Verstappen victorious and Ferrari fighting fit: What we learned from the Bahrain Grand Prix
Max Verstappen won the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix in fine style, beating his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez by a clear 22 seconds on Saturday morning. It's Max's eighth consecutive Grand Prix victory and his 55th career win.
While Verstappen's win was largely expected, the Bahrain Grand Prix offered up plenty of surprises elsewhere in the grid. Here's what we learned from the first race of the Formula One season:
Ferrari's race pace is no joke ... and Sainz can weaponize it in his last season with the team.
Coming into the Bahrain Grand Prix, the teams competing for second — Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin — looked too close to separate. All four traded places throughout qualifying and were equally competitive on a one-lap basis.
But the 57-lap Grand Prix showed that it's Ferrari with the true race pace. Drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc cruised to third and fourth place respectively, finishing a clear five seconds ahead of Mercedes's George Russell in fifth.
Ferrari threw its weight behind Charles Leclerc during the offseason, giving him a multi-year contract and a partnership with incoming driver Lewis Hamilton. But it was the soon-to-be-replaced Sainz who impressed most for the Italian team in Bahrain.
Sainz took advantage of Leclerc's malfunctioning brakes to pass his teammate and clinch his first podium of the season.
Aston Martin has lots of ground to make up.
While Ferrari proved it could challenge for podiums, Aston Martin proved it's nowhere near being able to do the same. Drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished ninth and 10th, well behind their competitors at Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren.
Alonso dropped in the rankings after starting sixth; Stroll rose after falling to 19th in the opening lap.
Aston Martin started last season well, but failed to deliver crucial updates and sank as the year progressed. The team will have to improve its upgrade implementation process in 2024 if it hopes to finish higher than fifth in the Constructors Standings.
Alpine is in real trouble.
No one expected Alpine's overweight, under-designed car to challenge for points in Bahrain, but the team still found ways to disappoint fans — even with expectations already at frustrating lows.
When a car is clearly behind its competitors, its team must deliver pitch-perfect operational strategy to keep it competitive. Alpine conclusively failed in that aspect in Bahrain, saddling Pierre Gasly with a poor pitstop and Esteban Ocon with muddled tire strategies.
It's hard to see the French team picking up points anywhere if it keeps performing like this.
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