who Recorded The Most Mileage?
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team recorded the most mileage across the three days of testing, with Kevin Magnussen scoring the most mileage of every driver.
At the other end of the spectrum, Williams Racing was on the bottom of the charts – and fell just short of the 300-tour mark. Logan Sargeant got the least amount of running at 138 tours of running.
Formula 1 2024 Pre-Season Testing Mileage Chart
| Pos | Team | Laps | KM |
| 1 | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 441 | 2386 |
| 2 | Scuderia Ferrari | 416 | 2251 |
| 3 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 391 | 2116 |
| 4 | Stake F1 Team | 379 | 2051 |
| 5 | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 379 | 2051 |
| 6 | Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team | 367 | 1986 |
| 7 | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team | 361 | 1953 |
| 8 | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 334 | 1807 |
| 9 | McLaren Formula 1 Team | 328 | 1775 |
| 10 | Williams Racing | 299 | 1618 |
F1 2024 Season Preview – Formula 1 2024 Pre-Season Testing Driver Mileage Charts
| Pos | Driver | Laps | KM |
| 1 | Kevin Magnussen | 239 | 1293 |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | 224 | 1212 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | 210 | 1136 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | 209 | 1131 |
| 5 | Nico Hülkenberg | 202 | 1093 |
| 6 | Lance Stroll | 196 | 1060 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | 193 | 1044 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | 193 | 1044 |
| 9 | Charles Leclerc | 192 | 1039 |
| 10 | George Russell | 189 | 1022 |
| 11 | Zhou Guanyu | 186 | 1006 |
| 12 | Oscar Piastri | 183 | 990 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | 183 | 990 |
| 14 | Sergio Pérez | 182 | 984 |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton | 172 | 930 |
| 16 | Alexander Albon | 161 | 871 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | 157 | 849 |
| 18 | Lando Norris | 145 | 784 |
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | 141 | 763 |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | 138 | 746 |
F1 2024 Season Preview – Formula 1 2024 Pre-Season Testing Manufacturer Engine Mileage Charts
| Pos | Engine | Laps | KM |
| 1 | Mercedes | 1367 | 7398 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 1236 | 6689 |
| 3 | Honda-RBPT | 758 | 4102 |
| 4 | Renault | 334 | 1807 |
F1 2024 Season Preview – Formula 1 2024 Driver Line-Ups
Oracle Red Bull Racing – Max Verstappen #1, Sergio Perez #11: They secured one-two in the driver’s standings for the first time in its history, but the Milton Keynes based-outfit swept everything else before them in 2023 with stunning form with the dominant RB19, which won all but one race. Can they continue this form heading into the 2024 campaign? Reigning world champion Verstappen will be pushing even harder to claim his fourth World Driver’s Championship crown, whilst Perez will be looking to score more than the two victories, he managed last year. Can Red Bull score their third consecutive Constructor’s Championship? Will the RB20 be as dominant as it’s predecessors?
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team – Sir Lewis Hamilton #44, George Russell #63: It was a winless season for the Silver Arrows. The team however, managed to take second place in the Constructor’s standings and Hamilton finishing third in the Driver’s Championship. The team retains it’s driver line-up in Hamilton and Russell for the 2024 campaign with the former having his final season at Mercedes, ending his 11 year partnership with the team and has been with the Mercedes family since he was 13 years old. The seven-time world champion will be moving to Ferrari in 2025 and leaves the coveted seat behind. Can Hamilton finish his time at the Silver Arrows with an illusive eighth world title before his dream of driving for the Scuderia becomes a reality? Or will Russell spoil his team-mate’s party and get the best of him?
Scuderia Ferrari – Charles Leclerc #16, Carlos Sainz #55: The Scuderia continue with their same line-up for a fifth successive season. They finished third in the World Constructor’s Championship last season and were the only constructor other than Red Bull to score a win and it came through Sainz’s victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, which also broke the Milton Keynes based-outfit’s winning streak. This is Sainz’s final season with the Prancing Horse, making way for Hamilton to take his seat in 2025 and on a multi-year contract to partner Leclerc. Ferrari showed great promise in pre-season testing, posting the test’s best time courtesy of Sainz and the team has appeared to have solved their tyre wear issues in the long runs with their new contender, the SF-24. Could Ferrari be Red Bull closest challenger in 2024? Will Sainz leave the Prancing Horse with a bang? Or can Leclerc rise to battle Verstappen?
McLaren Formula 1 Team – Lando Norris #4, Oscar Piastri #81: McLaren heads into the 2024 season with the exciting driver line-up of Norris and Piastri who are aiming to build on the momentum gained from the second-half of the last campaign. Norris begins his sixth campaign with the Woking based-outfit alongside rookie Piastri. The Woking-based outfit scored victory in the Qatar Sprint race thanks to Piastri and took nine podiums and four Sprint podiums. The Woking based-outfit will be aiming to go one step further in 2024 as they continue to push in their recent upward trajectory with the MCL38, having turned around a poor start to the 2023 campaign via a major mid-season update, which saw them go from struggling to score points to fighting for podiums.
Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team – Fernando Alonso #14, Lance Stroll #18: Aston Martin continue with the same driver pairing of double world champion Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. 2023 was the best season to date for the Silverstone based-outfit, scoring eight podiums and finishing fifth in the Constructor’s Championship standings. Aston Martin will be hoping it will mix more frequently with Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in the 2024 campaign as it aims to improve on their fifth-placed finish in the standings.
BWT Alpine F1 Team – Pierre Gasly #10, Esteban Ocon #31: The Anglo-French squad continues with it’s all-French driver line up of Gasly and Ocon for the 2024 campaign. Alpine will head into the new season looking to bounce back from a hard-hitting 2023, with the team dropping from fourth to sixth in the World Constructor’s Championship standings and finished the midfield in-between Aston Martin and Williams.
Williams Racing – Logan Sargeant #2, Alexander Albon #23: Sargeant and Albon keep a stable line-up at the Grove based-squad in 2024. Williams finished 2023, seventh in the World Constructor’s Championship with 28 points, a three place improvement than in 2022. Albon finished 13th in the World Driver’s Championship with 27 points whilst Sargeant finished 21st in the standings with one point. The improved finish is seen as a result of the car’s great straight line speed which meant even cars with DRS could not pass the Mercedes-powered FW45 in a straight-line. The 2024 campaign is the next step in a long-term plan to return back to the front of the grid as the team continues to transform and rebuild itself, by investing in the right people and capabilities to push the legendary outfit forwards. Can Williams go one step further in 2024?
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber – Zhou Guanyu #24, Valtteri Bottas #77: A new team name to begin a new era at the Hinwil based-outfit as Stake takes over from the departing Alfa Romeo. The team continues on with Zhou and nine-time Grand Prix winner Bottas. Stake F1 Team (formerly Alfa Romeo) ended the 2023 season ninth in the World Constructor’s Championship with 16 points compared to 6th place and 55 points in 2022 when the new rule changes came. Bottas scored an eighth placed-finish in Bahrain and Qatar marking the team’s best finish. This marked a disappointing season as many people viewed this as the Hinwil based-outfit going on a backwards trajectory. This was due to the Ferrari-powered C43 being off the pace from the moment the season began especially in qualifying with Zhou’s fifth and Bottas’s seventh place qualifying at the Hungarian GP being the team’s best grid positions that season. Bottas wound up 15th in the World Driver’s Championship with 10 points compared to 10th in the driver’s standings with 49 points in 2022. Zhou finished 18th in the drivers’ championship with 6 points the same as in 2022. Can Sauber push their way back up the field in 2024?
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 Team – Daniel Ricciardo #3, Yuki Tsunoda #22: A new era for the Faenza based-outfit as the team underwent a name change, from Red Bull’s fashion branding AlphaTauri and has picked up Visa Cash App as it’s title sponsor and now known as RB. The team has relocated its aerodynamics department to Milton Keynes to be closer to it’s sister squad due to a management restructure. In terms of results in 2023, due to the poor performances of Nyck de Vries, the Faenza based-outfit opted to bring in Ricciardo from the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. The Australian suffered a hand injury in Zandvoort and was replaced by Kiwi Liam Lawson for several races. Then Ricciardo returned for the United States Grand Prix. RB (formerly AlphaTauri) finished eighth in the Constructors Championship last campaign and are hoping moving a little closer to its senior team they will be able to push up the field.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team – Kevin Magnussen #20, Nico Hulkenberg #27: Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen remain as the Kannapolis-Banbury outfit’s two drivers, with IndyCar’s Pietro Fittipaldi and F2 star Oliver Bearman as the team’s reserve drivers. After a challenging season and finishing last in the 2023 World Constructor’s Championship standings, Haas will head into the new season with a new Team Principal in Ayao Komatsu who replaces Guenther Steiner and a new Technical Director in Andrea De Zordo, who steps in to replace the experienced Simone Resta. Haas showed solid promise in mileage during the pre-season tests. Komatsu admitted they will be towards the back of the grid, but they’re excited as it’s an opportunity to improve and there are areas of improvement everywhere.
Who will come out on top in 2024?
The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 race weekend begins Thursday February 29 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday March 1 and the 57 lap Race Saturday March 2.
@MercedesAMGF1 breaks covers of their 2024 contender, the striking F1 W15. #F1
@McLarenF1 reveal their 2024 challenger, the #MCL38. #F1
@ScuderiaFerrari reveal striking-looking SF-24 for the 2024 season. #F1 #SF24
@AstonMartinF1 unveil stunning #AMR24 for the 2024 season. #F1
@visacashapprb unleash their 2024 contender, the #VCARB01. #F1
@AlpineF1Team launch striking looking #A524. #F1
@stakef1team reveal striking #C44, @WilliamsRacing unveil #FW46. #F1
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