Feb 29, 2024 at 9:31 AM Update: an hour ago
The new Grand Prix season officially starts on Thursday with the first free practice at the Bahrain International Circuit. Five things you need to know about the year in which Max Verstappen wants to win his fourth world title.
1. The same twenty drivers, but two ‘new’ teams
For the first time in Formula 1 history, there will be no driver changes in the new year compared to the last race of the previous season.
There are two ‘new’ teams on the grid, although in both cases it only concerns a name change. Alfa Romeo is officially called Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber this year, which will probably just become Sauber.
AlphaTauri is now called – please note – Visa Cash App RB. The team from Faenza has registered the domain name Racing Bulls. That will probably become the team’s call sign for fans, commentators and journalists.
Yuki Tsunoda in the new car of Racing Bulls (formerly AlphaTauri). Photo: Getty Images
2. F1 season starts with two races on Saturday
The first two races of the year are not held on Sunday, but on Saturday. This has everything to do with Ramadan, which starts on Sunday, March 10.
Formula 1 will then be in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the second race weekend of the year. The race in the oil state will be brought forward one day to Saturday, March 9. Qualifying (Friday) and training (Thursday) are also postponed by one day.
To give team members and drivers an extra day of rest, the first race weekend of the year – the Bahrain Grand Prix – has also been brought forward by one day. Another factor is that it will be a logistically difficult task to get everything to Jeddah on time.
Due to Ramadan, the first two races of the year will be held on Saturday. Photo: Getty Images
3. Red Bull also favorite based on test days
Max Verstappen experienced one of the most dominant Formula 1 seasons ever last year. Based on the test days, Verstappen and his Red Bull team seem to be taking their excellent form into next season.
The Austrian team chose not to further develop last year’s car, but instead took a spectacular-looking RB20 to the test days. The new weapon of Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Pérez worked extremely well in Bahrain. The RB20 is stable, fast and reliable.
Verstappen feels at home in his car and thinks that his team has taken a big step forward with the new concept. Enough reason for the competition to be very concerned in the run-up to the first race of the season.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing had a flawless test week in Bahrain. Photo: Getty Images
4. Six sprint races with a new format, the first in China
This year, Formula 1 will once again be holding sprint races at a number of Grands Prix. The first shortened race will be held at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, April 20. The format of the sprint race weekends looks slightly different.
After the only free practice on Friday, there is now a qualification for the sprint race on Friday afternoon. The sprint race itself will be held on Saturday morning. Qualifying for the main race will follow on Saturday afternoon.
The rules surrounding sprint races, which Verstappen cursed, are also being overhauled. Unlike in previous years, this season teams are allowed to work on the car’s setup for the main race after the sprint race. The scoring – eight points for the winner and one point for the number eight – remains the same.
Photo: ANP
5. Hamilton’s last season at Mercedes
It may be the biggest Formula 1 transfer ever: Lewis Hamilton, numerically the best driver of all time, will switch from Mercedes to Ferrari after this season. The seven-time world champion is professional enough not to have his head in Maranello yet, but sooner or later things will have to start brewing within Mercedes.
Knowing that Hamilton is leaving, George Russell gradually becomes the leader when it comes to the development of the car as the season progresses. And to what extent is Hamilton still allowed to participate in meetings regarding sensitive information that he could potentially take with him to competitor Ferrari?
In any case, the Briton himself will want to do everything he can to achieve his first victory since the end of 2021 in his final season for ‘De Zilverarrowen’.
Lewis Hamilton will switch from Mercedes to Ferrari at the end of this year. Photo: Reuters
2024-02-29 08:31:23
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