The 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season is just around the corner, with the opening race of the year to take place next Saturday at the Bahrain International Circuit, and all twenty drivers were able to take to the same track last week for three days of testing.

The Checkered Flag looks over the three days in Bahrain to see who’s hot and who’s not going into the new season, and whether anyone has it in them to challenge Oracle Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen for the titles.

Day 1 – Verstappen Leads the Way for Red Bull

Reigning World Drivers’ Champion set an ominous statement on the opening day of testing in Bahrain, with the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver ending the day more than a second clear of the field as everyone had their first running with their 2024 machinery.

Verstappen, the winner of nineteen of the twenty-two races in 2023, set a best time of 1:31.344 to pace the field, which saw eighteen of the twenty drivers have their first runs in their new cars.  Only Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton did not take part across the two sessions.

Lando Norris ended the day an encouraging second fastest for the McLaren F1 Team, with the Woking-based outfit aiming to start the 2024 season the way they ended 2023.  Norris’ 1:32.484 was a tenth ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr., while Daniel Ricciardo put his Visa CashApp RB into fourth.

Pierre Gasly was the only other driver to get into the 1:32’s for the BWT Alpine F1 Team, with the Frenchman ending fifth ahead of Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team’s Lance Stroll.  Stroll will be happy to get some pre-season running in after missing testing altogether in 2023 after breaking bones in a cycling accident.

Charles Leclerc put the second Ferrari into seventh ahead of the second Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, while the top ten was rounded out by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu.

The only concern across the day was Alexander Albon stopping on track towards the end of the session, with his Williams Racing car stopping just after turn three after appearing to fail on the main straight.  Luckily the car was able to be recovered under local yellow flags rather than a red flag.

Pos.	No.	Driver	NAT	Team	Time
1	1	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1:31.344
2	4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1:32.484
3	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari	1:32.584
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Visa CashApp RB	1:32.599
5	10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1:32.805
6	18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team	1:33.007
7	16	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari	1:33.247
8	14	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team	1:33.385
9	81	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1:33.658
10	24	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1:33.871
11	2	Logan Sargeant	USA	Williams Racing	1:33.882
12	63	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team	1:34.109
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Visa CashApp RB	1:34.136
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1:34.431
15	23	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams Racing	1:34.587
16	31	Esteban Ocon	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1:34.677
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1:35.692
18	27	Nico Hülkenberg	GER	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1:35.908

Day 2 – Sainz Heads the Field for Ferrari

Ferrari ended day two of the test with the fastest time, although setting the time on the C4 Pirelli tyre, one that will not be used during the Grand Prix weekend, will be flattering to the Maranello-based team.

Sainz paced the field on Thursday, with the Spaniard setting a best time of 1:29.921, almost seven-tenths of a second ahead of Perez, the Mexican having his first taste of the Red Bull RB20 after seeing Verstappen take the reigns for the whole of day one.

The morning session was shortened after a drain cover was dislodged at turn eleven, with the debris from it run over by Sainz and by Hamilton, who was having his first taste of the new Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s W15.  Sainz’s floor was damaged and needed replacing before Leclerc took over the running for the afternoon session.

Hamilton was able to finish third overall on the day ahead of countryman Norris, while Ricciardo continued Visa CashApp RB’s good form with fifth.  Leclerc ended sixth ahead of Stroll and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, with the top ten rounded out by Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in ninth and Piastri in tenth.

Pos.	No.	Driver	NAT	Team	Time
1	54	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari	1:29.921
2	11	Sergio Perez	MEX	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1:30.679
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team	1:31.066
4	4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1:31.256
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Visa CashApp RB	1:31.361
6	16	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari	1:31.750
7	18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team	1:32.029
8	31	Esteban Ocon	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1:32.061
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1:32.227
10	81	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1:32.328
11	2	Logan Sargeant	USA	Williams Racing	1:32.578
12	14	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team	1:33.053
13	24	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1:33.715
14	10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1:33.804
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1:36.611
16	27	Nico Hülkenberg	GER	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1:37.509
17	22	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Visa CashApp RB	1:38.074

Day 3 – Leclerc Concludes Test as Ferrari Leads Mercedes

Leclerc ensured Ferrari maintained their position at the top of the time sheets on the third and final day of the test, although his C4 tyre run was not as quick as his team-mate had been on day two.

The Monegasque racer’s best time of 1:30.322 was just 0.046 seconds clear of Mercedes’ George Russell, while just three-tenths of a second back was the Stake of Zhou, the Chinese driver showing there is some pace in the C44 heading into the new season.

Verstappen, who sat out day two after pacing day one, ended fourth fastest for Red Bull but was more focused on longer runs rather than outright performance, while Yuki Tsunoda in the sister Visa CashApp RB team ended fifth.

Albon concluded the day with the sixth fastest time for Williams ahead of McLaren’s Piastri, while Alonso, Sainz and Perez rounded out the top ten.

For the first time across the three days, the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team appeared to do some performance runs, with Nico Hülkenberg ending just outside the top ten, just ahead of Hamilton, Stroll and Norris.

There was another stoppage for drain repairs during the morning session, with plans now being worked on ahead of the Grand Prix to prevent a repeat.

Pos.	No.	Driver	NAT	Team	Time
1	16	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari	1:30.322
2	63	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team	1:30.368
3	24	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1:30.647
4	1	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1:30.755
5	22	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Visa CashApp RB	1:30.775
6	23	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams Racing	1:30.984
7	81	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1:31.030
8	14	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team	1:31.159
9	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari	1:31.247
10	11	Sergio Perez	MEX	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1:31.483
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	GER	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1:31.686
12	44	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team	1:31.999
13	18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team	1:32.038
14	4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1:32.108
15	10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1:32.149
16	27	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1:33.053
17	31	Esteban Ocon	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1:33.079
18	77	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1:33.528
19	3	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Visa CashApp RB	1:37.015