The RB20’s dominance in the hands of the world champion during both practice sessions and qualifying has further underscored the advantage he holds over his competitors at present.
While there was a close contest for the top grid positions – evidenced by Charles Leclerc’s impressive Q2 lap that could have secured pole position – few are optimistic about challenging him at Sakhir on Saturday.
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari acknowledged the closer margin to Red Bull in qualifying compared to last year but reserved judgment until the race, where Red Bull tends to excel with unrivaled degradation management and race pace.
Yet, the performance deficit to Verstappen isn’t the only concern for rivals. Red Bull also holds a strategic tire advantage going into the Grand Prix, a factor that has been somewhat overlooked.
In a strategic move, Red Bull refrained from using soft tires in final free practice and instead opted for the hard compound. Consequently, for the race, Verstappen and Sergio Perez have a fresh set of soft tires at their disposal, while their main competitors have only used ones.
Given Bahrain’s high-degradation nature, the surplus of soft tires might seem counterintuitive, especially considering the medium compound’s lackluster performance in races, despite being closely matched with the hard compound in terms of lap time delta.
According to Pirelli’s Mario Isola, the medium’s higher degradation without significant performance advantage pushes teams towards the soft compound, particularly for the start and initial stint of the race.
Isola explained further, emphasizing the significant lap time difference between the soft and hard compounds, which necessitates starting with the softer tires to avoid losing track positions.
This strategic advantage, combined with Red Bull’s impressive car design and long-run form, positions them as the clear favorite for the season’s opening F1 race.
George Russell, starting from third place, acknowledged the narrower gap to Verstappen in qualifying but emphasized the importance of race pace, expecting a slight deficit to the Red Bull driver.
When asked if there was any indication from the weekend’s data that someone could challenge Verstappen, Isola admitted Verstappen’s strength and maintained his belief in the Dutch driver’s advantage, despite hoping for a closer competition.
