Ricciardo and Piastri start 2024 on a high in Bahrain

Although aided by a lack of soft tyre runners, Daniel Ricciardo outpaced both McLarens to set the fastest time of the opening FP1 session in Bahrain, with Fernando Alonso leading the charge of the medium runners.

As the cars filtered out of the pitlane for the very first time in 2024, it was Haas leading the barrage of eager teams all running the medium compound. 

Despite the three days of testing last week, the utilisation of aero rakes wasn’t unheard of with Zhou Guanyu running the airflow tool on his out-lap before reporting of brake failure. 

The #24 Sauber car only rejoined the session in the closing quarter.

The elements threw another spanner into the works, with the McLaren pit wall feeding Lando Norris obvious information on wind conditions.

Charles Leclerc was the first to fall victim to the gusty climate, with his Ferrari snapping at Turn 4 as a result. 

As the early times began rolling in, it was Lewis Hamilton at the top of the order with a time of 1:34.630s, with Max Verstappen still yet to show face.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, during the opening practice session of the Bahrain GP weekend. Image: Steven Tee / LAT Images.

The Dutchman appeared, setting his first time 10 minutes into FP1 and immediately jumping to P1, six-tenths ahead of Carlos Sainz with his time of 1:33.900s.

Despite this, Verstappen claimed everything was “miles off” from the cockpit of his RB20, resulting in a quick front wing adjustment before rejoining the first official session of the year.

Fernando Alonso claimed the fastest first sector, however, falling flat in the final to momentarily go fourth quickest in the Aston Martin.

Carlos Sainz was forced to abort his lap early on after sliding through the opening sequence of corners, with Nico Hulkenberg almost facing the same fate further on in the lap. 

Verstappen was back on the blower complaining about bad upshifts and downshifts as the RB20 jumped whilst changing gears, leading to another trip to the garage for the #1. 

As for our Australians, the halfway mark saw Daniel Ricciardo sitting on the fringes of the top ten.

His time of 1:34.670s was 1.135 seconds behind Verstappen’s pace, however, a tenth ahead of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda’s. 

Oscar Piastri was the first soft tyre runner, punching in a top time of 1:33.113s as the clock approached 30 minutes. 

He jumped to the top of the order, promoting himself from the back end of the field. 

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, running the soft tyre during FP1 in Bahrain. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

Norris then joined Piastri on the C3 tyre, beating the #81’s time by over two-tenths.

George Russell carried too much speed into the first corners, relying on the run-off area at the first braking zone. 

He wasn’t alone, with replays showing the likes of Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz also replicating the moment. 

With RB also donning the red-marked compound, Ricciardo shot to the top, demoting his former teammate as he crossed the line 32 milliseconds quicker. 

His teammate found himself in P4, three-tenths back on the ‘Honey Badger’.

Russell and Verstappen enjoyed themselves as they raced one another around the 5.412km lap.

Further down the order, the same couldn’t be said for Esteban Ocon who complained about the handling of his Alpine, with his engineer putting the instability down to wind gusts. 

Ocon and Pierre Gasly found themselves in P16 and P17, respectively, with 15 minutes to go.

Lance Stroll described the journey through Turns 1 and 2 as “horrendous”, with the actions of the rest of the grid supporting his statement. 

Leclerc timely locked up heading into the first braking zone, still on the medium compound with Ferrari electing to save their limited soft tyres for later in the weekend.

Both Ferrari drivers remained on the medium compound for the entirety of FP1. Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images.

As the first chequered flag was waved on the opening session of 2024, it was Daniel Ricciardo who held the fastest time of the grid, though in unrepresentative conditions and as one of only six drivers to run the soft tyre.

Oscar Piastri was third quickest to start his ’24 campaign, coming home behind his teammate and compatriot.

Of the medium compound runners, Fernando Alonso was the quickest in P5, leading the charge just milliseconds ahead of Verstappen.

Following their practice starts, the field returned to their garages awaiting the cooler conditions of the later FP2 session at 2:00 AM, AEST.

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