The practice sessions made it look like RBR were focusing more than the other top teams on race pace than qualifying pace, so we’ll see how things pan out tomorrow.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
2024 Formula 1 Season thread
- Thread starter Apple fanboy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Disappointed that Max is up front again. But agree with others it’s closer than it was.
When it comes to the race I still expect Max to drive off into the lead. Hope I’m wrong.
When it comes to the race I still expect Max to drive off into the lead. Hope I’m wrong.
With a top speed a full 5km/h higher than anyone else, he probably will (though that speed might have been due to the tow).
He had a very small tow from Hulk on his Pole Lap. As far as 5km/h I'll put my money on the PU out back. Then again Max seems to always be able to dial up .200 at will.......
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:30.031 | 1:29.374 | 1:29.179 | 17 |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:30.243 | 1:29.165 | 1:29.407 | 19 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:30.350 | 1:29.922 | 1:29.485 | 17 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:29.909 | 1:29.573 | 1:29.507 | 18 |
| 5 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:30.221 | 1:29.932 | 1:29.537 | 17 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:30.179 | 1:29.801 | 1:29.542 | 14 |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:30.143 | 1:29.941 | 1:29.614 | 15 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:30.531 | 1:30.122 | 1:29.683 | 18 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:30.451 | 1:29.718 | 1:29.710 | 18 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:30.566 | 1:29.851 | 1:30.502 | 18 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:30.481 | 1:30.129 | 12 | |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:29.965 | 1:30.200 | 12 | |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:30.397 | 1:30.221 | 12 | |
| 14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:30.562 | 1:30.278 | 12 | |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:30.646 | 1:30.529 | 12 | |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:30.756 | 6 | ||
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:30.757 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:30.770 | 6 | ||
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:30.793 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:30.948 | 9 |
On the face of it quite close times. But I guess we will see later how that plays out at the front.
Leclerc won’t be able to take it to Max imo. So I expect the race not to be as close.
Alonso will jump Perez at the start though.
Leclerc won’t be able to take it to Max imo. So I expect the race not to be as close.
Alonso will jump Perez at the start though.
Considering it is the first race of the season; I'd be curious to see how race pace pans out between the teams. Qualifying is great, but if they don't have the pace anything is open...
Well any thought that 2024 would be different from 2023 is out the door. The RB20 is at least as dominant as the RB19 was in 2023 and even on the wrong tires for the final stint, Max was able to pull out times 3-4 seconds a lap faster than the rest of the field.
Ferrari was "best of the rest" with Sainz over LeClerc (who had brake balance issues the entire race and struggled mightily), but still never pressuring the Red Bulls. Mercedes and McLaren were pretty much nowhere, with Russel benefiting early on from LeClerc's issues but eventually having to settle for fifth. And the Aston's looked like trucks.
Alpine was awful and VCARB not much better. Williams also had a bad day, as did Hulk and Bettas. K-Mag and Zhou, on the other hand, did pretty well. So not sure where Haas and Stake really stand so far.
Ferrari was "best of the rest" with Sainz over LeClerc (who had brake balance issues the entire race and struggled mightily), but still never pressuring the Red Bulls. Mercedes and McLaren were pretty much nowhere, with Russel benefiting early on from LeClerc's issues but eventually having to settle for fifth. And the Aston's looked like trucks.
Alpine was awful and VCARB not much better. Williams also had a bad day, as did Hulk and Bettas. K-Mag and Zhou, on the other hand, did pretty well. So not sure where Haas and Stake really stand so far.
Absolute master class of Max once again. The consistency, pace, everything is just amazing.
Love Sainz as well.
Love Sainz as well.
Bar weather or accident, I think Max will win every race. He's on another level and so is his car.
Now to go watch some actual racing via the highlights of the WEC Qatar 6 Hours.
Now to go watch some actual racing via the highlights of the WEC Qatar 6 Hours.
Nice to see Sergio back in contention. Seems the RB20 really works well for him. Unlikely he could challenge Max. Too much talent in the #1.
Russel did well as well, the car just doesn’t seem to be able to give him more.
I was watching via ViaPlay and also had a screen on F1TV and it really seemed both LeClerc and Tsunoda ****ef their team mates and this their team by fighting themselves. Sainz lost valuable seconds compared to Perez.
