We will soon be witnessing the first official on-track action of the year in Bahrain under the guise of pre-season testing. Every Formula 1 fan has been waiting for the pre-season testing with the off-season crawling by, albeit with a lot of talking points toward the end. We will soon get more talking points as the cars log in their official timings for the first time and we will try to predict who will be the closest competitor to Max Verstappen and Co. in the upcoming season.

Will it be McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, or Aston Martin who would’ve made the biggest jump over the winter? Or will we see a completely new team leading the line? All these questions will be answered to a certain degree during the pre-season testing. So in this piece, we will try and look into the perspective of the teams for the testing; what to expect, and when to catch the on-track action.

Bahrain pre-season testing explained:

First, let us tell you the importance of pre-season testing. Conducted for three full days, the pre-season testing will take place on the Bahrain International Circuit, the same venue for the season opener. It will start on 21st February (Wednesday) and conclude on 23rd February. The test will allow us to see the new cars on the track but more importantly, will allow the teams to get a better understanding of their 2024 challengers under real circumstances away from the wind tunnel.

Bahrain testing would prove to be the first reality check for teams who have been working on the cars day and night back at the factory during the winter break. However, we don’t always see the truth during testing because of various factors including ‘sandbagging’. The age-old F1 lexicon translates to teams not showcasing their true potential during the test. On the flip side, some teams also use different strategies during the three days of testing to collect data under different circumstances to help them prepare for the season opener and the races that follow which hide their true potential. Who better to explain the strategy point of view than Sky Sports’s Bernie Collins?

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The Brit is a strategy analyst and sat down for a chat with Matt Baker on the Sky Sports YouTube channel ahead of Bahrain testing to give us some important insights. She revealed how teams use all five different Pirelli compounds during testing compared to a race’s upper limit of three to get a better understanding of the car’s performance using different tires and also if Pirelli has made changes to the compounds compared to the previous year. The strategists focus on the pace delta between the tires, the degradation, or the life of a tire over multiple laps. However, this is only possible if the team can squeeze out max laps from the car, which also highlights the car’s sturdiness.

This also gives an insight into the team’s performance during the upcoming race’s qualifying. The fact that the testing is on the same circuit as the opening race helps massively in making an educated guess of a team’s standings over the weekend. But why Bahrain? It’s mainly due to the guaranteed weather and ideal track temperatures for testing, which are closer to what the sport experiences throughout the year.

Then we all see the famous green paint on cars during the tests. Teams open their cans of the flow-vis paint and lather their cars with it to help them understand the aerodynamics of the car outside the wind tunnel.

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All these factors will give us an insight into the team’s standings on the grid. Even if it’s non-competitive driving, the Bahrain testing offers some interesting viewing for all F1 enthusiasts. So let us tell you what time you can tune in to catch the Bahrain pre-season testing.

Rules of the pre-season test and timings

The test will give us an idea if Max Verstappen will once again be leading most of the races this season. Or will the McLaren duo build on the momentum and become a menace for the reigning world champion? If not Mclaren, then will Ferrari give us a recap of the 2022 season but better? Or will Mercedes finally get out of the slumps and become competitive again? Last but definitely not least, will Aston Martin shock the grid once again and perhaps come out on top of the rest?

To answer all these questions first-hand, one can tune into the three days of testing on official streaming partners from Wednesday to Friday. The timings will be the same for all three days as the team will get a total of 9 hours each day to squeeze out as many laps as they can. The pre-season test only features one car per team during the entire day of testing so we will never see two cars from one team driving on the same day. However, the teams can divide their drivers’ timing in any way they want. One driver a day or both getting their time on the track between the AM and PM sessions.

The timings for all three days are the same: 2 am ET (7 am GMT) to 11 am ET (4 pm GMT). There will be an hour-long lunch break in the middle where some teams decide to change drivers like Ferrari will for day 1. The Italian outfit will put Charles Leclerc out on the track for the first half and then bring out the outgoing Carlos Sainz for the second half.

Red Bull, on the other hand, is expected to alternate between full days and half days. Day one is reserved for the reigning world champions. Whereas Sergio Perez will get his time on track in the first half on day 2 with Verstappen again getting his time on the track with day 3 reserved for the Mexican. All teams will give both their drivers three sessions, each divided during the three days altering between am and pm sessions.

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With the pre-season testing right around the corner, take the time to see what the teams do and how the cars perform for the first in the season ahead of the season opener. As the Bahrain testing progresses, we will surely have a few talking points coming your way until then!