Verstappen scares rivals despite not having the fastest time

A drain cover again threw a spanner in the works, much to the displeasure of many F1 teams and drivers in Bahrain. This hampered the third and final day of the winter test, but still plenty of laps were driven. On the track, Red Bull Racing in particular impressed, which seems to confirm the fears of all competitors. A report from the third day of testing in Bahrain.

No breakfast, as you know it, from most hotels. The hotel where I am staying has breakfast at the adjacent building. On two floors in a cramped building, I climb the stairs to the top. Where I end up looks a little like a breakfast room but more like a sports bar. At the bar are some leftover people from the night before. Otherwise, it is empty.

Next to the pool table, I sit down at a small table, doubting whether this is really where my breakfast is. It turns out it is. I can choose from an American Breakfast, Continental Breakfast and an Arabic dish. American Breakfast it is. No running buffet, then, but my breakfast is specially prepared. A success, although the surroundings remain remarkable.

No, the beginning of this story is not about F1. Why? Because there is simply very little happening on the track. In the morning, I walk from hospitality to hospitality for one conversation after another, but when I return to the media centre I appear not to have missed anything. Again it goes wrong with a drain cover, much to the frustration of teams and drivers.

Drivers and teams point to FIA after drain cover incident

In the press conference, the drivers expressed their dissatisfaction about it. Verstappen called it a serious problem, and Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fully agreed with the Dutchman. The drivers are particularly surprised that the FIA did not check this on the kerb earlier, considering it is a recurring problem here.

Back to the morning. What stands out during the winter test is that all the teams are extremely positive. Stake F1 is even looking forward to the season. Last year, the team hit a slump and internally spoke of a kind of 'limbo phase' towards the new team name. Now there is fresh energy and a new name, although the car on the track does not necessarily look like a big step forward yet.

Remarkably, at Williams it is quite the opposite. Led by James Vowles, the decision was made early in 2023 to focus on the 2024 car. In doing so, the team wanted to move away from the car that only performed well on circuits where top speed was crucial. The new car should perform on all circuits, but in doing so Williams may be taking a step back.

However, the team is willing to take that risk. After all, from that strong base it can move forward again, whereas the team reached their ceiling with the previous car. With Pat Fry on board as chief technical officer, the course forward can be set.

Visa Cash App RB continue to get questions about the name

I also join the open media sessions at Visa Cash App RB. First up is CEO Peter Bayer and team principal Laurent Mekies. Of course, they again discuss the name at length, which GPblog.com managed to clarify earlier. The company is called Racing Bulls, the racing team is called Visa Cash App RB.

Bayer and Mekies answer all questions about the partnership with Red Bull Racing again in the same way as a day before. Yes, the team buy certain parts from Red Bull, but otherwise they make their own car. Even if you buy in parts, you still have to make those parts work well for the whole car.

The reason for the collaboration is also reiterated: the gap between the top and the rear is still huge. If, as Zak Brown suggested, VCARB had to make everything themselves, they would be much less competitive. A smaller team could then hardly be competitive. Despite help from Red Bull, VCARB are still not below the budget cap limit.

Nevertheless, some more information about the factories did emerge. Indeed, the British factory in Bicester is to be closed. There will be a new team headquarters in Milton Keynes. There, the facilities will be much better and will remain a place to attract British staff such as Tim Goss and Alan Permane. However, the factory in Faenza will also remain part of the team.

Focus is on Verstappen and Hamilton at the press conference

The problems with the drain cover not only upset the session, but also the media sessions. For instance, the press conference was due during the lunch break. Oscar Piastri, who will be in action after lunch, will, therefore, decide to skip it. McLaren will arrange a separate session with the young driver in their own hospitality.

For the press conference afterward, the nine drivers who have not yet shown up for the event will join us. In the first group, most of the questions are for Max Verstappen. He could not have been asked more, Verstappen states again about his RB20. The competition agrees and Verstappen does not deny it: Red Bull Racing are in excellent shape at the start of 2024.

There is also a brief mention of Christian Horner, but Verstappen is also clearly instructed not to dwell too much on the subject. Verstappen does hope that the case will be concluded soon, though, because it obviously does create distractions within the team.

In the second group, most attention is focused on Lewis Hamilton. The Brit is asked a lot about his switch to Ferrari. Why were Mercedes suddenly no longer good enough? Hamilton gives no direct answer. "An opportunity came along," is all he says about it. We may never know the real reason why he is leaving Mercedes.

Next to Hamilton on the bench, Lando Norris shows some displeasure. The Briton only got to 20 laps and will have to hand his car over to his teammate in the afternoon. On Thursday, Norris was also out of luck, so not an ideal winter test. Nevertheless, Norris stresses that things are still better than last year, and things are not going wrong now due to a lack of preparation.

What do the F1 cars look like in Bahrain?

Towards the end of the session, it is time for a final naked-eye test. Together with two colleagues, I walk to a nice vantage point. At that point, you can see the cars going through Turn 5, 6 and 7 at high speed. A good test of how the cars behave at high speed. In Turn 8, and especially at the exit Turn 8, you notice how fast drivers can get on the gas and how the car behaves then.

The RB20 in particular stands out. No car behaves as well through the corners as the Red Bull car. Both at high speed and when accelerating out, the RB20 is in a class of its own. It explains the slight dejection among the competition. Indeed, every team argue that Red Bull have maintained or even increased their lead. Red Bull themselves do not deny that.

The rest of the cars differ little from each other. The Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin, VCARB and Williams all look good. Ferrari are fast, but do have moments of understeer when accelerating out. Mercedes, on the other hand, seemed to have some rear-end excursions when George Russell steps on the gas. McLaren and Aston Martin look very stable, but are they fast enough?

The negative outliers remain Haas and Stake. Haas look reasonably stable, but also seem cumbersome and slow. The latter is also reflected in the times. The Stake car, on the other hand, looks very unsettled and has many moments of oversteer. A difficult car to drive a week before the Bahrain Grand Prix.

After the session, Verstappen confirmed that Red Bull had decided not to focus on pure lap times. Given all the interruptions, that is a logical choice. Red Bull did do a long run, and in it, it did look very competitive. The confidence still radiates from them.

Mike Krack and Dan Fallows confirm what we have already heard from many more of Red Bull's competitors: that team (Red Bull) have done something special and is out of reach for now. Aston Martin itself is confident though, so it is definitely another team to be reckoned with.

With that, the winter test comes to an end. I end the test with a run around the circuit. A unique way to inspect the circuit more closely, but above all a nice way to also take some physical exercise after days of talking, listening and typing. This weekend I will make a summary of my findings. Wednesday, it all starts again here at the circuit with media day, and then we go racing and really know where everyone stands.