Race Review: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024

Race number two of the season is here and, in comparison to last week's Bahrain Grand Prix, the race in Saudi Arabia was full of action, tactics, an impressive debut and, ummm, appendicitis? (Get well soon, Carlos Sainz!)

As, with what seems to be the norm with F1 in this day and age, it was another pole and win for Max Verstappen and Red Bull, which no doubt caused another collective sigh throughout the Formula One community. However, everyone's focus was more projected towards Ferrari's young protegee, Oliver Bearman, who, at only 18 years of age, was making his debut for the Ferrari team in place of Carlos Sainz, who was hospitalised with appendicitis. And, what a debut it was for the young Brit, who battled his way past seasoned drivers and defended against others to finish in an impressive 7th place and the pride of being voted as "Driver of the Day." Surely, this won't be last we see of Bearman in Formula One? And, with the Haas drivers of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen not necessarily lighting the track alight at this point in time, could a seat soon become available at the team where the British driver is already established as their reserve? Watch this space.

Talking of Kevin Magnussen, he had a very up and down race, but regardless of this, he provided the bulk of the entertainment. After being slapped with two ten second penalties for causing collisions and gaining an advantage, the Danish driver, who once dominated the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 season, used his position to hold up a group in the mid-field to ensure his teammate wouldn't loose positions in the pits. And, what a tactic it was, with Haas taking home one point, courtesy of Hulkenberg. That's probably a big deal for Haas, to be honest. However, the battles that were born because of Magnussen, made the race exciting and, at times, nail-biting, as drivers became perilously close to colliding with each other. I'm sure Yuki Tsunoda's radio was absolute fire.

And, it wasn't just Magnussen picking up penalties. The Race Stewards were busy handing them out to other drivers, such as Sergio Perez. Let's be honest, if anyone is going to get a penalty in a race, it will be either Magnussen or Perez. We'll throw in Esteban Ocon into that list too, although he did stay out of trouble this weekend, unlike his teammate who was one of two DNFs - more on that in a bit. McLaren's Lando Norris also found himself in a bit of hot water during this race, after a jump start saw him under investigation by the stewards. Let's not lie, it was a blatantly obvious jump start, however, Norris can be counting his lucky stars, as the stewards did not penalise him thanks to his car's transponder not indicating it (the start). Although, McLaren got lucky with "Jump Start Gate", their straight line speed was anything but perfect, as shown by Oscar Piastri on his attempt to hunt down and overtake the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Never has an on-track battle seemed to have frustrated me more.

Speaking of frustration, there must have been plenty of frustrated drivers out on that track. Take Alex Albon and his fight with Magnussen, Tsunoda because he's always high-rate, Zhou Guanyu and another dodgy Sauber pit-stop - resembling one from the week before, and finally, Daniel Ricciardo - what is going on there? This is the driver who is tipped to return to Red Bull, but finished near enough last, some places behind Magnussen and his twenty second time penalty. If he does one day replace Checo at Red Bull, I don't think it would solve Red Bull's problems. No, not that problem, the second driver one.

This race was also the race which gave us our first Safety Car of 2024, all thanks to Lance Stroll, clipping the wall and ending up in the barriers early on in the opening laps. Stroll quickly informed the team that he was ok, which is what we always want to hear when a driver crashes. Unfortunately for him, it meant game over for this weekend. But, would the race have been as interesting without the SC? Stroll may have done us all a favour and numbed the pain a bit of watching another Verstappen masterclass. The other DNF, as mentioned before, went to Pierre Gasly with a gearbox issue. Just another stark reminder of the hell Alpine are currently enduring.

All in all, despite Verstappen's dominace, I thought it was a good race, with plenty of battles and drama. Ok, it wasn't great, but it was better than Bahrain, so it's a start. Now it's time for a short break, with my birthday in between! See you in Australia in a couple of weeks time!

Race Review: Bahrain Grand Prix 2024

The first race of the season has now come and gone, and things seem to be continuing from the end of 2023, with another dominant performance from reigning champion, Max Verstappen, who finished over twenty seconds ahead of his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. And, with Verstappen's "race story" being described as from first to first, can we really be surprised at how disgruntled some fans seem to be, despite the joy of hearing Crofty's catchphrase of "Switcharoo" and seeing the cars spark in the night sky?

This year's Bahrain GP was most definitely not one of the most exciting races we've seen in recent F1 history. With no safety car and lack of retirements, it was probably one opening race we may forget by next weekend. Regardless, there was some action to keep us fans on our toes. I mean, what's a race without a first lap incident? Thank Nico Hulkenburg for that one, as he ran into the back of Lance Stroll, damaging his own (HUL) front wing and sending Stroll into an early race spin. And, what about the fantastic overtaking from Carlos Sainz on his Ferrari teammate - Charles Leclerc? With a point to prove this season, he's had an amazing start, with a 3rd place finish and the first Driver of the Day in 2024. Ok, Leclerc did have problems with problematic front axles causing the Monegasque to frequently lock up and find himself fall from second to fourth by the chequered flag. But in no means should this be a reason for people to disregard Sainz's achievements thus far.

