Red Bull
had reported on February 5 that it would begin an investigation against the head of the Austrian team,
Christian Horner
, over accusations of
inappropriate behavior
by a team member.
Still
The conclusion of the investigations is not known, but that did not prevent the Briton from being in Bahrain.
Alongside the former driver was the team's chief technology officer,
Adrian Newey
.
Uncertainty reigned in the
paddock
because with the investigation into the director of Red Bull Racing
there were rumors of a possible departure of Newey due to a possible "secret clause"
that would allow him to leave the team if Horner is dismissed.
Both Red Bull Racing
managers
witnessed the
dominance of their car again
.
Max Verstappen had the fastest lap
in the first session with a time of
1 minute
,
31 seconds
and
344 hundredths of a second
in 142 laps.
His teammate, the Mexican
Checo
Pérez, was not part of the practices because the Dutchman did it in the two sessions there were and his teammate will do it on Thursday.
“I think lap times don't mean anything right now,"
Checo
said
, adding that the most important thing
for them is to be able to complete the program
and try to finish the three days of testing.
The second fastest time
this Wednesday was for McLaren and the British
Lando Norris with a record of 1.32.484
, while the Spanish
Carlos Sainz set the timer at 1.32.584 with his Ferrari
.
As for Mercedes, the only one who turned was
George Russell, finishing 12th in 121 laps
, exposing the Mercedes' lack of power.
This year
the teams took as their starting point the Red Bull car in 2023
, which only lost one race.
The Austrians decided to go a little further and their car now has a vertical air intake in its sidepods.
Mercedes tried something similar in the 2022 season, but it didn't work.
🏁 DAY ONE CLASSIFICATION 🏁
Verstappen leads the way, chased by Norris, Sainz and Ricciardo 👀#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/CIQYiaOULM
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 21, 2024
Where Mercedes failed
, it seems that
Red Bull succeeded
and it is reflected in the numbers.
The season has not started and the Austrians and Verstappen already have a clear superiority to the rest.
Bahrain's traffic light will change from red to green
on March 2 to start a new season of the top category of motorsport
.