What we learned from F1 2024's first proper day

Summary

The first day of practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix revealed insights into the 2024 Formula 1 pecking order. Mercedes achieved its top winter target of curing rear instability, though bouncing remains a concern. Williams overcame severe preseason struggles including outdated processes to ready its car. Red Bull still looks strongest, with Ferrari likely second best. Mercedes and Aston Martin showed single-lap pace in FP2 while Red Bull focused on race trim. Significant progress across the grid but Alpine notably trails rivals. The evidence suggests an intriguing weekend ahead, even if Red Bull retains an advantage.

Takeaways

• 😊 Mercedes has achieved its top winter target of curing rear instability
• 👍 Mercedes drivers pleasantly surprised by performance, but bouncing still an issue
• 😕 Williams narrowly avoided missing pre-season testing due to internal process issues
• 🏎 Red Bull still looks strong, Mercedes step forward from testing
• 😟 Alpine struggling with bump reactions and inconsistent balance
• 😐 McLaren mixed - better than 2023 car but still limitations in low speed corners
• ⚙️ Mercedes' front wing design questioned but FIA say no issues
• 😕 Lando Norris disappointed with McLaren's progress over winter
• 🏁 FB2 order mixed up due to conditions, but hints Red Bull still ahead
• 🤔 Track compromise between quali & race pace means FB2 not representative

Q & A

What was the main problem with the Mercedes car that they seem to have solved?

The main problem was an unstable rear end, which George Russell says they have now "cured".

What evidence is there that Mercedes has made progress with setup since testing?

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were 1-2 in FP2, and the level of performance pleasantly surprised the drivers.

What ongoing issue does Mercedes still need to contend with?

Bouncing, or 'porpoising', is still something Mercedes has to be wary of.

How far behind is Williams in terms of modernizing their processes?

Very far. They were still managing car builds entirely in Excel spreadsheets with no automated digital system.

What was the main complication for Williams over the winter?

They were overhauling the technology for designing/producing the chassis, resulting in a massive increase in individual parts. This, combined with outdated processes, caused issues.

How does the Alpine car compare to expectations so far?

As predicted, it is towards the back and struggling, reacting badly to bumps and unable to find a consistent balance.

What are F1's technical bosses saying about Mercedes' controversial front wing design?

They say it presents no issues and is legal. Only a 'gigantic loophole' would prompt the FIA to change the rules.

Where is McLaren lacking compared to its rivals?

In low speed corners. The 2024 car has not addressed these limitations enough.

Who was fastest on single lap pace in FP2?

Mercedes, then Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Haas, Williams, Alpine, AlphaTauri.

Who was strongest on long run pace?

Red Bull, followed by McLaren's Piastri, the two Mercedes, Norris's McLaren, and the two Ferraris.

Outlines

00:00

👌 Mercedes fixes car instability, makes progress but still has bouncing issues

Mercedes has fixed the rear instability issue with its 2024 car and made progress in setup understanding since testing, allowing drivers to commit on corner entry. The car still isn't perfect and has some aggressive bottoming out and bouncing to be wary of. Mercedes denies hiding its true pace in testing.

05:02

🏎️ Red Bull looks strong, Ferrari second best; Alpine struggles stand out

Red Bull looks very strong, with Ferrari appearing second best. Mercedes doesn't look quite as comfortable. Alpine is visibly struggling, reacting poorly to bumps and inconsistent balance. Alpine has underestimated the development gains of others and has lots of work to do.

10:04

👀 Mercedes' front wing design sparks questions; FIA says no issues

Mercedes' innovative front wing with a highly trimmed element has sparked legality questions. Mercedes and the FIA maintain confidence in its legality. The FIA sees no need to clamp down on outwash designs before 2026 rules changes.

😕 McLaren slightly disappointed with progress, still has low-speed limitations

McLaren has improved from 2023 but not addressed specific low-speed corner weaknesses. Bahrain highlights these limitations although good one-lap pace suggests decent potential results. Car is not in its comfort zone.