Issues seemed to be plaguing, not just Leclerc, but several drivers up and down the field. Mercedes in particular quickly became a talking point throughout the race, with battery issues, leaking fluids and a broken seat, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell weren't having the best time out on track. And, neither were the Williams of Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon, with the former momentarily stopping out on track and the latter having issues with an overheating car and dash graphics. As for Aston Martin, their 2023 pace seemed to have vanished. Where last year they were stood on the podium, in 2024 it was a struggle to stay in the points.

One of the more "stranger" aspects of the race was RB's team orders. Honestly, calm down guys, it's the first race of the season and you're battling for thirteenth. With Daniel Ricciardo on soft tyres and Yuki Tsunoda, infront, on hards, strategic team orders were understandable. The timing of them, however, was not, with Tsunoda in a battle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and leader, Max Verstappen, ready to lap them. Of course, in true Tsunoda style, he wasn't having any of it, but alas, had to give in and let Ricciardo pass. With the prospect of a seat being available at the sister team of Red Bull in the near future, could things become extremely interesting at RB? Oh, and they have a very good livery. Very nostalgic.

A more entertaining aspect of the race were the pitstops. Especially as the undercut proves to be a force to be reckoned with in Bahrain. Put it this way, if you can't overtake, just pit. That's what Leclerc did in order to get his position back from Sainz - before the Spaniard took it back, once again. And then, there were the more "slower" pitstops. An unfortunate moment for Valtteri Bottas almost saw a repeat of his 2021 Monaco GP pitstop. Luckily for him, this one lasted about 40 hours less. If you know, you know. If you don't, Google is your friend.

So, what are the main talking points to come from the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix? Well, Verstappen looks as if he will emulate last season. A prospect that doesn't bode too well for the popularity of the motorsport series. The pecking order remains pretty much standard in this era of regulations and Alpine seem to be the team where things are going wrong. Really wrong. Especially as two key figures within the team resigned in the hours following their disaster of a race.

But hey. This might not have been the season opener that we all dreamed off, either way, the action will back in just a few days time and we can put this race comfortably behind us. Can anyone make an attempt to stop Verstappen in Saudi Arabia? We'll see.

My 2024 F1 Predictions Have Landed!

I generally feel like it was only yesterday I was making my F1 predictions for 2023. But, with the first race of 2024 season just days away, it's about time I made some more.

If you've followed my blog for some time, or if you're familiar with what I predicted last year, then you will know that I suck at this kind of thing, with only my more obvious predictions coming to any sort of fruition. Although, I am known for accidentally predicting Daniel Ricciardo's first race win at the Canadian Grand Prix, all the way back in 2014. Proof that some of my more crazy predictions can turn into reality. Anyway, are you ready?

Max Verstappen Wins His 4th Title

This one is pretty obvious. He won it in 2021 and 2022, before obliterating the rest of the grid in 2023. With no real changes to the rules and regulations surrounding car and race technicalities this season, what's stopping the Dutch driver from doing it all over again for a 4th consecutive year?

At Least 4 Race Winners

In 2023, there were three race winners - Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and, eventual Champion, Max Verstappen. In all honesty, it would be a lovely sight to see more or different winners in 2024. And, with several teams, such as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, looking like they could all be battling for "best of the rest," there could be plenty of opportunities for a non-Red Bull winner. That's if Red Bull slip up, of course.

A McLaren Rivalry

Things at McLaren were looking, somewhat, interesting before the end of 2023, with team boss, Andrea Stella, commenting that their drivers - Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, could give McLaren a "headache" in the coming season. And, with Piastri getting ever so close to Norris, in terms of performance, in the latter stages of the 2023 season, 2024 might just mean that the Norris/Piastri rivalry will be the one to keep a beady, little eye on!

The Battle For 2nd In The Constructors

One thing that pre-season testing showed us was that there could potentially be a nail-biting battle for 2nd in the Constructors Championship. Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin all showed glimmers of promise that could make this season an interesting one. Let's just hope they can take it a step further and threaten Red Bull also.

Mid-Season Swap

Could we see a driver (or team principle...) get the axe during the season? If past Formula One seasons are anything to go by then anything is possible. In 2023, we saw Nick de Vries be dropped at Alpha Tauri and was replaced by the returning Daniel Ricciardo. There were also rumours a plenty surrounding Sergio Perez and his future with the Red Bull team. If this were to happen, it would most likely involve the Red Bull teams, where even their team principle, Christian Horner, is currently under scrutiny.

Struggles for Alpine

Alpine have made a major concept change for 2024 and pre-testing proved to fans that it may take some time for the changes to work. Although the team weren't the slowest on track over the three testing days, it was evident that they were far from where they need to be, with driver, Pierre Gasly, stating: "I don't think we look great." Maybe, just maybe, they could be sandbagging. But, in reality, their pace going into the first race of the season looks bleak.

Bonus: I Mix Up RBR and RB

Here's a bonus for you. With Red Bull's sister team now known as Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, or RB for short, just how long will it take for me to confuse them with the main Red Bull team? RBR (who I sometimes call RB, anyway) and RB? Oh help me. This prediction is inevitable.

So, there we have it. My 2024 predictions have been made and sealed. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree with me? Do you have any different ones? Let me know in the comment section below!