Red Bull the Team to Beat as F1 2024 Testing Gets Underway

The first stages of the F1 2024 season are now underway, as testing has begun at Sakhir, the Bahrain International Circuit. With all the launches complete and the cars taking to the track for the first time today, some innovative designs and eye-catching features have already been noted ahead of the new season, which is set to begin next week. As always, GamesBelt is here to cover the latest F1 news ahead of “lights out”.

Red Bull Copy Mercedes’ Zero-Pod Principle

The most obvious thing we learned from session one of pre-season testing was that Red Bull has gone bold with their design. In a bid to ensure that others don’t catch up to them, the constructor’s champions have copied Mercedes’ failed zero sidepod design from the previous two seasons. However, with new additions, including bunny ears to direct airflow behind the car and an overbite/underbite venting system, coupled with a new floor with winglets, it is easy to see where Red Bull has improved a concept that Mercedes just couldn’t make work. If done correctly, Red Bull will prove almost impossible to catch, as was evident from their seven-tenths lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the first session one day one.

One design flaw does come to mind, though. Much of the airflow in the new Red Bull relies heavily on all the elements working in tandem. Damage to the winglet, which sticks out widely on the floor behind the front wheels, could scupper the Red Bull and make it tricky to cool its engine. That’s something that can easily happen and no doubt something other teams will note. Secondly, winglets are supposed to be illegal in F1 from 2022, so it remains to be seen if any other teams will complain or simply copy the design as best as they can.

Mercedes’ Innovative F1 2024 Wings

Red Bull isn’t the only team bringing innovation to the paddock this season. They may have abandoned their no-pods concept (which, as mentioned, has been picked up by Red Bull), but they do have an innovative new front wing, complete with overlapping bars. The car also boasts a special, angled, fin-like nose coupled with a redesigned rear wing. The hope for the Silver Arrows will be that they can bring some stability to the rear of their car, allowing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell some confidence when cornering, something they have lacked for the previous two seasons.

Other Eye-Catching Features

Elsewhere, there have been one or two features which caught our eye at the start of F1 2024 pre-season testing. Obviously, we’re not going to praise anything that has happened to Team RB (formerly known as Alpha Tauri) on account of them virtually buying most of their parts from their parent team (Red Bull) and now cooperating closely with them. However, they do appear to have found some pace in the car, moving them off the back of the field.

McLaren hasn’t exactly made the progress they hoped (thus far, but it is only day one), although we can confirm that they haven’t rolled back down the order. Aston Martin seems to have followed last season’s pre-season test with a strong package. However, last year, it was the upgrades throughout the season which saw them fall apart – the same is likely to happen here. As for the prancing horses? Ferrari is where you would expect – P2, with nothing particularly noteworthy or bad about their design or performance.

Williams didn’t quite get the testing that they wanted, with Albon stopped out on track. Sauber hasn’t had much of an impact, and for Haas and Alpine, things look just as bleak as last year, with Magnusson almost careening off into Russell in a Haas, which looks overly tricky to control.

Testing Continues Head of the Bahrain GP

Testing now continues with the second practice session of the day. This will be followed by two extra days of testing on Thursday and Friday. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez are set to make their first runs on Day Two, and hopefully, by Friday, we’ll have a clear idea which team is packing what features and where they stand before it’s “lights out” on February 29th in Bahrain for Round 1 of the F1 2024 World Championship.