🤔 Surprise FP2 order with Mercedes fastest; data suggests Red Bull still ahead

An untypically cool FP2 yielded a surprise order with Mercedes fastest. However, data suggests Red Bull is still ahead for race pace. Teams compromise between one-lap and race pace. Red Bull took a more conservative approach.

Keywords

💡Mercedes car performance

The Mercedes car seems more stable compared to testing, allowing the drivers to commit more on corner entries. However, it still suffers from some bouncing issues. The car provides a good foundation for Mercedes to build on in 2024 and 2025.

💡Williams car development issues

Williams faced severe issues in developing its 2024 car due to outdated processes. This included managing the build on Excel sheets rather than digital systems. However, despite the challenges, Williams was able to get the car ready for the first race.

💡Red Bull car performance

The Red Bull looks very strong, being the most consistently 'hooked up'. It lost time on the straights but was fastest on long run pace, likely due to a focus on race setup. This suggests Red Bull still has a good advantage.

💡Ferrari car performance

The Ferrari looks solid, being viewed as the second strongest car dynamically after Red Bull. It focused more on single lap pace in its setup, while Red Bull favored long run pace.

💡Alpine car struggles

Alpine has missed some development targets and its car is not easy to drive. It struggles over bumps and to find a consistent balance. Alpine has work to do and is likely to fall in Q1.

💡McLaren progress

While improved from 2023, McLaren has not made enough progress to address weaknesses in low speed corners. Bahrain highlights these limitations. However, the pace suggests decent potential race results.

💡Mercedes front wing design

Mercedes' highly trimmed front wing remains an outlier but the FIA sees no issues currently. It reduces load and outwash. F1 is aiming to reduce outwash flow long-term but no need seen to change 2024 rules.

💡Friday practice conditions

Cool temperatures and gusty winds likely impacted the competitive order in Friday practice. Cars were also run in various setup conditions, so the times may not reflect final grid positions.

💡2024 pecking order

Early signs point to a potential intriguing weekend competitively, despite data indicating Red Bull retains an advantage. Several teams show promise, with Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin looking closest.

💡Bahrain circuit characteristics

The Bahrain layout demands compromise between single lap pace and race pace. It is hard on the rear tires so cars need sufficient understeer, which compromises one lap performance.

Highlights

Mercedes has achieved its top winter target of curing rear instability

Mercedes is making progress in understanding how to set up their car

Mercedes still struggles with bouncing at times

Williams overcame severe issues like managing car build in Excel to get their 2024 car on track

Alpine is likely to struggle, with their car reacting poorly to bumps and lacking pace

Questions remain about the legality of Mercedes' front wing design

McLaren has not made enough progress over the winter to address car limitations

Red Bull looked strong on long runs but not as much on one lap pace

Mercedes and Ferrari may be running high downforce compromising race pace

Red Bull still seems to have an advantage, but midfield teams like Aston Martin and McLaren piastri raised hopes

Williams overcame Excel spreadsheets and supply chain issues through late nights and heroics to produce their 2024 car

Alpine underestimated the development pace of other teams over the winter

Lando Norris and McLaren are disappointed with lack of progress over winter

The Bahrain track makes compromise between single lap pace and race pace difficult

