This weekend is the first Grand Prix of the season in the Formula 1 calendar. Just like last week in Test Days, the Bahrain Circuit is the destination for Max Verstappen and Nyck de Vries. All sessions take place in the afternoon (Netherlands time).
Verstappen and Red Bull have them A good week of testing is behind us. The Austrian team was spared major problems with the RB19 and the Red Bull team looked competitive both in the short and long term. The Milton Keynes line-up is likely to expect the most opposition from Ferrari.
De Vries’ AlphaTauri completed the most laps (456) of all the racing stables during the days of testing. So reliability is good, though it remains to be seen if the AT04 is competitive enough to immediately compete for points.
For De Vries, it wouldn’t be his debut in motorsport’s premier class. He actually drove the Italian Grand Prix on behalf of Williams last year as a replacement for Alexander Albon.
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• Verstappen, De Vries and Dutch GP: “orange above” can also be felt in Bahrain
Verstappen is still waiting for his first win in Bahrain. Last year, Charles Leclerc took the win after the two-time world champion parked his car near the track early on due to fuel supply issues. The three editions before it all went to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, but based on the days of testing, Mercedes doesn’t look like the main contender for victory.
Note: these are Dutch times! (in Bahrain two hours later)
Friday, March 3:
• 12.30pm – 1.30pm: First free training
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Second free training
Saturday, March 4:
• 12.30pm – 1.30pm: Third free training
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Qualifiers
Sunday, March 5:
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