The F1 World Championship begins with the only preseason tests in Bahrain

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Sakhir (Bahrain) (AFP) – Formula 1 will get underway this Wednesday with three days of preseason testing in Bahrain, where all eyes will be on Red Bull, the dominant team in the category that is immersed in the “Horner case.” “, still unresolved.

First modification: 02/20/2024 – 18:55 Last modification: 02/20/2024 – 18:53

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The Gulf Island, theater of the first Grand Prix of the season on March 2, could also be the scene of the resolution of the case that affects the boss of the champion team, reported for “inappropriate behavior” by an employee.

Christian Horner, who is expected at the Sakhir circuit, is the subject of an internal investigation within his own team, although he denies the accusations.

At the moment the Austrian team has not announced any decision regarding Horner’s future, despite the championship promoter stating over the weekend that he hopes “the case will be clarified as soon as possible.”

“There has inevitably been a distraction” within Red Bull, acknowledged Horner, 50, last Thursday during the presentation of the RB20, the new car with which the team hopes to be able to extend its dominance, “but the team “It’s very united and everyone is focused on next season,” he added.

– Is Red Bull still unbeatable? –

From a sporting point of view, the current double constructors’ world champion has a very high bar. Winner of 21 of 22 races in 2023, Red Bull will try to win the drivers’ title again, which the Dutchman Max Verstappen achieved in the last three seasons, sharing the garage with the Mexican Sergio Pérez.

The calendar of the 2024 Formula 1 season, dates of the Grand Prix and sprint races © Sophie Ramis, Vincent Lefai, Laurence Saubadu, Laurence Saubadu / AFP

Last year “only Singapore escaped us, so technically we can do better, although logically there will be a convergence with the stable regulations (from 2022),” anticipated Horner, who expects greater competition next season.

Will it really be like this? “If we continue with our development pace from 2023 in 2024, then we will be in a position of strength,” ventured Andrea Stella, ‘Team Principal’ of McLaren, fourth in the constructors’ championship in 2023. “But we will see if that is enough to compete with Red Bull and the other leading teams that have provided improvements” to their new vehicles.

In recent days, each of the ten teams present on the grid has been presenting the cars with which they will start the championship, but it will be in Bahrain where they will all be together for the first time on a track, although they will surely all hide some secrets.

Grill unchanged

The traditional winter tests will serve this year to present the two new team directors: the Frenchman Laurent Mekies left Ferrari to take charge at Racing Bulls (ex-AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s satellite team) and the Japanese Ayao Komatsu takes charge de Haas to replace the popular Günther Steiner, who was dismissed in January.

On the other hand, the grid of drivers will be identical to that of 2023, a novelty in the history of F1… and that will not be repeated in 2025, where the already announced signing of Lewis Hamilton by Ferrari suggests a domino effect of proportions. still unknown.

The surprising announcement that Hamilton will leave Mercedes (the team where he won six of his seven world titles) to go to Ferrari leaves a hole in the German team.

The drivers of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, George Russell (right) and Lewis Hamilton (left), and their director, Totto Wolff, at the presentation of the new car, in Silverstone (United Kingdom), on February 14, 2024 © – / Mercedes/AFP

Fernando Alonso, world champion in 2005 and 2006, is among the contenders to occupy it, since his contract with Aston Martin will end at the end of this season.

On the other hand, Alonso has expressed his displeasure with the format of the winter tests, limited this time to just three days, from Wednesday to Friday: “It is unfair that we have a day and a half to prepare for a world championship,” criticized the Spaniard. 42 years old.

In effect, the teams will only have a single car for their two drivers, who will only be able to get into the car for a day and a half. “I don’t understand why we don’t go to Bahrain for four days, so each pilot would have two days” of testing, the Spaniard asked himself.

“The calendar is already ‘brutal’ enough like this,” declared ‘Checo’ Pérez. “There is no time for more rehearsals,” added the Mexican with reason: the season will have 24 races, a record in the history of the specialty, at a ruthless pace that weighs more and more on the teams themselves.

© 2024 AFP