Early signs point to a competitive order shake up compared to last season

Transcripts

testing is over the race weekend has

started here are the main things we

learned from the first day of practice

at the Bahrain Grand Prix and stick

around until the end for our latest

assessment of the emerging 2024 F1

pecking

order regardless of where Mercedes

stands in the competitive order it has

achieved its top winter Target as George

Russell puts it we talked about the rear

being unstable and we have cured that

problem to use the word cured as an

absolute shows a very high level of

confidence and what Russell said was

backed up by how the car looks on track

while it's not at Red Bull's level in

terms of the impression it leaves on you

watching it Trackside it's a consistent

car that does allow the drivers to

commit on Corner entry Mercedes also

appears to have made progress since

testing in understanding how best to set

up the car Lewis Hamilton and Russell

were one two in fp2 and the level of

performance in the car while not truly

representative yet pleasantly surprised

the drivers that said the car still

isn't perfect as Russell discovered when

he suffered from some aggressive

bottoming out at turn 11 before a tweak

eliminated that problem bouncing it

seems is still something Mercedes has to

be wary of there was a suggestion that

Mercedes might have been hiding its true

Pace during testing but teamb boss Toto

wolf was adamant that wasn't the case

what really matters is that Mercedes has

a foundation it can work from for the

rest of 2024 and 2025 regardless of what

its real pace is relative to Red Bull

that's a major

positive we already knew the 2024

Williams came together late but speaking

to team principal James V and chief

technical officer pat fry in Bahrain

we've started to understand better just

how severe the situation was over the

winter Val spoke preseason about the

enormous task of overhauling the

technology used to design and produce

Williams's chassis which resulted in a

massive increase in the number of

individual parts that make up the new

2024 car but it turns out there were

more fundamental problems behind the

scenes some of williams' processes have

not moved with the times Val said the

car build was being managed entirely in

a sprawling Excel spreadsheet with no

automated digital system and while this

has now been implemented by the time the

winter came around there were still

people having to search the factory for

parts at one stage there seemed to be a

real chance the FW 46 in the form we see

it now would not make it to the track in

time but it didn't come to that Williams

got on top of it aided by some

overnighters in the factory fry

described this as needing someone to put

their Superman underpants on over the

outside of their trousers rush around

and save the day which he says was how

things were 20 years ago not how modern

F1 teams are meant to operate fry says

he's not seen a winter like it and never

wants to relive it in some respects it's

a minor miracle Williams overcame that

to ready its 2024 car and improve on its

2023 weaknesses while also facing up to

the reality of an immense cultural and

technological shift still required to

properly modernize this team

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are in the description below terms and

