Preview: Motor racing-F1 starts longest season with Red Bull still the team to beat

Liberty Media

26/02/2024 11:51

By Alan Baldwin
       LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The longest season in Formula
One history, a record 24 races, revs up for a Saturday start in
Bahrain and what could be a long haul for rivals hoping to close
the gap and beat Max Verstappen's dominant Red Bull team.
    The evidence from the three days of testing at Sakhir
circuit last week was that the champions, winners of all but one
of the 22 grands prix last year, were set to pick up where they
left off.
    Despite team principal Christian Horner fighting for his
future in the face of allegations, which he denies, from a
female employee about his conduct, Red Bull have looked
untroubled.
    Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin all made the
right noises about their new cars, confident gremlins had been
removed and performance improved, but the real proof has yet to
come.
    The suspicion is that when the flag drops on Saturday night,
with the first two rounds of the season in the Middle East held
a day earlier than usual to accommodate Ramadan, Red Bull will
be first across the line.
    As McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told reporters in
Bahrain: "There's one car that seems to have found a big step.
Unfortunately, (that's) the car that was already the quickest
last year."
    
    PANIC BUTTONS
    The hope, for fans wanting closer racing at the front and 
yearning for change after Red Bull's run of 38 wins in the last
44 races, is that the gap -- if as feared -- will close as the
season progresses.
    The regulations have been stable for a while and that in
itself usually sees a tightening of the field.
    "There’s more races now so there’s more track time, more
data, more understanding, more looking at other cars and seeing
what developments they bring," Australian driver Daniel
Ricciardo told Reuters.
    "I don’t think anyone’s pressing any panic buttons. It’s a
long season and developments can make big changes."
    Ferrari, the only team to beat Red Bull last year, lapped
fastest in testing but Mercedes were also buoyed by a much less
"spiteful" car than its predecessor.
    "We're looking alright," Mercedes technical director James
Allison said after testing. "I don't think it's any surprise to
anyone that (Red Bull) have got their noses and perhaps a bit
more of their face in front of those of us that are chasing. 
    "But I think we'll make a good fist of the chasing and
hopefully just develop strongly through the year."  
    
    DRIVER SPECULATION
    The season will be seven-times world champion Lewis
Hamilton's farewell to Mercedes before the sport's most
successful driver heads to Ferrari in 2025 as replacement for
Spaniard Carlos Sainz.
    Who takes over Hamilton's seat will be a talking point for
months to come, as will uncertainty over Verstappen's future
team mate with Mexican Sergio Perez out of contract at the end
of this year.
    Speculation is swirling around before a wheel has turned in
anger and, with more than half the grid coming to the end of
contracts, will run and run.
    China returns for the first time since 2019 and Italy's
Imola is back after last year's race had to be cancelled due to
flooding.
    There will again be six sprint weekends, with Miami and
Shanghai new to that, and a revised format with the 100km race
held on Saturday before qualifying for Sunday's grand prix.
    There are no rookie drivers and, remarkably, no changes to
lineups since the end of 2023. 
    There are new team bosses, with Netflix "Drive to Survive"
favourite Guenther Steiner replaced by Ayao Komatsu at Haas and
Laurent Mekies now in charge at the rebranded Visa Cash App RB
(previously AlphaTauri).
    Sauber-run Alfa Romeo are now racing as Stake F1, where
gambling laws permit.

 (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
 ((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))