I was watching via ViaPlay and also had a screen on F1TV and it really seemed both LeClerc and Tsunoda ****ef their team mates and this their team by fighting themselves. Sainz lost valuable seconds compared to Perez.
In the post race they were discussing both Mercedes had issues with excessive heat in their battery packs during regen.
Who watches this **** really? You got a guy who is gifted championships from his own team by not putting a good driver in the 2nd Red Bull and the FIA gifting him an other one in 2021.
‘2024 Formula One World Champion - Max Verstappen’
Brace yourselves folks to watch another very easy season for Max. In race trim that RB20 is so much more dominant than its nearest rivals. I hope something changes by the next race but I can’t see it. I know it’s just the first race but Bahrain is a very good indicator for performance. Obvious congrats to Max, he’s racking up the wins and must be very happy he’s likely not going to get too much aggro.
Brace yourselves folks to watch another very easy season for Max. In race trim that RB20 is so much more dominant than its nearest rivals. I hope something changes by the next race but I can’t see it. I know it’s just the first race but Bahrain is a very good indicator for performance. Obvious congrats to Max, he’s racking up the wins and must be very happy he’s likely not going to get too much aggro.
I think that is very unfair and not acknowledging how good Max actually is.
And the first casualties of 2024 are Alpine's Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer, both of whom have resigned per reports.
Last edited:
Yeah at this point the only question will be by how much Max wins the WDC by. He scored 575 points last season and there are 624 on offer this year should he win every race and take Fast Lap.
So predictable. Off Max drives whilst we all watch the who will finish second or third.
The fact that Perez was able to easily pick up second, leaves me hoping we are not just watching who will finish third.
Unless there is a DNF or someone takes a leap forward, it’s going to be another year where there is more drama off the track than on it!
The fact that Perez was able to easily pick up second, leaves me hoping we are not just watching who will finish third.
Unless there is a DNF or someone takes a leap forward, it’s going to be another year where there is more drama off the track than on it!
There could be further drama in to the Horner investigation because according to the BBC article I recently read,
Red Bull are refusing to name who the independent lawyer was who investigated the complaint against Horner and Red bull have also refused to release a report on how the lawyer reached the decision finding in Horner's favour. This could lead to people questioning the legitimacy and unbiased nature of the investigation because it has been all too common for people to hire supposedly 'independent' people to investigate situations only to find that the person that has been hired has links to those who are being investigated who end up being cleared of any wrong doing.
Christian Horner: Red Bull team boss refuses to comment on leaked messages
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner refuses to say whether messages leaked this week are genuine.
www.bbc.co.uk
There could be further drama in to the Horner investigation because according to the BBC article I recently read,
Red Bull are refusing to name who the independent lawyer was who investigated the complaint against Horner and Red bull have also refused to release a report on how the lawyer reached the decision finding in Horner's favour. This could lead to people questioning the legitimacy and unbiased nature of the investigation because it has been all too common for people to hire supposedly 'independent' people to investigate situations only to find that the person that has been hired has links to those who are being investigated who end up being cleared of any wrong doing.Christian Horner: Red Bull team boss refuses to comment on leaked messages
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner refuses to say whether messages leaked this week are genuine.www.bbc.co.uk
I think we’ll have news in the coming weeks that Horner and Red Bull have agreed to part by mutual consent. Not sure how much of the report can be published as it likely contains personal information of both parties. It’s unusual for something like that to be anything other than confidential. It depends whether the leaker gets a hold of a copy of course. I think Red Bull have been very naive if that evidence was real as they’ve tried to save face at the expense of the person who filed the grievance. I think a lot of companies do this hoping the outcome will just be accepted, especially by someone who is exhausted by the stress of it all. I hope it goes to court (if the leak was real) and the lady gets the outcome she deserves. Horner would have nobody else to blame but himself.
The race was as dull as ditch water. I’d love to see Max challenged as he hasn’t faced a serious challenge since 2021 and he made quite a mess of that season and was very fortunate in the end. Since then the performance gap has been so big, he’s had two very easy seasons where not even his team mate has been a threat. It’s dull for viewers where third place and occasionally second are up for contention. I think we’ll be very lucky if Max doesn’t win every race this year and I think only unreliability or a crash will prevent that.