It is a new season right??? - Bahrain Grand Prix, Forumla 1 2024

Seriously, I mean I knew we would hear Max radio to the pit crew that the race was 'just lovely' (and if you are keeping up with this blog, I predicted to hear that 5 times this season, one down!). But I did't expect, or maybe didn't want it to come after the very first race.

Credit - Racefans.net

But I suppose almost all of us could have predicted a Verstappen win off the bat right? Red Bull still continues to get it right. They have a rocket ship, even if it's in a different config than last season. I do think those tall shoulders exiting air thru the rear of the body are gonna cause them issues on high crosswind tracks, but the car is still fast. And yes it got a bit windy in Bahrain, but when they get some nasty stormy weather moving in this season, it may be a different story.

Here's the thing though, Ferrari, well Sainz, was quick too. Leclerc was basically a mess in the beginning, middle, and most of the end of the race with brake imbalance issues and it definitely hurt his overall race. But Sainz was able to deal with similar, but maybe more minor issues, and keep his head down and drive his race. He drove that race right onto the podium and scored the 3rd place points and trophy and I nice F.U. to Vasseur and the powers that be at Ferrari. As a fan, it definitely was nice to see him do well, and gives hope to him setting himself up for a great seat for next season.

The problem though for the whole field is how to somehow get and stay in front of Verstappen, for the majority of the race. Yes, we did see him basically slice and dice his way thru the field from virtually the back last season, but the goal again for all the teams is to keep him at bay, and not let him scamper off into the distance. Soon as he stretches out a 10 second lead, that's it, we don't see him till the end of the race. After Bahrain, and watching how all the teams did, Ferarri still has the best chance to keep up with him, for a few laps at least. So what does it come down to? How do you do it? A glaringly painful choice came to light this past weekend.

Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and even Mclaren made mention at various times of the struggle of car setups. There is a different setup for qualifying, and another for the race (race pace). The trick is which one gives you the best chance on race day? Once qualifying is done, the cars can't be touched, they go into parc ferme, meaning whatever setting they are in after qualifying is done, is what they are stuck with for the race. So do you set your car up to be blistering fast in qualifying to get the best starting position, and hope it works well for the long haul of the race? Or do you sacrifice starting position for what you think will be the quickest set up for lap after lap? Apparently there is much to learn, because no one was set up to be able to deal with Max driving off into the distance. And that is the key and the goal for everyone heading to Jeddah this week.

Good luck, you're gonna need it!