Hamilton and Verstappen to renew rivalry? - What to expect from the Bahrain Grand Prix
Hamilton and Verstappen to renew rivalry? - What to expect from the Bahrain Grand Prix
F1's new era begins with this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix when Max Verstappen will begin the defence of a title he won in controversial circumstances last year.
The upcoming F1 season arguably presents a greater variety of unknowns than 2009 and the major aerodynamic shift that resulted in Brawn GP emerging as double champions.
With this in mind, predicting which teams will picture in the battle for silverware is an extremely difficult task but testing has at least provided early indications.
With this in mind, here are five things you can expect from an eagerly awaited season opener in Bahrain.
Verstappen to throw down champion's gauntlet
After triumphing in his season-long battle with Lewis Hamilton last year, Verstappen will be keen to immediately stamp his authority on 2022.
Red Bull was strong in testing - more on them in a moment - and it was Verstappen who again stood out as a driver who will be difficult to match as his best overall time was a second clear of the third quickest from testing in Bahrain last week.
Verstappen has maintained he does not feel there is an asterisk hanging above his 2021 success but further success this year would go some way to convincing his detractors he is a worthy champion.
Ferrari and Red Bull to lock horns
Ferrari and Red Bull were the two standout teams from pre-season testing, with the former showing pace and reliability in both Barcelona and Bahrain before the latter truly came to the fore on the final day in the Middle East.
Carlos Sainz, though, has been keen to dampen the rapidly escalating expectations of Ferrari after six days of largely trouble-free running.
The true pecking order will only become clear after a few races, with qualifying this weekend giving little more than a first glimpse, although you would expect confidence will be high within these two teams going into the opening weekend.
Mercedes "typical" sandbagging to fade
Mercedes has been talking down its chances ahead of the F1 season-opener with Hamilton going as far as to suggest he will not be competing for wins early on.
Although George Russell also expressed a similar sentiment, Sainz described the comments as "typical" of Mercedes and its drivers, reminding fans that doubts were aired last year before Hamilton went on to win the first race.
Despite rarely featuring at the sharp end in pre-season testing in Bahrain, it would still come as a shock if Mercedes failed to feature prominently as the team begins its quest for a record-extending ninth consecutive constructors' championship.
Porpoising to dominate the tech talk
Porpoising is a behaviour inherent with ground-effect cars and can be solved by raising the ride height, but as this affects efficiency and pace, teams sought alternative fixes across pre-season testing.
No team was able to fully eradicate the 'bouncing' issue in Bahrain but it is no coincidence those at the top of the timesheet appeared to have more of a handle on the situation than those at the bottom.
Given the different design concepts of each of the 10 teams, expect plenty of analysis on why some cars appear to be struggling more than others.
The pandemic still being felt
Although the F1 paddock and the wider world is learning to live with Covid and life is gradually returning to normal, the sport has already discovered the hard way that it is not out of the woods yet.
After Daniel Ricciardo missed the entire Bahrain test through Covid, Sebastian Vettel will now miss the season-opening race after he also returned a positive result.
Nico Hulkenberg replaces his fellow German at Aston Martin but these recent cases will serve as a stark reminder to F1 that the virus remains an inescapable issue.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Verstappen makes HUGE Newey admission as F1 champion ponders Red Bull exit
- 28 minutes ago
F1 team responds after 'FIA request on Imola driver swap' claims
- 1 hour ago
Newey breaks silence and REVEALS real reason behind shock Red Bull departure
- 2 hours ago
F1 Sprint Race Today: Miami Grand Prix 2024 start times, schedule and TV
- 3 hours ago
Ricciardo admits WILD Miami F1 drive nearly ended in disaster twice
- Today 08:57
F1 News Today: Hamilton reaction sparks Newey Ferrari rumours as F1 star rejects rival offer
- Today 06:57
F1 Race Calendar 2024
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
-
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
Max Verstappen
- GP USA 3 - 5 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
- GP CANADA 7 - 9 Jun
- GP SPAIN 21 - 23 Jun
- GP AUSTRIA 28 - 30 Jun
Related news
F1 pundit details GLARING Mercedes issue
Wolff admits Mercedes made 'weird' mistakes in Bahrain disasterclass
F1 pundit sends 'boring' warning to top teams
Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2024 results: Final classification with penalties applied
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860