The time for preseason bluster, promises and optimism is over. On Saturday, Formula 1 will open its 2024 campaign, which will feature a blockbusting 24 rounds across the globe.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull are kings of the castle and everyone else will be gunning to shoot down the Dutch-Austrian axis of success in Bahrain. A slender three days of pre-season running in the desert have quickly shown the rest the size of the task ahead.
While Red Bull might not have topped the timesheets at Sakhir – that honour belonged to a particularly upbeat Ferrari – Verstappen’s rivals are already nervously eyeing the potential of the RB20.
Here, we run the rule over the latest offerings from each team ahead of the opening green light of the season.
Red Bull
Chassis: RB20
Engine: Honda RBPTH002
1 Max Verstappen (NLD)
11 Sergio Perez (MEX)
Looking at the combined lap times, the initial feeling would be that Red Bull is on the back foot heading to the opening grand prix of the season. That would be folly.
Confident that
