Ricciardo fastest in Bahrain GP FP1 as 2024 F1 season gets underway

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo put in the fastest lap during the opening practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and subsequent 2024 Formula One season. 

After three days of pre-season testing, the teams and drivers officially got the 2024 season underway with the season-opening practice session at the same track: the Bahrain International Circuit. 

Whilst it is the early stages of the race weekend, it was a good start for the newly-rebranded RB as their returning Australian, Ricciardo, topped the timing boards. 

Ricciardo, who is eying up a seat in the senior Red Bull team, was the fastest driver out on track with a 1:32.869. He followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who occupied second and third, within 0.2s behind. 

Ricciardo’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top four, three-tenths behind. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five. 

The reigning three-time world champion and Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen, was down in sixth ahead of George Russell (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) who were seventh and eighth respectively.

The defending driver’s champion had complained throughout FP1 with problems relating to his RB20. According to Verstappen, the car felt ‘jumpy’ and suffered problems upshifting and downshifting.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) completed the top 10 in ninth and 10th. The latter was the second slowest driver on the soft compound drivers.

Carlos Sainz, starting his final season in Ferrari, led the bottom 10 ahead of Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Alexander Albon (Williams), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Guanyu Zhou (Sauber), in order. 

Zhou was the only driver to rack up the least amount of laps due to mechanical problems in the early and mid-stages of FP1, he completed the first practice sessions with only 15 laps under his belt. 

Logan Sargeant (Williams) edged out the two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, by the end of the session as the two French competitors dealt with ‘inconsistencies’ with their Alpine machinery.

Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg completed the bottom five, 19th and 20th, over four and five seconds off the pace respectively.

Free Practice Two continues in just under two hours at 6pm local time (3pm GMT).

That’s all for the article; Ricciardo fastest in Bahrain GP FP1 as 2024 F1 season gets underway!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• 2024 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: Preview
• F1 Academy announces Tommy Hilfiger as official partner with Nerea Martí completing grid
• What we learnt from the 2024 F1 Pre-Season Test
• Final pre-season test moves into one session as Sainz tops timesheet
• Sainz on top as Day 2 of F1 2024 testing comes to close
• Drain cover brings end to F1 Morning Test on Day 2

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.