conditions

apply I've been backtrack side under the

lights in representative conditions in

fp2 to watch the cars with the fuel out

and soft Ties on and then some longer

runs either side to see what's different

from testing one thing that's not

different is how good the Red Bull looks

and I have to say on low fuel and on the

longer runs it did look like Ferrari was

second best the Mercedes just not quite

as comfortable especially as Ferrari and

and Red Bull through the slow turn 10

left hander it just looks a little bit

awkward the same has to be said of the

McLaren that was never particularly

impressive when it came by me Lando

Norris having a harder time of it than

Oscar pastri the Aston Martin looks good

and I have to say the RB looks good on

the medium tire but less impressive on

the soft tire on low fuel and high fuel

it's very very difficult to to judge or

or split the other cars one thing I will

have to say is when the Alpin came

through here it did look difficult it

was the only car actually it was estan

ocon's car that seemed to be showing up

a bump on the entry to turn N9 or coming

through turn n towards turn 10 that

looked like it was really unsettling the

car obviously I'm only getting a

snapshot of the cars here at one corner

one slow corner but fortunately once

they're done with me at turn 10 they

head down to me at turn 11 a faster

leftand Corner usually taken in fifth

gear on a qualifying lap very different

challenge I have to say it's interesting

Scott mentioned the alpines bump

reaction because on one occasion one of

the alpines took a little bit too much

curb on the entry and reacted very very

badly to it the Mercedes was interesting

looked like a step from testing a more

stable car but was hitting the ground

pretty aggressively earlier on in the

session have to say the Red Bull still

looks very very strong at one stage even

Perez was getting very very good

rotation on Entry which we don't always

see from him if he's not confidence in

the car if it's a little bit too sharp

for his liking so that's encouraging the

RB looked decent a bit underst steer

with the Aston Martin very very nice and

consistent the McLaren was interesting

often pretty good but it looked a bit

wind sensitive and it would pick up

quite a lot of under steer with a

Tailwind here on occasion and leave

drivers struggling a little bit on the

exit but ultimately the Ferrari kind of

as we expect pretty solid as the the the

second strongest car dynamically I'm

talking rather than in terms of pace but

impressive to see how much progress has

been made with all the cars they all

look more consistent and fixed and

sorted and well set up than they did in

testing Alpine struggles were one of the

big talking points heading into this

weekend with Pierre gazley admitting

some targets have been missed in terms

of timeline and that the car is not easy

to drive expectations outside and even

inside the team where that Alpine would

be at or near the back and the fact the

Alpine was the ninth fastest car based

on fp2 single lap pace and slowest on

Long Run Pace backs the expectation that

it's likely to fall in q1 on track the

car delivers on gaz's description

reacting badly to bumps and struggling

to achieve a consistent balance at the

fifth gear turn 11 left-hander the car

is visibly more sluggish than its Rivals

Alpine has a huge amount of work to do

it needs to get weight out of the car

fully understand its modified mechanical

platform and make some big strides in

terms of the arrow having underestimated

how far the game would move on

development wise over the winter the

only saving grace is that it's not too

far behind to be a lost

cause Mercedes Innovative front Wing

specifically its highly trimmed rearmost

element sparked questions over legality

during Bain testing technical director

James Allison describes it as a

convenient way for Mercedes to reduce

load on that part of the wing and it

remains an outlier design for the first

race of the new season team principal

Toto wolf remains confident over its

legality but F1 Chief technical officer

pat Simmons has questioned whether the

wing might go against f1's overall

mission to diminish outwash airf flow in

the lead up to the first practice

session in Bahrain FIA single seater

director Nicholas tbis suggested the

wing presents no issue saying the

governing body's usual round of checks

comparing real world designs to CAD

drawings in pit Lane scrutineering had

thrown up only a couple of minor

discrepancies that were easily fixed by

the teams in question and tatsis was

even more forthright in denying any

reason for the FIA to act to clamp down

on F1 team's use of outwash Arrow saying

it would take the emergence of a

gigantic loophole for the FIA to feel

moved to change the rules before

2026 like Lando Norris we're slightly

disappointed with the progress Mclaren

has been able to make over the winter

McLaren looks in the mix but not totally

happy in Bahrain which has traditionally

been one of its weaker tracks in recent

years the 2024 car is an improvement

over its predecessor but not by enough

to address the specific weaknesses that

limited McLaren in low speed Corners

last year that was hinted at in testing

and was Apparent at times in practice

too this track highlights the

limitations that McLaren clearly needs

more time to address and Norris looked

to be struggling with these more than

oscap piastri in the second session and

yet the pace was there to a degree

piastri was fifth fastest and had the

best long run behind the Red Bulls in

fb2 Norris had a pretty terrible session

and looked unhappy in the car so maybe

the McLaren can be faster to track like

Bahrain and might achieve a decent

result here too but it's not in its

comfort

zone the fuel came out the soft tires

went on the qualifying simulations were

completed and mercedes's fastest the

pecking order on one laap pace was

Mercedes Aston Martin Ferrari McLaren

Red Bull H Williams RB Alpine and saber

an untypically cool track for second

practice coupled with Gusty CR wins

probably played its part in mixing up

the order here Max fappen was not happy

with the balance of his Red Bull and no

one seriously believes he'll be only

sixth fastest when it really counts the

pattern of the Red Bull's performance

whereby it lost around 3/10 of a second

on the straights to the Mercedes

Ferraris and Aston Martins suggests it

was being run with a conservative engine

setting B stappen also made a small

error at the last corner of his best lap

the picture was more favorable to Red

Bull when analyzing the limited amount

of longrun data available there Red Bull

assumed its expected place at the head

of the Order ahead of McLaren's Oscar

piastri the two Mercedes drivers

Norris's McLaren and the two Ferraris

there is always a serious compromise to

be made at this track between one laap

pace and race Pace as the circuit is so

hard on rear tires typically cars will

be set up with under steer Which is less

than ideal for a single lap but which

will pay handsome rewards in the race

it's possible that Rebel has just chosen

a more conservative compromise rather

than the car having any underlying

balance problem Mercedes and Ferrari

appear to be running with a setup more

favorable to single act performance our

track side perspective was that the Red

Bull looked the most consistently hooked

up whereas the Mercedes looked more

peaky in its good moments it looked very

good in others less so we'd be surprised

if the fb2 times reflect the final grid

for Saturday's Grand Prix but this early

glimpse of a pecking order raises hopes

for an intriguing weekend even if the

underlying data hints at Red Bull still

having a good Advantage where it counts