Formula 1, Bahrain
Qualifying: Verstappen races to pole, Hülkenberg surprises with top performance
Unimpressed by the headlines surrounding his team boss, Max Verstappen secured pole position for the start of his fourth Formula 1 title race. The 26-year-old Dutchman raced to first place in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir on Friday and commented on it over the radio with a hearty laugh. “It was pretty fun. But it was a bit unexpected,” said Verstappen with a mischievous smile. After turbulent days for the world champion team and an initially slightly weak champion, it was the perfect sporting start to this season.
Second starting place for the race this Saturday due to the upcoming Islamic fasting month of Ramadan was taken by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari ahead of George Russell in the race Mercedes. Carlos Sainz finished fourth in the Scuderia’s second car. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton, for whom Sainz has to vacate his Ferrari cockpit after the season, did not get past ninth place – one place ahead of the surprisingly strong Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas.
3. Free practice: Sainz best time for qualifying
Carlos Sainz set the best training time in the Ferrari before the opening qualifying of the Formula 1 season. The 29-year-old Spaniard, who has to vacate his Scuderia cockpit for Lewis Hamilton after this season, relegated Fernando Alonso from Spain to second place in the Aston Martin in the third free practice session on Friday. Third place went to defending champion and three-time world champion Max Verstappen from the Netherlands in the Red Bull. Charles Leclerc came fourth in the second Ferrari.
Mercedes driver Hamilton, who was fastest on Thursday, only came twelfth in the one-hour session in the afternoon. The only German regular driver, Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas, also made it to ninth place, ahead of the seven-time world champion from England. The qualification begins this Friday at 5:00 p.m. CET (Sky and RTL). The race will start on Saturday in consideration of the upcoming Islamic fasting month of Ramadan
1st free practice: Ricciardo in front – Verstappen flees
Max Verstappen cursed and cursed. The first free practice session of the new Formula 1 season didn’t go to the three-time world champion’s liking. The 26-year-old defending champion was annoyed about the handling of the new Red Bull racing car in the Sakhir desert on Thursday.
In the one-hour opening session, Verstappen only finished sixth. Verstappen’s hearty assessment on the pit radio had to be largely ignored. We are miles away, he raged. He kept complaining about problems switching gears.
It remains to be seen how meaningful his first appearance on the track at the Grand Prix weekend will be. This Friday (5:00 p.m. CET) the qualification takes place on the course in the Sakhir desert, the race takes place on Saturday (4:00 p.m. CET/Sky and RTL). The Grand Prix will also start a week later in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The reason for this is the upcoming Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on March 10th. There must be a week between races.
The first best training time of the year was secured by Australian Daniel Ricciardo in Red Bull’s sister team Alpha Tauri ahead of Briton Lando Norris in a McLaren. His Australian teammate Oscar Piastri came third. Ahead of Verstappen, Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso finished fifth in his Aston Martin.
Season opener in Bahrain – Formula 1 starts again
The huge advertising posters for the 20-year-old in Bahrain cannot hide it: Formula 1 is starting the new season with a damaged image. Everything should – once again – become even bigger, even better, even more spectacular and, above all, even more socially acceptable. The affair surrounding world champion team boss Christian Horner immediately before the start of the race this Saturday (4 p.m./Sky and RTL) because of the upcoming Islamic fasting month of Ramadan is not included.
“We want to talk about racing cars and about the sport and not about these very, very critical issues that are more than just a problem for the team,” emphasized Mercedes colleague Toto Wolff: “It is a problem for the entire Formula 1. And more generally for every single person who works out there.”
The long silence in Fuschl am See
It is still unclear what will happen next for Horner. The 50-year-old is accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee. On February 5th, almost a month before the first of 24 races of the record 2024 season, the parent company Red Bull confirmed an investigation by an independent lawyer.
Since then there has been no information from the company headquarters in tranquil Fuschl am See. In return, urging and criticism from the designated engine partner Ford as well as Formula 1’s demand for rapid clarification.
This is exactly what is expected practically every hour in the desert of Sakhir. There, where Red Bull’s successful driver Max Verstappen actually wants to provide further clarity with the new RB 20 and underline his claims for the fourth title in a row. The biggest doubts that he could do it again this time after 19 wins in 22 races last season are not necessarily in the paddock.
250,000 dollars for the Verstappen conqueror
“I estimate that 19 drivers now think that they will not become world champion,” emphasized two-time champion Fernando Alonso: “If you have seen Max and the Red Bull in action, there seems to be less of a chance for everyone else this year to win a race.”
The head of the all-electric Formula E racing series even wants to give $250,000 (around 232,000 euros) to charity at the end of this year to whoever beats Verstappen. “Unless he gets injured or something crazy happens, he has a 99 percent chance of winning the trophy,” predicted Jeff Dodds.
What the dismissal of a team boss would entail remains to be considered. Also, what is the truth about the internal power struggle at Red Bull, which has been talked about for a long time? Here is team boss Horner, who has led the racing team since joining in 2005.
There is the motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, who was once a close confidant of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in October 2022, and also a close confidant of the Verstappen camp, including his father Jos. The fact that a Dutch newspaper was the first to report the allegations against Horner fueled all speculation.
Hamilton’s Mercedes finale: “Most gigantic of all shocks”
None of this would have been necessary for a season that was entirely in line with the marketing taste of the US owners. 24 races, more than ever since the start of the World Cup in 1950. The return to China after five years and, on top of that, Lewis Hamilton’s last season in the Mercedes: The seven-time champion from England will wear Ferrari’s red racing overalls from 2025. A constellation that could have something special.
“Earthquake” (“Le Monde”), “the most gigantic of all shocks” (“The Independent”) or “signature of the century” (“Mundo deportivo”) – there was no shortage of superlatives when the sensational change was confirmed. Hamilton couldn’t resist the lure of the Ferrari myth, lots and lots of money and the prospect of winning that much-desired eighth title, with which he would overtake former Ferrari star Michael Schumacher, in a Scuderia car of all things.
Based on first impressions, it is at least not very likely that the triumph will happen this year in the silver-black Mercedes. Even if Hamilton, who turned 39 in January, emphasized: “I feel more motivated and focused than ever before.” And also stated: “I never thought there would be a point in my life when I’m as hungry as I am now.”
Mick Schumacher’s hope via a detour
Many others have that too. Like Carlos Sainz, who has to give up his Ferrari seat for Hamilton after this season. Or his teammate Charles Leclerc, Scuderia’s former hope for the future, who has still not become world champion. Or Nico Hülkenberg, who with the American Haas team under new leadership does not want to come last in the constructors’ championship again this time after the dismissal of Günther Steiner.
Or Mick Schumacher, who is only on the bench again but wants to make a name for himself with his second job. In addition to his commitment to Mercedes, the 24-year-old will compete for the first time in the Endurance World Championship for the French manufacturer Alpine, which also begins on Saturday in Qatar. Not far from Bahrain, where the question of Horner’s future continues to cause a lot of noise.