Leclerc, Verstappen, Alonso, Russell – FP1 best lap telemetry analysis | 2024 Bahrain GP. Data and telemetry from FP1 for Bahrain GP confirms Ferrari has a solid and consistent pace.

The data and telemetry from the first free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix confirms Ferrari has a solid and consistent pace, while Red Bull shows some imperfections.

After an entire winter and 24 hours of testing, Formula 1 finally returns to the track officially for the first free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which yields the first data and consequently the initial season impressions. However, patience is still required because the environmental and track conditions were not optimal in the first session, and the teams are still adjusting their programs in search of the best compromises for the race. Nevertheless, some impressions are noteworthy.

Alonso a meteor, Red Bull imperfect, Ferrari confirms

Starting with the analysis of the fastest laps, we considered laps on medium tires and not those on soft tires, as only McLaren among the top teams tried the softer compound. Among those on the medium compound, the best time was set by Fernando Alonso, who becomes the reference on the chart but appears to be a “meteor,” with a performance strongly influenced by having a new tire several minutes after the opponents. The Ferrari seemed to behave well under braking and showed some good moments in short accelerations and at turn 6, in the midst of the snake.

The data for turn 6 contrasts with what was seen in the long runs, probably because the SF-24 has some difficulty turning in tight corners, which it manages well with a new tire. From turn 10 onwards, however, the red car is excellent, and considering the morphology of the curves, long and medium-fast, the impression is that there is confirmation of a Maranello single-seater with an excellent level of downforce and good aerodynamic stability, which would be confirmed despite the strong wind. Verstappen’s Red Bull certainly appeared very strong, but still with some imperfections to address, especially dynamic responses from the car, probably due to some mechanical imperfections, which undermine Verstappen’s confidence during braking.

In Long Runs, Ferrari the best with Lewis Hamilton very close

The red car’s pace trials, on the other hand, were excellent. As seen from the graphs, Carlos Sainz started his run, as always, with a relatively high attack time, but gradually improved, closing with a time about 1 second better than the attack time. The Monegasque, in this case, in analogy to what was seen in previous seasons, adopted the opposite strategy, with a very fast attack time, and then restarting from a slower pace that allowed him to bring the temperatures back into the correct window. Charles Leclerc’s path from the second lap onwards is all downhill (except for the last time recorded in traffic), confirming a Ferrari that, for now, seems to have found a good balance on the tires. Very close to the red cars was Lewis Hamilton, who already appeared very focused and produced an excellent fast and generally consistent long run.

Max Verstappen seemed in line with the times of Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari cars, and this would already be news, but some imperfections were noticed on car number 1, which the Red Bull mechanics and engineers will need to correct in the upcoming sessions. The potential difference seems to be that while Ferrari and Mercedes are similar and have already found a good starting point, Red Bull seems to be in line but with some basic steps still to be taken forward.

In general, however, the first free practice session can only provide a very partial representation of the track values, and we will have to wait for the next sessions to form a decidedly more concrete idea.