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Lando Norris remained relatively neutral after practice in Bahrain, although he appears to have a fair read on the 2024 pecking order.
McLaren was a little more discreet than its rivals in training in Bahrain. The Woking team showed promising signs, although Lando Norris is aware of his strength all over the pitch.
The MCL38 was one of the first cars to flex its muscles in FP1.
Both drivers finished the session in the top three, albeit on the soft compound and behind RB’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Compared to the other major teams, McLaren’s lead on the softs was relatively disappointing.
That said, drawing conclusions about the MCL38 would be premature.
Instead, the analysis at this stage is treated more as an observational exercise.
This caveat aside, some might have expected more from Andrea Stella’s team so far in Sakhir.
Piastri finished FP2 four tenths behind Lewis Hamilton’s W15. For a team that finished 2023 slightly ahead of German suppliers, this is a small step back.
Given that they share the same engine, it seems reasonable to infer some difference in performance between the two machines.
However, the race simulations seemed more competitive. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris largely matched Mercedes and Ferrari in their losing streak.
Norris anticipates a close battle
After the first day of racing, Norris described which team revealed some of its true pace for the first time:
“I think it’s still clear that Red Bull is on top, Ferrari is close and Mercedes was always the question mark.
“They were never going to be bad. It’s always closer, especially in qualifying.
“Even the Haas is up there and apparently they didn’t change their car at all!
“Qualifying here in Bahrain is always close. So I think it will be a difficult qualification no matter what happens.”
It seems reasonable to note that, until yesterday, Mercedes was the biggest unknown on the grid.
Free practice surely changed this fact, although there are still many questions about the full potential of the W15.
The narrative after pre-season was that Ferrari were Red Bull’s closest rivals.
This conclusion could still be correct, although the margins between the top five teams are almost too close to determine.
The operational execution of the teams and the ability of the pilots will make a big difference.
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