‘Shock’ findings revealed as Ricciardo’s RB makes a significant step: Practice talking points
Nobody would have expected Max Verstappen to finish the first timed session of the year outside the top five and half a second off the pace on their Bahrain Grand Prix bingo card.
While the Dutchman and his title-winning team did not set the fastest time at last week’s test, all indications suggested that the car would start the season as the one to beat.
With FP2 being the only representative practice session in Bahrain — FP1 and FP3 are done during the day, while FP2, qualifying, and the race are all held at night — there was hope that we’d gain a better sense of the running order ahead of the important grid-setting hour.
What we received, however, was different from what we had expected.
Mercedes held the top two positions, with Lewis Hamilton edging George Russell by 0.206 seconds. The gap to Verstappen was 0.477 seconds.
Six constructors were in the top ten, including Haas. Earlier in the day, after an unusually cold FP1 that made the practice more helpful than normal, Daniel Ricciardo put Red Bull in first place.
So, did we get everything wrong after testing?
Well, not quite.
WHY RED BULL RACING IS STILL IN CONTROL
Putting aside the fact that Max Verstappen had a number of minor complaints about his car’s behavior throughout the two hours of practice, there are some obvious signals that the RB20 was not being pushed to its limits.
In FP2, Red Bull Racing lost over 0.4 seconds to Mercedes down the straights, more than any other team except the struggling Alpine and Sauber squads.
Even RB, which had the identical powerplant, was gaining on the sister car in a straight line. That strongly suggests that RBR had its Honda power unit turned off during practice.
It confirms what we witnessed during testing: the crew does not feel the need to overextend itself.
The extent of the advantage is clearer when analysing long-run performance.
Race simulation pace
1. Red Bull Racing: 1:36.715
2. McLaren: +0.153
3. Mercedes: +0.338
4. Ferrari: +0.410
5. Aston Martin: +0.577
6. Williams: +0.793
7. RB: +0.963
8. Sauber: +1.006
9. Haas: +1.074
10. Alpine: +1.303
Oscar Piastri, whose simulation placed McLaren second, and Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes was third fastest across the run, suffered far more performance loss, but both were comparable.
“The good thing is that whatever we do on performance runs seems to help with long runs,” Pérez remarked later. “We just have one aim, which is to make a more balanced car and that will make things better for the race and qualifying.”
Red Bull Racing is still doing well on the track.
BUT IT IS CLOSER THAN EXPECTED
However, expectations of a complete whitewash are unrealistic, at least at this early point.
Mercedes and Ferrari appear to be genuine qualifying contenders, with Formula 1 data suggesting a 0.1-second gap between the three teams on an ideal lap.
Hamilton, who had topped FP2, was as surprised—and cautious—as the rest of the field to see the times so close.
“It’s a shock to see us where we are,” he added. “We’ll take it for now, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to keep our heads down, continue working on the setup, and try to extract more.”
The Briton also stated that it will be more difficult than usual to anticipate how much speed any team will be able to find overnight because Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull Racing all constructed brand-new cars over the off-season rather than simply evolutions of existing 2023 designs.
“With a new car you have all-new tools,” he went on to say. “Everything has been entirely overhauled. All of the old numbers and names for items have changed, so you’re learning an entirely new vocabulary when it comes to car setup.
“I hope we can take a step. I have an idea, but I’m not sure how to implement it with the existing set-up adjustments without compromising the other side of things — single lap, lightweight [fuel loads] — so we’ll see.”
It could leave us with a completely fresh surprise on Friday night.
Despite competitive performances in both sessions, McLaren was also unsure of its position in the order.
“Even though we’ve had three days of testing, there is always a lot to finalise when it comes to the race weekend, and today we worked on set-up,” Andrea Stella, the team’s director of operations, said. “It was also important to develop our understanding of the tyres in conditions that were colder in comparison to the test.”
With three days of testing at this circuit under their belts, each team has definitely left a lot on the table following practice.
RB IS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
Daniel Ricciardo set tongues buzzing by winning the first practice of the season, but it was always unlikely to stay. RB and McLaren secured the top four positions by being the only teams, aside from Sauber, to use the soft tyre in that unrepresentative session.
However, while the second session sent the squad back down the rankings, it did not fall far.
On corrected single-lap pace, RB is sixth quickest and might be in a close contest with McLaren and Aston Martin for fourth — a significant improvement.
The race-pace averages above are also somewhat misleading. Daniel Ricciardo’s simulation run was the longest of the afternoon, although it showed less tire deterioration than the Williams and Aston Martin ahead, which had shorter runs.
According to estimates, the team will compete with Aston Martin for fifth place over a race distance, assuming the soft tire.
“I’m staying optimistic because we know some areas to find more time,” Ricciardo remarked during the press conference. “I believe that if we put everything together, we can compete for Q3 tomorrow and points on Saturday.”
“Let’s see if we can crack into the top 10.”
THE BACKMARKERS ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND
After one day, it is evident that there is a split between the front and back of the grid.
Four teams were constantly considerably behind the pace on a single lap: Haas, Alpine, Sauber, and Williams.
Though Nico Hülkenberg improved in FP2 to place his vehicle in the top ten, he later concluded that no other team had performed actual low-fuel runs like he had.
Alpine appeared to be struggling, lapping much slower through medium-speed corners and down straights, implying a substantial aero inefficiency in the team’s all-new car.
In terms of racing pace, the pack is getting closer, but those four teams appear to be caught up in their own battle at the rear.
If it holds true after qualifying, it could be an especially difficult season for them. Five frontrunning teams are sufficient to dependably secure the points-paying positions; a sixth team would make top-10 finishes nearly unattainable in any but the most extreme situations.
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