Olly Darcy is an editor at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 news. With a background in sports journalism, he delivers timely and reliable coverage of the sport.
McLaren made a fine impression on the first two days of the test, but there were clutch problems on the final day. It caused Lando Norris to complete just 20 laps. Later in the day, Oscar Piastri took over the car in the final test session before the season gets underway in a week. For 2024, according to Piastri, there is a clear favourite: Red Bull Racing.
Speaking to GPblog and others, Piastri said on Friday morning, "They don't look slow, put it that way. It's hard to say. I think on day one, Max looked very, very strong. I think even Sergio today has certainly looked a bit more comfortable than he was yesterday. So they're definitely the team to beat."
How big is Red Bull's margin?
Helmut Marko, Red Bull's external advisor, earlier in the week expected the margin to be three-tenths of the rest of the competition. There are also those in the paddock who believe the lead is more than a second. On Thursday and Friday, however, Ferrari managed to outpace Sergio Perez, but Max Verstappen just pulverised the competition on the opening day. So, how do the cards really stand?
Piastri says: "How much their advantage is, I'm not quite sure, but it's probably enough of an advantage to be comfortable. So yeah, for everyone else, I'm not sure, but I think Red Bull are definitely the favourites."
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