Horner dominates day in Bahrain, battle looms at VCARB

The news about Christian Horner came only after media day was over in Bahrain. Before that, it was largely about Horner, but also looking ahead to the F1 season starting this weekend. A report on all the activities on the paddock in Bahrain.

I noticed something on my way towards the Bahrain International Circuit last week. Along the route are several signs promoting the Bahrain race weekend. It is the 20th edition of the Grand Prix, and it is being celebrated. Yet it is not those signs that stand out, but signs about when the race weekend starts.

Since I arrived in Bahrain, signs have indicated the number of days until the race weekend. At the time of writing, those signs say it has started. On my first day towards the circuit, it said '8 days' until the event. A day later, it said '7 days', and so a new sign appeared every day. Who replaces those dozens of signs daily in Bahrain, and who thinks that is necessary?

That question ties in completely with the theme chosen for the paddock this year. Large sculptures of elephants can be seen there. 'The great elephant migration' can be read on the accompanying signs. It promotes all the work the Kingdom of Bahrain is doing. Thus, the first sentence on one sign stands out: "The Kingdom of Bahrain is making tremendous efforts to protect the envirement and natural resources as well as preserving the biological diversity."

A new format for media day

The event in Bahrain kicks off with the traditional media day on Wednesday. Yet this day is different from other years. Whereas before, teams could decide for themselves where and when the session was held, this is now structured. This means we start with a media session from Haas (last in the championship) and end with the sessions at Red Bull Racing. It's nice that some structure is being put in place.

It's not quite ideal yet. Where TV and written media were peviously separated, they are now in the same block. Some F1 teams manage this better than others. Ten minutes for written media and ten minutes for TV seems the best solution, but some teams mix everything up for 20 minutes.

For written media, it is progress. There is less time per driver (last year, it was often about 15 minutes), but you can now visit every driver without missing another driver. TV are less happy with the format. In the past, they got every driver in front of their own camera, now it is somewhat of a struggle for them to ask a question. The big winners are the drivers. After all, they no longer have to visit 10 different TV crews for the same questions about the weekend.

Emerging battle inside Visa Cash App RB

The first really interesting media session is at Visa Cash App RB. Arranged well here by keeping TV and written media separate. First up is Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver is starting his fourth season in F1, and his goal is clear: he wants a step up. Ideally, it would be to Red Bull Racing, but he is also keeping other options open.

Tsunoda is mainly associated with the seat at Aston Martin, which will run with Honda engines in 2026. Tsunoda himself would like to go to Red Bull but does not really seem in the picture there to replace Sergio Perez should it be needed. Therefore, He ise, keen to beat Daniel Ricciardo this year any point out his added value.

The same message applies to Ricciardo. The Australian has repeatedly expressed his desire to finish his career at Red Bull Racing. Last year he did not impress enough, will he succeed this year? He will have to beat Tsunoda, preferably by a wide margin, to secure that spot.

Both know full well that it will be an outright battle this year. They both argue that they will handle it well. Still, it is a theme for this year, as the winner stands a good chance of getting a seat with the best team in F1. The other runs the risk of not having a seat at all.

Thunderclouds over Alpine

Then, the Alpine team. During the car launch, the French team were already realistic about the start of the season. The car is not as good as hoped, and the winter test confirmed that picture. Alpine expect to fight with Williams, Stake and Haas to get out of Q1. It's not where you would expect a factory team to be.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly made every effort to appear positive during the press event. As drivers, they focused on racing and motivating the team. McLaren were cited by Ocon as an example of how the tide can turn in a season. Yet the situation seems different from a year ago at McLaren.

Where McLaren knew they had missed the boat and presented a clear update plan, Alpine lacks that. Pierre's face and reactions, in particular, speak volumes. Gasly, never a man who can hide his emotions well, sometimes even laughed when asked how bad the car is.

How does the paddock react to Horner?

Throughout the day, news seeped in about Horner bit by bit. For a long time, people within the team did not know if there would be a statement, when it would come and what it would entail. Only 45 minutes before the statement actually came out did GPblog.com learn that the statement is coming and that it would be "good news". 45 minutes later, GmbH come out with the press release about Horner.

Red Bull had chosen the moment well. Media day had finished so drivers couldn't be asked about the situation. Horner does not have to join the press conference either. According to the FIA, this is because he did not want to comment in the winter test anyway while the investigation was ongoing. The investigation is now over, but the makeup of the press conference with team bosses is already known.

Horner himself will return to the paddock on Thursday for on-track action. He will likely appear before a camera after or before the free practice sessions. The written media, including GPblog, will not speak to him again until after the Grand Prix on Saturday.

In that respect, it is more a case of watching how the rest of the paddock reacts to the outcome. Lewis Hamilton stated in the press conference that how Red Bull would handle it will be very important for the sport.

For many behind the scenes, it's no big surprise that Horner retained his spot. 'Too powerful and too influential,' is the statement in the paddock. Toto Wolff, Zak Brown and Frederic Vasseur will also face questions during the team bosses' press conference.

Traditional karting with Alpine

I end the day at the karting track just next to the circuit. Like last year, Alpine are organising a karting tournament for journalists. Qualifying is done in two groups, followed by a joint race.

The karts turn out to be quite different from each other. This is a common complaint from journalists who were here last year, too. I can't complain this time. I qualified 10th (out of 24) and appear to have been given a strong kart for the race. The pressure turns out to be too much for me.....I spin on the first lap and am suddenly in last place.

The catch-up race that follows shows how strong my kart is. From last place, I eventually worked my way up to ninth. This gives me two points to kick off the season. I am satisfied, although it looks like there could have been more without a spin. Dinner follows at Alpine, after which I return to the hotel.