Kevin Magnussen explains the driving style nuances that allow Nico Hülkenberg to better exploit the potential of new tires
For Nico Hülkenberg Max Verstappen: Why Bahrain was more dominant than previously thought
For Max Verstappen, everything came together at the Formula 1 opener in Bahrain, which is why he says the gap looked bigger than it actually is
Max Verstappen says that everything basically went perfectly for Red Bull today and that’s why the gap to the competition looks bigger than it actually is. The Dutchman celebrated an unchallenged start-finish victory at the 2024 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain, finishing more than 22 seconds ahead of his team-mate Sergio Perez
“Things went better than expected today,” he says after the commanding performance in Sachir. Although the competitors had already given Red Bull a half-second lead in the long runs, the team had not necessarily expected to be able to drive away with such ease – especially not after the impressions from practice.
After all, Red Bull had not yet shone with fast lap times on Friday and had not yet shown its potential. “We weren’t so sure after practice,” said motorsport consultant Helmut Marko on Sky, “but we have found our old strength again in terms of set-up and tire management.”
A role in the difficulties was played by the temperatures and above all the wind, which was quite strong on the last two days – but fortunately not on Saturday from Red Bull’s point of view. “Thank goodness there was almost no wind today and we managed to find the optimum set-up for these conditions again,” says Marko.
“It simply suited us a little better,” Verstappen also commented. “I simply had a better feeling with the car and was able to take good care of the tires at the same time. That was very positive,” he praises. “I felt very comfortable in the car and that showed today.”
According to Marko, the only key moment was basically the start, but the world champion was easily able to get the better of Charles Leclerc and even drive out of the DRS area before the system was released after the first lap. “And then he planned his race and more or less drove up and away,” said Marko.
Lead grows quickly
After seven laps, Verstappen had already pulled out a six-second lead; after twelve laps, his advantage was already ten seconds – and that was over his own team-mate Sergio Perez, who had moved ahead in the meantime.
The big lead in the long run proved to be true, which also surprised Verstappen himself: “I don’t know how they approached their long runs,” he says of the competition. “But we didn’t expect to be half a second ahead – certainly not. It was certainly a bit better than expected. “
Red Bull also had an additional joker up its sleeve in the race. Unlike the other teams in Q3, they had saved a fresh set of soft tires that they could use in the final stint.
Max Verstappen used this in a special way, as he set the fastest race lap directly after his last pit stop. “It was funny how he immediately asked for the fastest lap,” smiles Marko. “And then he set a time that everyone knew he didn’t need to make another stop. “
Verstappen does not expect 24 Bahrains
Red Bull dismantled the competition by every trick in the book in Bahrain, but Verstappen refuses to take this dominance for granted for the upcoming races, because in his opinion the performance of the RB20 was favored by the circumstances.
“I generally think that the other teams are closer,” he says. “I just think that everything worked very well today. And of course I don’t expect that to be the case at every Grand Prix.”
“Everything just went well today. The balance, the feeling in the car – and that’s not always the case. “
Team Principal Christian Horner also emphasizes that Bahrain was just a snapshot: “It’s just one track, one tarmac,” he says on Sky. “Next week is a street circuit and we have much higher temperatures.”
“We need to see three, four, five races before we see a clear pattern. We saw in the tests that the field has come together. You can’t extrapolate too much from this one race.”
But at least for Bahrain, the conclusion is sporting beyond all measure: “Great performance from Max, great performance from Checo, perfect start to the season. “
all is right with the world. He won the team-internal duel in qualifying against Kevin Magnussen by 0.678 seconds. From Magnussen’s point of view, however, the 2024 season will start as it usually did in 2023, namely that he generally has no chance against the German on the fast single lap.
“The gap to Nico was too big. I have the feeling that I didn’t manage to maximize the potential of the new tires,” says Magnussen. “It’s a bit like last year. I don’t do so well with low fuel and new tires, and then it’s better in race trim. I just have to do better with less fuel.”
This is one of Hülkenberg’s specialties and, according to Günther Steiner, he is the best qualifier in the entire Formula 1 field. The Q2 comparison against Magnussen shows: Magnussen was ahead of Hülkenberg by as much as 0.060 until turn 4, but from then on Hülkenberg took the “lead” – and added a bit more in each (!) of the remaining corners.
“I don’t manage to use this extra grip in the rear tires with new tires. I always struggle with a bit of understeer in the middle of the corner, whereas Nico manages to steer the car better so that he can use the grip of the rear tires better than me when accelerating at the exit,” explained Magnussen.
“I’ll manage that too, but it’s not easy for me. Last year, the problem was more at the entrance to the corner, when the weight shifted forward under braking. With used tires I was always on a par, but he gets better grip out of new tires. I don’t quite understand it, but I’ll work on it.”
Magnussen finished 15th in Q1 and was 15th in Q2, 0.251 seconds behind Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) in 14th place. That is an improvement compared to 2023, when Magnussen was 17th in the first qualifying session of the new season. Even then, Hülkenberg was 0.614 seconds faster than him in Bahrain Q1.
At least Haas seems to have become more competitive as a team. While the pace on one lap has not suffered greatly, the race pace should have improved significantly. At least that is what the team itself claims, citing telemetry data from the three-day winter tests a week ago.
“The potential is good,” nods Magnussen. “We finally have a better handle on tire management. But we mustn’t become overconfident, because Bahrain is just one track. It has happened before that we were good in the first race and then dropped back. But now our approach is different. Hopefully that will have an effect. “
