2024 F1 pre-season testing: what we learned from Day 1

The 2024 Formula 1 season began this morning with George Russell pulling out of the pitlane in Mercedes’ new W15, marking the start of three days of F1 pre-season testing before a record-breaking 24-race schedule.

The first few runs of the day acted as a low speed shakedown — ensuring that certain systems were fully operational before drivers upped the pace. Some combined it with a chance to collect some aero rake data in order to maximise their longer runs later in the day.

Max Verstappen topped the time sheets and racked up an impressive amount of mileage throughout the day, but had some noticeable challengers. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came within a tenth of the Dutchman on the same C3 medium tyre compound, before Lando Norris jumped clear of the field to best Verstappen’s time by just 0.064sec with just two hours of testing remaining. Although it wasn’t long until the three-time champion had re-established his advantage.

The timings, however, are largely meaningless as teams follow their own programmes to understand the cars before they head into next week’s first race at the same circuit.

With eight hours of testing now having been completed, here’s what we have learned on Day 1.

F1 2024 pre-season testing: fastest times on day 1

Red Bull is fast…again 

Max Verstappen retook a familiar position at the top of the timesheet during the first test sessions of the week. His fastest time (a 1min 31.344sec) was not only over a second clear of Lando Norris’ McLaren in second, but it was also just a few tenths shy of his fastest times set during Q1 for last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix (a 1min 31.295).

At this point, where teams will be running different fuel loads, tyres, set-ups and engine settings, we can’t read into the times, but there’s plenty to study on the RB20. Its new and “bold” design features altered sidepods and slim air inlets, which create a large channel for air to flow underneath the sidepods and towards the back of the car, where it can help keep the switling, ‘dirty’ air from around the wheels separate from the high-speed flow from the diffuser, which generates most of the downforce.

Former Brawn, Mercedes and Alpine F1 aerodynamicist Chris Bull, who c0-founded the Pro-Aero consultancy told Motor Sport: “It has the biggest undercut [of all the cars] so it probably generates more tyre wake control.”

There are several other details to note too, including inlets where the halo meets the engine cover, which will help to draw away turbulent air from the cockpit, as well as providing cooling. This additional cooling airflow may have helped Red Bull to minimise the size of the lower air inlets.

Visa Cash App RB is fast too…

The season’s biggest dilemma has been resolved, as broadcasters and fans appear to have settled on calling the old AlphaTauri team RB.

This year’s car follows the design of its sister team Red Bull more closely, with greater parts sharing, as the team looks to move away from the back of the grid. It looked stable on track this morning, with Yuki Tsunoda finishing fifth in the final standings.

The low, medium and high-speed corners, the Bahrain International Circuit did surprisingly little to disrupt the amount of traction the VCARB 01 had through sectors 1 and 2. Tsunoda was able to put the power down noticeably earlier than the likes of Esteban Ocon or even Fernando Alonso.

Daniel Ricciardo followed suit in the afternoon, setting the fourth fastest time and showing comparable pace to drivers from Aston Martin, McLaren and Ferrari.

Problems for Williams

It didn’t post the slowest time, but Williams had a a problematic first session. Alex Albon managed just 40 laps and had been testing a new front suspension set-up change before his engine expired, forcing him to cruise to a halt just after Turn 2.

Williams is one of the teams that doesn’t use a Virtual Test Track (VTT) rig, said Bull.

“Prior to testing, the top teams run their car on a VTT rig.” he explained. “It’s a functioning car doing a programmed laps of a circuit to break it and fix it before the first test. Usually, the teams that don’t take their car to a VTT rig will be the first to break down during the test.

Logan Sargeant had a similarly miserable time when he jumped in the cockpit for the afternoon session, having completed just 16 laps before spinning wildly at Turn 10. But even with a fresh set of tyres, the American’s running was disrupted again by more mechanical issues, forcing him to return to the garage for the remainder of the day.

The new FW46 completed just 61 laps over Albon and Sargeant’s combined first day stints.

Mercedes’ WhatsApp button

Despite being the first car out on track, Mercedes spent much of its first pre-season test session confined to the garage and its quickest time was only good enough for a mid-table slot on the timesheets. But what may have caught the eyes of many peering into the cockpit is the addition of a very familiar logo.

As part of a sponsorship package, Mercedes’ radio button has been replaced by the WhatsApp logo for 2024 — although that appears to be where the deal ends, as there is no other WhatsApp branding anywhere else on the car.

Much like Williams’ Duracell airbox or McLaren’s chrome-liveried wheels, this looks it’s more of a clever piece of marketing that anything else.

McLaren’s Gil de Ferran Tribute

In memory of Indy 500 champion Gil de Ferran, who passed away suddenly in December 2023, both of McLaren’s drivers will wear custom helmets throughout pre-season testing adorned with his name.

While Oscar Piastri kept a similar design to his usual, adding De Ferran’s name to the front, Lando Norris took a more personal approach, having developed a close relationship with the former McLaren sporting director.

“We lost someone really special to us at the end of last year,” said Norris. “He was a dear friend of mine and he’d been with me pretty much since I came into Formula 1. Someone who I not only had many laughs and great times with, but someone who helped me out on and off the track whenever I needed it.

“This is the design [pictured above] he won the Indy 500 with, and I’ll be wearing it today as my little way to say thank you for everything and to let him know we’re thinking of him and he’s still very much part of McLaren. I hope you like it. This one is for you Gil!”

Alpine struggled…or did it? 

A “back-to-front redesign” for its 2024 F1 car has seemingly done little to help the struggling Enstone outfit, who spent almost every minute of Wednesday’s test session at the bottom of the standings.

Slow times and a journey through the gravel were the main storylines of Esteban Ocon’s morning session, and team-mate Pierre Gasly continued to struggle in the afternoon before eventually setting the fifth fastest time of the day. Nevertheless, the team seemed relatively unfazed by its lack of progress.

“We completed the programme,” said Ocon, fresh out of the cockpit after completing 60 laps. “We found things to improve. At the moment we’re just getting a read through of where we have to go. Everything has been pretty good so far.”

With its slow running now complete, the Enstone outfit could pick up the pace from here, before revealing its car’s true potential shortly before things get competitive.

Trouble at Turns 9 and 10 

Multiple drivers had an issue re-adapting to Bahrain’s tricky sequence of corners midway through the second sector, which sends cars up and over a crest at Turn 9 before forcing them to brake heavily for the Turn 10 hairpin.

Not only did it send Logan Sargeant’s Williams’ spinning off track, but it also forced Lando Norris to lock up twice, while Carlos Sainz managed to save his Ferrari from a crash with a quick snap of the steering wheel.

This is a particular point of the circuit drivers will be hoping to have aced by the time the first race weekend of the season comes around. Not only can a substantial amount of time be gained and lost through this sequence of corners, but the exit of Turn 10 also opens up onto a short DRS-assisted straight which could produce some opportunities to overtake come race day.

Logan Sargeant was fortunate to avoid a collision with the barrier after a huge spin at Turn 9 😲 pic.twitter.com/yOpap9d16c

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 21, 2024

Who competed the most laps on day 1?

Max Verstappen completed 142 laps on the first day of testing — the most by a single driver. The Dutchman won’t be back in the car until tomorrow afternoon, but the abundant data he’s collected today should only help Sergio Perez in getting up to speed.

George Russell was the second longest runner with 121 laps over the course of the day, followed by Nico Hülkenberg who racked up an impressive 82 laps in the morning session alone.

Last year, AlphaTauri ultimately stacked up the highest mileage, after completing 456 laps of the Bahrain circuit.