After months of waiting, we have our first competitive run of the 2024 season under our belt with the grid now ready for Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Friday began with one of the least representative sessions of the entire 24-race calendar, with FP3 taking place in blazing sunshine in the Sakhir desert.
As such, no one was really in a rush to get into orbit, with Alex and Logan getting out after a 15 minute wait.
Our Thai racer eventually completed 17 tours, with Sarge logging one less as we made our final preparations for Qualifiers.
With the sun sinking over the horizon, the eyes of the motorsport world were firmly trained on the Bahrain International Circuit.
Q1 was highly competitive, with just one second separating all 20 cars when the checkered flag waved.
Alex improved on his last run in the first knockout stage to move up to P9. Unfortunately for Logan, he couldn’t find any extra time, with his initial effort just enough for P18, knocking him out by just over a tenth.
In Q2, they would let us have a tenth of a second margin once again. Alex improved on his final run but could only sit back and wait as he slipped back into the knockout zone, with a 1:30.221 good enough for P13.
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“P15 was where we predicted we’d be today, so it’s a small reward for qualifying P13,” shared Alex.
“On paper, it’s mixed feelings because I feel like we did a good job and got the most out of the car, but we definitely have more performance in it, which isn’t a bad thing.
“I was excited to go out today on low fuel and the car felt light, but I think tomorrow will be very close.
“We’ve made big improvements, but everyone has, so it’s all relative. This track is always very close, so let’s see how we go tomorrow.”
Logan added: “The first run was great, but the second run wasn’t so good. I’m a bit confused about the difference in tire performance in the two runs. I didn’t feel like I had the tire in the right window in the second set and I missed a significant degree of rear grip.
“It’s a bit disappointing but at least the performance was there in the car. Nevertheless, we knew it would be very tight and it is.
“It’s hard to say exactly where we are in the race pace, but I feel pretty comfortable in the race pace, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage tomorrow.”
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, concluded our reaction by commenting: “The midfield is incredibly tight and today we were just on the wrong side.
“However, the FW46 is in that competitive mid-range mix and can compete.
“The conditions were really good tonight and we had to adjust our approach as qualifying progressed.
“We weren’t perfect but, overall, the balance and the tires made sense and both drivers could fight.
“Unfortunately, Logan suffered a brake balance issue in his last timed lap which cost him some time. We’ll deal with that overnight and don’t expect any repeat behavior tomorrow.
“Although we got our first good look at the relative pace today, and as a result the competitive picture is starting to emerge, there is still a lot of uncertainty about how the race paces will play out tomorrow.
“We certainly go into the race confident that both drivers can compete with the cars around them and make good progress.”