De la Rosa fears for Bahrain record

Rumour has it that Pedro de la Rosa, who has held the lap record at Bahrain International Circuit since 2005, is nervous that his record may be a thing of the past after this weekend’s opener of the new Formula One season.

After pre-season testing ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, it appears that the RB20, also a brainchild of Adrian Newey who developed De la Rosa’s 2005 McLaren MP4-20, may be the most likely candidate in the quest to challenge the existing lap record.

Things appear to be all systems go at Red Bull Racing after team principal Christian Horner was cleared in an investigation of his alleged inappropriate conduct. While official sources did not let any details slip regarding the investigation, or the reasons for it, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that the allegations sprouted from messages of a sexual nature that Horner sent to a female employee.

Nonetheless, Horner has been declared innocent and was spotted at the practice sessions in Sakhir yesterday.

While the Bahrain International Circuit is said to provide high grip, drivers will also need to nurse their tires on the greywacke surface. That could be slightly less so for Red Bull if the rumours of virtually nonexistent tyre degradation on the RB20 are true.

Ferrari will only be battling Red Bull this weekend, since the offence of their most recent enemy, a loose drain cover on the track last week, has been neutralised. Since both the SF24 of Charles Leclerc and the RB20 of Sergio Pérez were dealt blows during pre-season testing, all rogue drain covers were entirely sealed off to keep them at bay.

The circuit, like others is expected to change over the course of the race as rubber is laid down on the track, but the initial challenge is to race on a dusty surface. With multiple straights and a medley of tactical corners, the Bahrain Grand Prix promises many overtaking opportunities for drivers and viewers.

Around this time last year, Max Verstappen brought home the first of many race wins, kicking off one of the most dominant seasons the sport has ever seen. Following Verstappen with a gap of 11.987 seconds was his teammate Sergio Pérez, with Fernando Alonso locking in the last step of the podium.

While many held out hope that McLaren could stick it to the Milton Keynes team over the coming season after their spectacular turnaround last year, their lead driver Lando Norris has already shared expectations of a lackluster performance for the papaya-coloured team.

Despite saying that the team enjoyed a better car during the 2024 pre-season testing than the year before, Norris shared that the team’s exact place in the ranks is still unclear adding that the improvements on the car had not brought the team to where they had hoped to be by now.

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