After Max Verstappen Doesn’t Turn up P1 on Thursday, Zak Brown Believes Red Bull Is Yet to Flaunt Their Absolute Strength

After Max Verstappen Doesn’t Turn up P1 on Thursday, Zak Brown Believes Red Bull Is Yet to Flaunt Their Absolute Strength

The 2024 F1 season officially kicked off on Thursday with FP1 and FP2 running at the Bahrain Grand Prix. From the get-go, this season has given the fans, the media, and the paddock a lot to talk about. For starters, three-time world champion Max Verstappen failed to turn in the fastest lap in either of the sessions. Moreover, during the more representative FP2 session, under the lights, the Dutchman could only register P6 with his RB20. However, McLaren boss Zak Brown isn’t ready to accept that Red Bull’s dominant streak has ended just yet.

While the 26-year-old reportedly struggled with rear-end grip and downshifts, Brown believes that his rivals are still sandbagging. Brown was quoted on X (formerly Twitter) as saying, “I don’t think Red Bull and Ferrari have turned their engines up yet. Let’s see how it goes.”

On the flip side, Brown was all praise for his power unit suppliers. He praised Mercedes for looking really strong after going through the data the team had collected.

And the timings do seem to suggest that Brown has a point. As the chequered flag came out for FP2, the Silver Arrows secured a 1-2 finish with Lewis Hamilton clocking in the fastest time of 1.30.374 on the soft.

Meanwhile, his teammate, George Russell, was just two-tenths behind. While it seems that Mercedes have the advantage at this point, Brown’s apprehensions might still come true. Red Bull could unleash the extent of their performance during the all-important first qualifying session of the 2024 Formula 1 season on Friday.

Have Red Bull overplayed their hand in 2024?

During pre-season testing and even the first practice session, Ferrari looked like a solid contender to be close to Red Bull. However, even they have been playing it coy with engine modes and fuel loads, according to Zak Brown.

But if Red Bull have really not aced their 2024 car, then the sport can be in for a fantastic season of Grand Prix racing. At one point in time during FP2, P1 to P14 were separated by less than a second.

And if that’s how close the grid is, it could provide some iconic races and a tight championship fight this year. As for Red Bull, one reason they might be struggling is because of their gamble to choose the zero sid pod design for their car.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Max Verstappen Red Bull Zak Brown

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

Don’t miss these