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The 2024 F1 season has kicked off in Bahrain with the first pre-season test. The first session of somewhat uneventful running ran without much of a hassle as teams went about their business. The only stoppage or something out of the ordinary came from Williams as Alex Albon's car stopped due to an unidentified issue.
By the time the session drew to a close, there was the familiar sight of Max Verstappen in his Red Bull leading the timesheets followed by Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc. With the first session of the pre-season test completed, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2024 F1 Pre-season testing Day 1 Session 1: Key Learning
#1 Red Bull's new concept looks good
Red Bull has hit the ground running with the revolution of a car that it has launched this season. While timings can be deceptive and the team play around with the engine modes and fuel loads, the car looks in a class of its own on the track.
If there was anyone who thought Red Bull might have taken an unnecessary gamble by switching things up, they would be eating a humble pie because the car just looks brilliant on the track.
#2 Aston Martin have hit the ground running
Timing sheets are one thing that teams or even the viewer should ideally not pay too much attention to in an F1 pre-season test. Nevertheless, there are a few things that are quite indicative, and that's the fact that the team has hit the ground running.
The team and driver feel confident in pushing the car out of the door, which shows that there's definitely a level of learning that the team has in its databank. Whether that would turn into an overall pecking order position is a question we can't answer yet, but the signs seem positive at the moment.
#3 Ferrari and Mercedes have some work to do
Whenever the camera cut to Ferrari in the F1 pre-season test, one could see Charles Leclerc not being entirely comfortable with the car.
He locked up quite a few times. He also had a rought time keeping the car on track during a push lap. If it's the setup, that can be worked on, but for now, it's clear that the car needs to be worked.
Mercedes suffered from a hybrid issue earlier in the day, and that's something that cost them some time. Meanwhile, George Russell didn't really push the car too much in the F1 pre-season test, an indication that the team is still figuring things out with its challenger.
#4 Alpine and Haas look listless
The two teams that have been trying their best to keep the expectations low might just have finally succeeded because the first session just showed that the two teams have a tall task in front of them.
For Alpine, the team's overall demeanor looks flat at the F1 pre-season test, with almost a level of resignation that the car won't do well. Haas, meanwhile, didn't look great on track.
Steiner's absence has made the team anonymous in the paddock, and with the car not really the most inspiring design, one would question what the team could accomplish in the 2024 F1 season.
#5 RB (that's what we're calling it) is not a Red Bull copy
There was much intrigue (and some trepidation) around Red Bull's sister team RB. The alliance and the partnership between the two teams were going to increase this season.
Zak Brown has been a vocal critic of it. His argument is certainly one that would have grown had the RB that turned up in its first iteration was remarkably quicker and looked eerily similar to the Red Bull.
As it turns out, the RB doesn't look like a copy, and if that's what the competition that was worried about, that did not happen.
#6 McLaren get on with the business
McLaren has continued its routine method of getting to work away from the spotlight. The car should be good this F1 season as well. How good? We will only get to know at the first race.
