2024 F1 Testing statistics

From daily results to the fastest lap times, fastest sector times and most laps completed, here are all the facts and statistics from pre-season 2024 F1 testing!

DAY 1 TESTING REPORT

Just like last year, George Russell headed to the end of the pit lane ahead of the green light to become the first driver out on track in an official F1 session in 2024. The first four hour session of F1 testing in 2024 passed with relatively little in the way of incident.

The focus was clearly not on lap times in the opening hours, with teams heading out in cars covered in flo-vis paint and aero rakes. One such aero rake caused problems for Kevin Magnussen, who needed to pit as the device had not been correctly fitted to his car.

Aside from Magnussen’s hiccup and an off track excursion through the gravel for Esteban Ocon, there were no further troubles in the morning session until around 20 minutes before the chequered flag when Alex Albon’s Williams came to a halt in the first sector of the track. Albon was able to stop the car close to an access point, meaning that the session did not need to be red-flagged.

Max Verstappen ended the morning session as the fastest driver, while Fernando Alonso completed the most laps. The Spaniard toured the track 77 times during the first four hours.

There were ominous signs from Red Bull as darkness fell at Bahrain International Circuit towards the end of the first day of testing. Max Verstappen completed 142 trouble-free laps over the course of the day, being one of two drivers – along with George Russell – not to share driving duties on Day 1. Verstappen’s fastest time, a 1:31.344 on the C3 tyres, was over a second faster than next-fastest Lando Norris.

After a slow start to the afternoon session, with most teams not making an on-track appearance until over half an hour after the lunch break ended. Norris was stuck in the garage for longer than most, while Logan Sargeant was also garage-bound while mechanics fixed the fuel pump issues suffered by his team-mate towards the end of the morning session.

Sargeant went on to suffer a spin in the middle sector of the track, in which he narrowly avoided colliding with the barriers. The American completed just over 20 laps before having to return to his garage with a driveshaft issue which kept him off track for the rest of the afternoon. As a result, Williams were the only team not to get 100 laps on the board on the first day of testing.

There were no red flags on Day 1, though Lance Stroll lost a wing mirror on the main straight which was then collected by Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas. The latter did not suffer major damage in the incident.

2024 F1 TESTING DAY 1 RESULT

DAY 2 TESTING REPORT

The first red flag of pre-season testing in 2024 came just over three hours into the first session of Day 2. It was not caused by a car stopping on track but instead by a loose drain cover. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who had set the fastest time of the morning, ran over the cover, causing minimal damages to their cars.

With repairs needed to the drain and further track inspections required, the first four-hour session was called off early. The afternoon session was extended by 60 minutes and started an hour earlier than planned.

The curtailed running in the morning session resulted in some teams changing their plans for the afternoon session. Sergio Perez remained in the Red Bull for the entire day, while Charles Leclerc finished his planned programme before handing the Ferrari over to team-mate Carlos Sainz.

A few reliability issues were suffered on Day 2. Sergio Perez had an issue with overheating brakes in the opening stages of the day then coasted back to the pits in the afternoon. Neither issue kept him in the garage for too long. Meanwhile, a fuel system issue for Lando Norris meant that McLaren lapped the fewest times of the ten teams in the afternoon session, though they were still able to put over 50 laps on the board.

Lap times ramped up as the afternoon session progressed. Ferrari remained fastest, with Carlos Sainz set the benchmark pace: a 1:29.921 on the C4 tyres – just two tenths away from the pole position time at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2024 F1 TESTING DAY 2 RESULT

DAY 3 TESTING REPORT

For the second day in a row, running was interrupted due to a loose drain cover at Turn 11. The 75 minute delay led to the planned lunch hour being cancelled. While most teams returned to the track and put in plenty of laps, both McLaren and Sauber spent considerable time in the garage. Lando Norris lapped the track just 20 times during his stint in the McLaren, while Valtteri Bottas managed only 28 laps.

All teams swapped their drivers halfway through the day, with the exception of Williams. Alex Albon was in the car all day and therefore completed the most laps of any driver on Day 3, touring the track 121 times.

Carlos Sainz was fastest in the morning but the times began to tumble after the teams made their driver swaps. Max Verstappen headed to the top of the timesheet within his first ten laps in the car, while Charles Leclerc led the way for most of the afternoon. The Ferrari driver lowered the Day 3 benchmark to a 1:30.322, doing so on the softer C4 tyres.

Leclerc’s time would remain the top time of the day, with Sainz’s time from Day 2 remaining the fastest overall. George Russell came close to eclipsing Leclerc’s time, while Zhou Guanyu ended the day third fastest, also on the C4 tyres.

Aside from the loose drain, there was little on-track incident to mention on the final day of running. No drivers caused any red flags over the three days of running. There was a brief yellow flag towards the end of the final day when a piece of debris from the front of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine had to be retrieved from Turn 1.

2024 F1 TESTING DAY 3 RESULT

2024 F1 TESTING STATISTICS

FASTEST LAP BY EACH DRIVER

The table below shows the fastest lap time set by each driver over the three days of pre-season 2024 F1 testing.

FASTEST LAP BY EACH TEAM

The table below shows the fastest lap time set by each team over the three days of pre-season 2024 F1 testing.

FASTEST SECTOR TIMES BY DRIVER

The table below shows the fastest sector times set by each driver over the three days of pre-season F1 testing in 2024

FASTEST SECTOR TIMES BY TEAM

The table below shows the fastest sector times set by each team over the three days of pre-season F1 testing in 2024.

DRIVER LAP COUNT

The table below shows the total number of laps completed by each driver in each session across the three days of pre-season F1 testing in 2024.

TEAM LAP COUNT

The table below shows the total number of laps completed by each team in each session across the three days of pre-season F1 testing in 2024.

CAUSES OF RED FLAGS

Here is a list of every time that track action was stopped during pre-season 2024 F1 testing:

DAY 1

There were no red flags on Day 1

DAY 2

The first red flag of the test came three hours into the first session on Day 2, when a loose drain cover – which was run over by both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc necessitated a track inspection.

Two further red flag periods followed in the closing minutes of the afternoon session, both as a result of systems tests.

DAY 3

Another drain issue just half an hour into Day 3 of testing caused another red flag period. This one lasted 75 minutes and lead to the lunch hour being cancelled.

For the second day in a row, there were two red flags towards the end of the evening test session a s a result of systems tests.