All you need to know about the three-day 2024 Formula One pre-season test in Bahrain, with updates at the end of each day's running in the desert and reaction and insight from the team.
Preparations for the 2024 Formula One season shift up a gear at Bahrain International Circuit this week. Pre-season testing is the prologue to a record-breaking 24-race calendar. With little more than a week between the final day of testing and the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on 2 March, every lap matters and is a chance for us to learn about our new car, the AMR24.
Here's everything you need to know about pre-season testing...
Day Three
Lance gives his verdict as we complete our 2024 pre-season testing programme:
"It's been great to be out in Bahrain for testing – I'm especially pleased to be here after missing last year's pre-season test.
"Time in the car is so valuable for all of us: we've been gathering data and learning about the AMR24 with every lap we've completed.
"We've made good use of these days to run a lot of parts and setups – the car has felt better every day - and we've not had any reliability issues. It's still too early to make any big predictions, but I'm looking forward to first race of the year next week."
Fernando's closing thoughts as testing comes to an end:
"We have tried to learn as much as possible during this test and focused on ourselves. It would be nice to have the predictions and knowledge of where everyone is but that is not the case in testing.
"The AMR24 is a step forward from last year and we just have to see how big of a step forward against everybody else. We will know more next week after Qualifying. It was good to get a number of laps on the board over the three days and I feel fit and ready to go for the start of the new season."
Up next
379 laps completed over the three days between our two drivers, pre-season testing has now come to a conclusion.
The team will pore over the data as focus begins to shift to the Bahrain Grand Prix, and the opening race of the 2024 Formula One season.
Taking place on Saturday 2 March at the Bahrain International Circuit, lights out for the first round of the campaign is at 15:00 GMT.
Day Two
Fernando's thoughts on the first two days of testing:
"The start of a new season always brings you a lot of emotions, even 23 years on from my debut, and it's always nice to get back into the cockpit and drive one of these cars after a break.
"Pre-season testing is important because you discover how the car behaves and begin to learn the best ways to optimise it.
"It's hard to know exactly where we are compared to our competitors because we all have different programmes, but we have completed what we intended to do in these first two days and that is positive.
"In the second half of last season, we understood a lot about the areas we wanted to work on and we've applied our learnings. Everything feels good but I'm sure everyone has made a step forward too, so it's a question of who has made the biggest step relative to their position last year.
"We'll keep working on the car and understanding it in the time we have left, and also in the first couple of races, but everything is feeling positive and we've done a good job so far."
Day One
Team Principal Mike Krack reflects on the opening day:
"Overall, it's been a smooth, productive and positive first official day of testing here in Bahrain. Between them, Lance and Fernando completed 131 laps at the wheel of the AMR24, and we achieved everything we set out to in our programme for day one.
"Weather conditions were good today, but the wind kept us on our toes and made life a little harder at times for the drivers on track – which is not uncommon at Bahrain International Circuit. It’s the same challenge for everybody, but Lance and Fernando dealt with it well.
"Today, we focused on systems and reliability checks and validation of aerodynamic performance. The car is responding well to changes, and we have a wealth of data to review this evening.
"We learn something new about the car with every lap, and we're looking forward to returning to the track tomorrow to continue our testing programme."
The essential info
Location: Bahrain International Circuit (3.3 miles)
Date and time: 21-23 February, 07:00-16:00 GMT
- Sectors
- Turns
- DRS
Driver line-up
As the most experienced Grand Prix driver in Formula One, and with 377 Grand Prix starts under his belt, Fernando has seen his fair share of pre-season testing. Embarking on his second campaign with the team means less time will be needed to focus on familiarisation with processes and procedures and more time can be focused on learning about the car and optimising the package.
Lance, meanwhile, will participate in his first pre-season test in two years, having missed the 2023 sessions after a cycling injury sustained when training. Together with Fernando, his focus will be to work with the team to understand this season's car and help to unlock as much of its potential ready for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Aims and objectives
Preparation is the name of the game when it comes to testing. The primary objective is ensuring the drivers, team and car are ready for the long season ahead. When broken down into smaller goals, that preparation takes the form of assessing car reliability, analysing overall performance and tyre usage as well as ensuring the drivers are fully acclimatised to the new car. To realise these aims, capitalising on the available track time is paramount.
A productive test is one where a high number of laps have been completed, with minimal disruptions to the run plan. The more laps the car can complete across the three days, the more the team will learn and therefore be better prepared for the first race.
A different look
A number of laps during testing will see the car running with aero rakes – used to measure airflow over the car – and other instrumentation fitted for aerodynamic performance and correlation mapping and to learn about other aspects of the car, such as brake and power unit cooling capacity.
The culmination of countless hours of work and uncompromising craft, our 2024 Formula One car builds on the strengths of its predecessor and applies the learnings from our most successful season to date.
The competitive order
Laptimes in pre-season testing rarely tell the full story and are not necessarily a reliable indicator of the true competitive order. Times aren’t always representative due to teams running differing fuel loads, tyres with varying amounts of life, engine modes that produce varying degrees of power. The track conditions when a laptime is set also influence performance.
At this stage in the season, few in the paddock are prepared to reveal their hand for the coming season, and the competitive picture only becomes clear after the first qualifying and race of the season. However, GPS data for all the cars allows teams to monitor cornering and straight-line speeds throughout the field, which does provide some indication of the pecking order.
Follow the test
This page will be updated after each day of testing, delivering the latest insight and reaction from key members of the team and the drivers as they evaluate the day’s programme.
Join the conversation by following @AstonMartinF1 on social. Share your thoughts on the test, receive real-time updates from the track, enjoy unmissable content from the team in Bahrain and much more.
Sky Sports F1 will broadcast all three days of testing live in the United Kingdom and Ireland and, in territories where it is available, F1 TV will also be offering coverage of the test.
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