The McLaren F1 team’s administrator on Twitter (now X) could do nothing but see Max Verstappen, with his mighty RB20 demolishing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Bahrain on Wednesday. Formula 1 is in Bahrain for the pre-season testing of the 2024 season and similar to the previous years, Verstappen is on top again.
Verstappen alone ran on the first day of testing from Red Bull and topped the time sheet leaving everyone at bay. The Dutchman was seven-tenths quicker in the first session against second-placed Charles Leclerc and went over a second quicker than Norris in the second.
Adrian Newey left everyone guessing with his latest RB20, which is already bearing fruit due to the revolutionary developments done in the car. Even though the performance in testing is not entirely true, this is where teams do not show their true strength and often sandbag, but Red Bull has been ferociously mighty despite that.
Therefore, the McLaren administrator on X couldn’t help but post, “Remember it’s just testing” multiple times to keep his faith in the Papayas alive. Verstappen clocked 1:31.344, whereas Norris could only manage 1:32.484. The reason behind this was simple, the ingenious innovation by Adrian Newey.
Remember it’s just testing.
Remember it’s just testing.
Remember it’s just testing.
Remember it’s just testing.
Remember it’s just testing.
Remember it’s ju…
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 21, 2024
While rivals were busy copying the RB19, Newey shocked everyone after he developed the RB20 with three air inlets. Initially mistaken as the zero sidepod, this has now been enhanced as an upside-down spoon inlet for superior airflow. Nevertheless, McLaren were right after Red Bull in terms of performance.
How did McLaren perform on day one of testing?
McLaren gave both of its drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri a session each on Day 1 of testing, unlike Red Bull who only had Verstappen for Wednesday. The Woking-based team ran a total of 129 laps where Norris took 72 laps and Piastri took 57.
Their performances were at par with Ferrari and Aston Martin, but nowhere close to Red Bull. However, according to Will Buxton, Zak Brown’s team might come out to be the second-fastest team in the Bahrain GP ahead of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin.
Two and-a-bit race distances in the tank ⛽️⏱️ pic.twitter.com/JhT3Qb4lfM
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 21, 2024
However, reports from the Scuderia Ferrari camp talked about positivity. The new SF-24 is reportedly eight-tenths faster than its predecessor. Therefore, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have an outside chance to be second along with McLaren. However, dethroning Red Bull in 2024 will still be a far cry.
As no teams seem to challenge Red Bull in 2024, there are chances for the Austrian team to hold on to this massive advantage in 2025 as well. Until a team steps up like Red Bull did back in 2021 when they went head-to-head against Mercedes.
