F1 | Data: Mercedes pushes on the straight, Red Bull more conservative

The first day on the track of the season ended somewhat surprisingly, with a Mercedes one-two the likes of which hadn't been seen in a long time, not only due to a question of result, but also of sensations on the part of the drivers, who showed cautious optimism.

Behind the two Silver Arrows are other single-seaters powered by the Star engine, namely Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri's McLaren. On the contrary, the teams that arrived in favor of the predictions on the eve, namely Ferrari and Red Bull, instead finished further behind, around 4 tenths from the top achieved by Lewis Hamilton, who at the end of the session said he was surprised by the solid performance shown from W15.

On the other hand, calm is preached at Red Bull for two different reasons. On the one hand, the Milton Keynes team is well aware of the times reported on the pace, with Max Verstappen who was the only one to lap with a certain consistency under one minute and thirty-seven, even though he chose a very linear introduction . A contrary approach from his teammate, who started with a very aggressive attack lap and then progressively climbed, as if they had tried to stress the tyres, although even towards the end of the stint the times were still extremely competitive.

The Mercedes push on the straights

On the other hand, the Dutchman let slip a rather clear and extremely interesting phrase, which led him to speak with a certain calm also from the point of view of the flying lap. Although he expects the group to be rather compact in qualifying, with rivals closer than in race pace, on the other hand the Hasselt driver said he was not worried about the almost 5 tenths accumulated by Hamilton, because they were influenced by more aggressive mapping. The Red Bull representative did not speak, making specific references to the Mercedes engines, but it is clear that that was the suspicion.

In fact, looking at the telemetry from this first day, Verstappen's words are somehow confirmed. With the exception of Williams, last year the cars powered by the Star Power Unit did not shine in terms of top speed, mainly due to the cars' drag problems: today however, unlike last week's tests, they given some interesting data, but not in terms of maximums at the end of the straight, but rather of progression.

In fact, although both Red Bull and Mercedes arrive at the breaking point with a very similar maximum speed of 316 km/h, the W15 can count on an advantage in progression, in certain sections it stands between 4 and 5 km/h. This means that not only are the drivers from the Brackley team able to reach higher speeds than their colleagues from the Milton Keynes team, but also that they are able to stay around 316 km/h for longer, with a clear advantage from the of view of the stopwatch. A behavior that also recurs with Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, but not with Oscar Piastri's McLaren, which shows a more linear progression.

Telemetry comparison between Verstappen and Hamiton in FP2 in Bahrain

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

It is clearly too early to give definitive assessments, also considering that the teams are far from the top speeds they reached last year, a sign that there is still some margin to be expressed, as usually happens between free practice and qualifying. However, it is an aspect that will be interesting to pay attention to on Saturday, when the teams will unleash their true potential. On the eve of the GP George Russell had underlined how this W15, although more drivable, lacked aerodynamic load, but the issue of top speeds had not emerged in the tests.

Verstappen conservative in certain points

If on the straights the dominance of the Mercedes-powered cars was recorded quite clearly, so much so that they were the fastest in the first and third sectors, where power matters most, on the other hand in curves the situation takes on more complex and difficult to interpret scenarios .

Taking Verstappen as a reference, we can appreciate how in those sections where stability and overall aerodynamic load really count, the RB20 seems to be there: in the 6-7 change of direction, the Red Bull driver proved to be the fastest, gaining several cents on the competition. An advantage he also gained thanks to the fact that he managed to partialize the accelerator only around 85%, among other things for a shorter period of time than his opponents. Looking at Hamilton's data, we can see how, despite partializing in a similar way to the Dutchman, he is forced to lift his foot off the pedal a certain amount of time beforehand, only to return to full throttle later.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

There is, however, another interesting aspect, namely the exit from this section. While everyone else arrived with the throttle completely open up to the braking point, Verstappen anticipated the release phase by several metres, almost letting the car slide before hitting the brakes, almost as if he wanted to hide. The curious aspect is that this behavior was also repeated at the braking point at turn ten, where he arrived with the highest top speed, but also at the braking stage at turn 11, where he also clearly anticipated the downshift.

Although it is true that the Red Bull driver tends to have a style that favors a less aggressive braking phase, in this case there is a very marked tendency to let the car slide. Furthermore, it should be noted that, precisely in turn 11, in the attempt preceding his best lap Verstappen had recorded higher minimum speeds, a sign that in fact there is still some margin. However, in turns 13 and 14, the last two of the track, Verstappen was not the protagonist of exceptional performances.

A Ferrari that is difficult to decipher

If there is one element that is clear so far, it is uncertainty. Although the time board speaks of gaps of around half a second, there are many elements that played a key role in the search for the time.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

At Ferrari, for example, rather low top speeds were noted, even 4-5 km/h compared to Red Bull, which certainly was not an absolute reference on the straights: a behavior opposite to what was seen in the long run simulations of the tests, where the Cavallino team had focused on more aggressive mapping to have real and concrete data on the use and management of the tyres.

The first aspect that catches the eye is the speed of turning 1, where the Maranello team struggled with both drivers throughout the day, like last year. On the eve of this weekend, Charles Leclerc had made no secret of the fact that Ferrari was experiencing slight understeer in the slower corners, similar to what happened at McLaren last season. A behavior that occurred today with both Leclerc and Sainz, who often maintained a very narrow line in turn 1 to avoid letting the car slide too much and better prepare the exit towards turn two, so much so that he recorded very low minimum speeds .

Likewise, even in the change of direction between six and seven the SF-24 seems to have something less not only than Red Bull, but also McLaren, which in 2023 had made traits like this one of its best weapons. Sainz is forced into a broader and more aggressive phase of partialization than his opponents. A different case is that of Leclerc, whose references were conditioned by the fact that he had aborted two attempts before the lap in which he recorded his best time, losing something in terms of the freshness of the tyres.

Telemetry comparison between Sainz and Hamiton in FP2 in Bahrain

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

The most encouraging aspect for the Maranello single-seater is the performance in the medium-speed corners, such as 4, 11, 13 and 14, the last sector of the track, where on average the SF-24 showed positive speeds. This is especially noticeable in turn 13, a section where, while it is true that it is useful to have a precise front end, it is even more fundamental to have a rather firm rear end, which does not cause the rear end to escape on entry with the risk of widening the trajectory.

The last element to point out is the difficulty when braking: Sainz started with a new set of brakes in the morning, an aspect that he was also reminded of via radio, but the Spaniard was unable to find a good feeling when braking. An aspect that also recurred for Leclerc.

A still uncertain grid

The first day of free practice in Bahrain left more doubts than certainties, especially on the flying lap, rather than on the long distance. In fact, in terms of race pace, Red Bull once again seems to have a significant advantage, with the group made up of Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin within a few tenths of a second behind it.

On the single lap the elements of uncertainty and the variables at play are much more numerous: McLaren also completed an interesting simulation with little fuel on board, confirming itself as the fastest in the second sector, the one where handling matters most, even though Lando Norris is not managed to put together a good lap. The MCL38, on a track that has historically never been so favorable to the Woking cars, also showed lower top speeds than the other teams powered by the Stella company.

Qualifying will sweep away several doubts, giving a clearer and more realistic image of the values ​​on the field, but also of the strengths and weaknesses of each car.