'
The 2024 season is underway, with the Bahrain Grand Prix providing the first authoritative glimpse into how the teams and drivers are looking. It's very good news if you're a Max Verstappen or Red Bull fan, but there's still some green shoots to be found elsewhere on the grid - if you dig deep enough.
Logan Sargeant (P20): 5/10
Unfortunately there's not a great deal we can say about Logan Sargeant's race, given his early foray into the run-off at turn 4 as a result of a problem with the steering wheel electronics. It looked as though he would be the first DNF of the season, but in the end he was able to get back underway, although inevitably it left him firmly at the back for the rest of the race. Overall neither he nor his Williams team mate Alex Albon showed much zip in qualifying or race trim this weekend, raising concerns that the FW46 doesn't have much to say for itself. If that's the case then it could be a long, painful season ahead for the team, and Sargeant easily could be looking at a pointless campaign.
Valtteri Bottas (P19): 5.5/10
Just as was the case for Logan Sargeant, it's impossible to really come to an accurate verdict on Valtteri Bottas' first race of 2024. A less than inspiring qualifying performance saw him start from P16, and after a poor start he rose only as high as P14 before that painful pit stop saw the Sauber crew fumble for almost a minute to secure the wheel nut on the front left of the C44. With no retirements or safety cars to help him out, that was effectively game over for the Finn. Even without that issue he showed none of the potential that saw his team mate Zhou Guanyu finish on the cusp of the top ten.
