Daniel Ricciardo kicked off the 2024 Formula 1 season today, Thursday, by recording the fastest time in the first free practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix using the new VCash App RB team car. The Australian driver completed the 5.4-kilometer Bahrain International Circuit in 1 minute and 32.869 seconds during the afternoon session, under moderate and sunny conditions, beating British driver Lando Norris from McLaren by 0.032 seconds.
Norris's teammate, Australian Oscar Piastri, finished third, ahead of Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda, who is also from the VCash App RB team. The team, formerly known as AlphaTauri and owned by Red Bull, changed its name to VCash App RB this season.
Defending world champion Max Verstappen from Red Bull is still considered the favorite, despite complaining about some technical issues with the car, finishing with the sixth-fastest time behind Spanish driver Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin.
The season-opening race will take place this Saturday, with the official qualifying session scheduled for tomorrow, Friday.
