Red Bull have started the 2024 with a bang, securing a 1-2 finish led by Max Verstappen, who dominated the weekend. Sergio Perez stormed behind him in P2 to seal their second-consecutive 1-2 finish in the season opener. Despite a comfortable margin between his team and their rivals, Perez feels that there is a lot to improve on for his team.
Relative performance on different compounds of tires is something Perez was struggling with during the race. Even on the power unit side of things, he complained about the delivery of engine braking. That being said, he was confident of the team ironing out these niggles come next race weekend.
“I’m sure we will analyze all of that tonight and make sure we learn for Jeddah,” said Perez, per Sky Sports F1.
Performance-wise, Verstappen seemed to be in complete control. However, the 20+ second winning margin that the Dutchman took home must be taken with a pinch of salt. For the entirety of the race, Verstappen was running in clean air. This was the advantage he got from starting at the pole position. But his long-run performance during the Thursday and Friday sessions was quite indicative of how strong the RB20 was on its race simulations.
Perez on the other hand was stuck in an intense battle with George Russell and Carlos Sainz. However, once he cleared the duo and was in clean air himself, his RB20 was flying.
Despite Red Bull’s domination, rivals expect a closer fight in Jeddah
From a standalone perspective, Red Bull’s performance in Bahrain was convincing enough to hint at a repeat of 2023. However, their rivals are adamant that Verstappen’s win was not an accurate representation of the actual gap.
Lando Norris believes that his team will be closer to the Bulls in the upcoming race weekends. Even Ferrari is optimistic about the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, which begins next Thursday. According to Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, they will be challenging Verstappen and Red Bull at Jeddah. The Frenchman doesn’t think that the latter will run away with the win like they did in Bahrain.
From early indications, it does look like the field is strung together by a smaller margin than last season – at least on a single lap pace. However, what troubles the other teams is the fact that over a Grand Prix distance, the RB20 looks unbeatable.
