Analysis of FP2 race pace simulation: balance in sight for 2024 F1 Bahrain GP. How cars fared in the race pace simulation during the second free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The afternoon session provided insights into the teams’ performances ahead of the first race of the 2024 Formula One season. The teams’ work alternated between various race pace and qualifying simulations. After spending the first half-hour in a quick lap simulation for tomorrow’s qualifying, they shifted their focus to race preparation in the last 30 minutes. In this analysis, let’s see how the various cars fared in the race pace simulation during the second free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix at the 5.412 km Bahrain International Circuit located in Sakhir.

The race pace simulations revealed a rather balanced situation, with several cars potentially engaged in the battle for victory. Most drivers dedicated themselves to race pace simulation using the C3 compound, the most likely choice for Saturday’s race start. Fuel loads, of course, are unknown, but it seems that some teams might have conducted simulations with more kilograms of fuel. Additionally, power settings could also be significantly different, with the SF-24 slightly below par.

From the simulation analysis, we can understand that the cars are all close, with very small gaps between the various teams. The attack times for everyone were more or less similar, around the high 1:36s. From the start to the end of the stint, the cars did not lose performance suddenly but consistently. This is a sign that the various teams have managed to understand the tires and make them work within the correct operating window.

Among all, Red Bull still remains the benchmark, but with a gap that seems to be very close. In the direct comparison between Ferrari and Mercedes, it appears that the RB20 is faster by 3 tenths per lap. However, this data should be taken with caution since, as mentioned earlier, we don’t know power unit mappings and fuel loads. McLaren’s performance is very promising, positioning itself as a contender along with Ferrari and Mercedes. Observing the graph, we can also understand that the drivers deliberately slowed down to let the tires breathe and understand the true life of the rubber. An attempt that paid off, as lap times decreased in the following laps. All these factors might suggest a closely contested race with several drivers vying for victory, a scenario totally unexpected until a week ago.

Source: f1ingenerale