The Formula 1 season will come to life on Wednesday as the 20 drivers get just three days of testing to fettle their new cars.
An utterly one-sided contest in 2023 was dominated by Red Bull. When the cars hit the track for the first time together this year, many will be hoping to see signs of a more competitive championship ahead.
Here’s what to watch for when testing begins at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Is Red Bull’s eye-catching RB20 another leap forward?
The world champions have shown they are not afraid to revise the design which brought them so much success last year. The RB20 may be conceptually similar to the car which won 21 out of 22 grands prix last year but it also has several striking differences.
Intriguingly, these have invited comparison with Mercedes’ W14, the concept of which the team discarded at the end of its first win-less season in 12 years. The appearance of vertical sidepods and tall engine covers on the RB20 indicate their design team see potential in these ideas, though despite their outward similarities they differ in shape and positioning to those seen on the Mercedes.
A straightforward, evolutionary RB20 would have indicated the team did not believe it could make a significant step in the third year of the current technical regulations. But this much-changed car has sent an ominous message to Red Bull’s rivals that they are poised to take another stride forwards.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Will we see a surprise change in the pecking order?
Pre-season testing often gives us the first exciting glimpse of a change in the pecking order.
In the final year of the last set of technical regulations, Mercedes struggled with their car throughout testing due to a change in the floor rules. Red Bull were suddenly on par with them, and the scene was set for a close championship fight.
The following year Ferrari propelled themselves into contention and went into the first race of the season hotly tipped to win – which they did. And 12 months ago the buzz was all around Aston Martin, who leapt from the midfield to become the closest challenger to Red Bull at the beginning of the season. Has another team made a similar step forwards?
No season-starting setback at McLaren?
McLaren did not make a strong start to either of the previous seasons under the current technical regulations. In 2022 they were plagued by braking problems which prevented the car from completing significant running at the Bahrain International Circuit.
McLaren admitted at their launch last year they faced a compromised start to the season having hit a snag in the development of their latest car. As a result they failed to score at the Bahrain opener for the second year in a row – a particularly unsatisfactory development for the team which is part-owned by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund.
At least that setback proved the precursor to a remarkable fightback later in the season which saw them recover to fourth in the championship. Surely McLaren can avoid a poor start for a third season in a row…
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Third time lucky for Mercedes?
A single win from 44 grands prix. That’s all the team which dominated the 2014-2021 championships have to show from the current F1 era.
Their star driver Lewis Hamilton is heading out of the door at the end of the year. Mercedes’ claim to being one of F1’s foremost teams has never looked shakier.
That will all change if the W15 provides the change in fortunes the team craves. It took an early decision to change direction last year, and under reinstated technical director James Allison the new car is a dramatic departure from its predecessor. But is it enough to stop the rot?
Are Ferrari still leading the charge?
Aston Martin, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari took turns leading the fight against Red Bull last season. As the curtain fell, Ferrari were the closest competitors, though Charles Leclerc still took the chequered flag almost 18 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the Abu Dhabi finale.
For the new season Ferrari believe they have built on the progress they made with their car in the middle of last year, as they began to uncover the reasons behind its unforgiving handling and peaky performance characteristics.
The only team besides Red Bull to win a race last year should expect to start the new season as their closest competition. Though Ferrari are always under scrutiny, Hamilton’s impending arrival will only add to that.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Does F1 now have four Red Bulls?
It’s all change at the-team-formerly-known-as-the-team-formerly-known-as-Toro Rosso. After just four years under their ‘AlphaTauri’ moniker, Red Bull has changed up its second F1 team again.
But beyond the latest superficial change of identity there has been significant developments at this team. Laurent Mekies has arrived from Ferrari to head up the sporting side of the operation, former FIA man Peter Bayer is running the wider operation and the car will draw more heavily on components shared with Red Bull.
The team made rapid gains over the final races of last season and have ambitions of being genuine contenders in the future. Many are already expecting RB to make significant progress this year – and anticipating some disquiet may accompany it if they do.
Is the midfield going to get even closer?
Last year the F1 field clustered into four groups with varying degrees of overlap from race to race: Red Bull out front, then Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin chasing, next came Alpine occupying a hinterland of their own, and finally Williams, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas striving to pick up the remaining points.
This entire cluster of 20 cars was often covered by remarkably small gaps. The new technical regulations introduced in 2022 may not have produced the kind of close racing many hoped they might, but the goal of closing up the gaps between the various teams was clearly met.
This trend is expected to continue in 2024, especially as the effects of the cost cap are felt by the top teams and the likes of Aston Martin and McLaren feel the benefit of their new facilities. Throughout launch season, many drivers commented on how close they expect the season to be, and testing will give us the first indication of whether they’re right.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Just how far off are Haas?
New Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu made it clear when their VF-24 debuted that they do not expect to be competitive in the opening races of 2024 at least. He only took over the role last month and the team slumped to the bottom of the standings in 2023.
As Komatsu noted, their preparations for 2024 were disrupted by the decision to produce a heavily updated version of last year’s car for the final few races. They can therefore expect a difficult start to the new season.
Can anyone run a stint like Red Bull?
The key to Red Bull’s competitiveness last year wasn’t simply speed but their ability to eke out a set of tyres over a race stint. This is the area where their rivals most need to make gains.
The Bahrain International Circuit will only offer a single snapshot of how successful they have been. Its abrasive surface makes it one of the most demanding tracks for tyre management, so will hopefully give useful insight into whether Red Bull still hold a significant advantage in this area.
How will the Horner situation be resolved?
Two weeks have passed since Red Bull Austria confirmed it is investigating allegations relating to its Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner. He insisted it is “business as usual” for the team at their launch last week and is expected to attend testing.
But the pressure is growing on Red Bull to resolve the situation. Yesterday Formula One Management said it “hopes the matter will be clarified at the earliest opportunity.”
How soon that is likely to be may emerge over the coming days. But Red Bull have given every indication so far they will not allow the pace to be dictated by anyone but themselves.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Over to you
What are you most keen to find out from pre-season testing? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Formula 1
Browse all Formula 1 articles