Verstappen 'Going To Have 25-Second Lead And Break Lap Record' In Bahrain Says Albon

Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 18:30

Updated at Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 18:31

The 2024 F1 season has not even started yet, but Alex Albon has already predicted that Max Verstappen will dominate again.

The past two days were all about the pre-season testing for drivers and teams, as they are trying to understand their cars better and fix any issues that may arise during the intense three days of testing.

Overall, the cars should be on the track for a total of 24 hours, with each day having two four-hour sessions. However, that time was already reduced a bit on Day 2, as the day session was not finished due to a red flag, and not all of the remaining time was added to the following 5-hour and 10-minute evening session.

But teams are certainly not focusing on a few minutes lost, but rather on their own performance, or even the performance of their rivals. One of the drivers who have noticed how the best are doing is certainly Albon.

The Thai driver, who is currently driving for Williams, certainly doesn't have title aspirations for the 2024 season, but he's hoping that his team will get into a regular fight for the points.

But after watching how the first day unfolded, Albon understands that the best are far ahead of his team, and the best currently, and still, seem to be Red Bull.

Read also

Speculations About Horner's Investigation Are 'Issue For All Of F1' Says Wolff

Verstappen was 1.14 seconds ahead of everyone else on Day 1 of testing, and while that still doesn't mean anything, drivers are already starting to fear the Austrian's team dominance.

On Day 2 of the pre-season testing, Albon wasn't on track, leaving all the time to his teammate Logan Sargeant, and he used some of his spare time to talk on F1TV.

Predicting how the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix, which will be held at the same circuit as the pre-season testing - the Bahrain International Circuit, may go, the 27-year-old suggested that Verstappen will finish 25 seconds ahead of everyone else, while also completing some side quests.

"Max is gonna have a 25-second lead, he's gonna go for a pit-stop at the end of the race, and he's gonna go for his fastest lap at the end, and break the lap record!"

Fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, that may not be far from the truth. Last year, the Dutchman won by 11.987 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, while he was 38.637 seconds ahead of the third Fernando Alonso.