2024 F1 Bahrain GP FP1: What we learnt

The 2024 F1 Bahrain GP FP1 kicked off the season, with Daniel Ricciardo being the surprise name at the top of the standings.

In his first full season back in the driver's seat, the Australian looked great in the car. RB was one of the few teams that put on the soft tire, yeilding impressive results.

Ricciardo was followed by former McLaren teammate Lando Norris, while RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda came in P4. With not many teams and drivers trying a soft tire run, the final order ended up being slightly unconventional, with Max Verstappen down in P6.

With the first 60 minutes of running now in the rearview mirror, what did we learn? Let's take a look.

2024 F1 Bahrain GP FP1: Key Learning

#1 Red Bull and Max Verstappen continue to have a buffer

Max Verstappen's very first lap in the F1 Bahrain GP FP1 was more than six tenths quicker than anybody else. More or less, it laid down the marker that showed everyone what the Red Bull is capable of. While the timesheets won't show it for now, the Dutch driver is in a league of his own and appears to have a buffer over everyone else.

#2 Mercedes and Ferrari could be the closest challengers

Mercedes finally let go of a few sandbags and started showing what the car can do. The car is clearly a step up and looks beautiful on track. How far or how close it will be to Red Bull is yet to be found, but the German team certainly appears to have a few things working for it.

Ferrari has traditionally run a more conservative mode on Fridays, and it was evident in the Bahrain GP FP1 as well. The Italian team is in the picture for now, but the true picture is yet to be revealed.

#3 Aston Martin is a dark horse, while McLaren and RB squabble amongst themselves

Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel looks good. How good? We're yet to find out exactly, even though they might just be better than McLaren and RB by the looks of it. The true picture will be revealed by FP2, but the Aston Martin does look impressive.

McLaren and RB might be very close to each other, yielding an interesting battle this weekend.

#4 Alpine might be in big trouble

It is so hard to make a prediction of where Alpine stands for now, because the car has looked horrendous in terms of laptimes. Not even once has either driver pushed it to the limit either. It is, however, safe to say for now that it the car is close to a second slower than the Williams challenger. The French squad might be looking at a howler at the F1 Bahrain GP.

#5 The bottom four could come down to the drivers

The bottom four teams of Sauber (Stake), Haas, Williams, and Alpine might be jostling amongst themselves in Bahrain, as it does appear that there's a gulf between the top 6 and the bottom four. It will, however, become clearer in FP2.

With that being the case, the drivers and their performances on the day will become increasingly important as they try to extract whatever result they can from their cars.