The silence has lasted too long: the engines start. The 2024 Formula 1 season officially kicks off this week with the only winter testing session scheduled again this year on the Sakhir track, in Bahrain.
For the first time we will have the opportunity to see all 10 new single-seaters, presented over the last two weeks, on the track. Everyone is chasing Red Bull, with the RB20 which will present itself in a guise destined to fall after a few races to adopt an even more extreme one.
Behind the big favourite, everyone starts on equal terms. Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin will try to trip up the Milton Keynes team. Christian Horner will regularly replace him in the three days of testing, but then his presence and his role in the world champion team will be one of the big question marks of the season.
All eyes on Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz: both are in their last season in their respective teams before taking off their current suits and embracing future projects. The 7-time world champion will go to Ferrari in 2025, while Sainz has yet to choose his future destination.
Sergio Perez will have to do everything to keep his place in Red Bull, for a seat that is the subject of attention from several drivers. George Russell, on the other hand, will begin his first season as Mercedes' top driver. With Hamilton destined for the Maranello shore, it will be up to him to lead the team towards recovery after two disappointing years to say the least.
In the second part of the ranking, Visa Cash App RB, more simply Racing Bulls, arouses a lot of curiosity. The Faenza team has high ranking ambitions after finishing eighth in the 2023 Constructors' World Championship. The much stronger bond with Red Bull will be a further reason to keep an eye on the team led by Laurent Mekies, who could mix up the cards especially in the first half of the season…
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Photo by: Aston Martin Racing
2024 F1 test in Bahrain: Sakhir's numbers
First edition of the GP: 2004
Length of the path: 5,412 meters
Record lap: 1'31″447 (Pedro de la Rosa, 2005)
F1 Test 2024 in Bahrain: TV times (Italian time)
George Russell, Mercedes W15
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Sky schedule (Live)
Wednesday 21 February
Test Day 1: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm / 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Thursday 22 February
Test Day 2: 8.00am – 12.00pm / 1.00pm – 5.00pm
Friday 23 February
Test Day 3: 8.00am – 12.00pm / 1.00pm – 5.00pm
Motorsport.com schedule (LIVE LIVE)
Wednesday 21 February
Test Day 1: 7.30am – 12.00pm / 1.00pm – 5.10pm
Thursday 22 February
Test Day 2: 7.30am – 12.00pm / 1.00pm – 5.10pm
Friday 23 February
Test Day 3: 7.30am – 12.00pm / 1.00pm – 5.10pm
#Sky #times #winter #tests #Bahrain
