Did Red Bull make a fatal mistake? The main intrigues before the F1 tests
Dmitry Zakharchenko February 20, 2024, 17:10 Moscow time
The races will be held in Bahrain from February 21 to 23 and everything will end five days before the start of the new season.
On Wednesday, February 21, Formula 1 pre-season testing begins in Bahrain: the 10 world championship teams will meet on a track. The winter tests are not indicative to a certain extent, but general trends can be discerned. For example, a year ago in the paddock, already in winter, they placed Aston Martin above Ferrari, and in 2022, Mercedes’ problems were evident even during testing.
What to expect in the next three days: in the “Championship” material.
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Classification
All (well, almost all) of the cars from the new F1 season are presented. Which is the most beautiful?
What did Adrian Newey cook?
The main surprise of this year’s presentations was the Red Bull car. In the 2023 season, the Austrians broke many records and demonstrated unprecedented dominance in Formula 1: it seemed that even if their rivals took a step forward, Milton Keynes would still have the advantage. However, this is not enough for the current champions: the RB20 even differs visually from its predecessor.
When publishing photos of the new car, Red Bull hid the shape of the side pontoon air intakes, which are likely similar to the “zeropods” that Mercedes struggled with for a year and a half. Adrian Newey is supposed to be too good to be wrong and therefore the RB20 can win every race next season. But in 2022, before the tests, Mercedes was considered invincible for a long time.
Christian Horner has problems:
How will the pursuers respond?
Among other teams, Mercedes was the one that attracted the most attention. The W15 has an unusual front spoiler with a slot under the nose cone and upper fins that taper to a minimum. If this decision is correct, it will not be difficult for rivals to copy it, although rumors about a possible ban have already appeared in the press. Brackley hopes that this car will allow the team to fight for the title again.
Shakedown of the Mercedes W15
Photo: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
The Ferrari car has not changed that radically, although Frederic Vasseur promised that 95% of the parts it contains are completely new. Additionally, the Scuderia still sticks to a pushrod rear suspension, while everyone else in the peloton prefers pushrods. However, like the new McLaren, the SF-24 looks like a logical continuation of the good car from the end of last season. But is this enough to fight for victory?
More information about what’s new for the 2024 season:
Analysis of the new Formula 1 cars: Red Bull surprised, but Mercedes has something to answer
Williams and other new products
Let us remind you that we were only able to see the new Williams car during filming on the eve of the tests. It was as if the renowned team had something to hide: the usual F1 secrecy. That’s why McLaren provided us with uninformative photos of its 2024 car.
However, even cars that are formally presented can look completely different during testing. Let us remember that for the first tests of 2022, Mercedes brought a traditional chassis and the car with “zero pontoons” debuted only in the second week of racing. Now, with the imminent Bahrain Grand Prix, there is no point in hiding news: we will see everything on Wednesday!
Will any of the middle peasants and outsiders be surprised?
Technical regulations have remained stable for the third year in a row, and under such conditions major changes in the balance of power rarely occur. However, the next large-scale changes to the rules will not occur until 2026 and therefore it is logical to create a new platform now to make the most of it in two years. This is more or less what they did at Hinvil after the failed 2023 season.
“Steak” (aka “Kick-Sauber”) C44
Photo: Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
According to James Key, the Steak car retains only certain components from the rear of last year’s Alfa Romeo and so far looks like the main dark horse of the bottom half of the table. The Alpin and RB (formerly Alpha Tauri) cars look more like their predecessors, which in itself means nothing.
Swiss authorities have questions:
They will remove the name from the F1 team. it really was strange
Is there hope for Haas?
At the presentation of the new car, Haas did not surprise with anything unexpected, but the American team was surprised earlier, when Gene Haas fired Gunther Steiner and appointed Ayao Komatsu as the new leader. The Japanese does not suffer from oversights: he predicted a difficult season and said that Haas could be the slowest in Bahrain.
Komatsu’s words do not inspire optimism, because a year earlier, Haas was not the last. On a clear lap, the American team car looked really good from time to time, and only monstrous tire wear put an end to race hopes. Really, having solved one problem, engineers created another?
Steiner disagreed with Haas:
Formula 1’s brightest boss has been fired. What will happen now with Mazepin’s former team?
