Red Bull and Ferrari are already being hailed as the F1 frontrunners for 2024 following just two days of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The indications from Mercedes and others suggest they anticipate trailing behind their rivals as the season kicks off on the opening weekend of March.
Historically, pre-season lap times have been considered unreliable indicators for the season ahead due to the myriad variables and experimentation involved.
However, Max Verstappen’s pace on Wednesday stood out, being 1.14 seconds faster than Lando Norris of McLaren in second place, closely followed by Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari.
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Verstappen refrained from further outings on Thursday, allowing Sainz to clock the fastest lap.
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez followed 0.75 seconds behind, with Lewis Hamilton securing the third spot.
George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate at the Silver Arrows, candidly admitted afterwards that the Constructors’ champions were evidently superior in pace.
He stated, “Red Bull are the favourites and definitely a step ahead of everyone else. That was to be expected.”
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari echoed similar sentiments, acknowledging that Red Bull “remain quite a bit ahead.”
Sky Germany reports that the F1 paddock views the Italian team as the closest challengers to Christian Horner’s squad.
Reportedly, Mercedes engineers estimate the gap between the top two teams to be one second, while Williams personnel consider it to be half that.
However, early signs suggest that if anyone outside of Red Bull is to challenge Verstappen’s dominance this season, it will likely be Leclerc or Sainz.
Last season, Red Bull finished a substantial 451 points ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings, with Ferrari trailing by a further three points.
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The drivers’ championship was similarly one-sided, with Verstappen leading by a commanding 290 points over Perez.
This marked Verstappen’s third consecutive F1 title.
Out of the 22 Grand Prix races, Sainz emerged as the sole winner outside of Red Bull, with Verstappen claiming victory in 19 races and Perez in two.
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/1869814/Mercedes-F1-Red-Bull-Ferrari