Ex-F1 World Champion Damon Hill claims Max Verstappen is ‘gloating and taunting’ F1 fans as he dominates Bahrain pre-season testing

Max Verstappen was more than a second-best car at Day One of Behrain testing.

Damon Hill, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (Via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen started the 2024 season where he left it at the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi. He dominated the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. The Red Bull driver finished the day as the fastest racer with a time of 1:32.548 seconds. It took him just 66 laps after a long winter break to set the fastest lap of the day in the evolved RB20 .

Verstappen later went to X to share some pictures and his reflection on the initial test. He shared pictures of his setup and the No:1 car, expressing his relief at being back behind the wheel of an F1 car. Former Formula One champion Damon Hill reposted the post from the reigning champion and pointed out that the Dutchman was gloating and taunting the F1 community and the grid.

Oh God! He's even Xing about it! He's gloating. He's taunting us. He knows. This year is going to be one long victory lap. You cannot begrudge anyone their success. All we can do is watch and admire. But, there is still a long long way to go. Anything can happen!

Damon Hill wrote on X.

Even though lap times don’t accurately reflect a car’s true speed, Max Verstappen oversaw pre-season testing leading the timing sheets in both the morning and evening sessions. It is no surprise to the F1 world that Red Bull will be dominating this season, and their finest driver Verstappen will aim to bring home the championship for the fourth time.

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Max Verstappen finished off a flawless start to pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit

Max Verstappen finished the opening day of Formula One’s preseason testing in the same place as last year’s championship, Bahrain, with a 1.140s advantage over nearest rival Lando Norris. With 143 laps completed in both sessions, he also led the drivers.

Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll (Via IMAGO)

Verstappen, finished nearly 150 laps on Day 1 which is faster than he did in the preseason testing the previous year. Despite it being the first day of testing, he said he felt good to be back in an F1 car after a long time, and the car responded well.

Even though preseason testing isn’t a reliable indicator of a team’s performance, Verstappen’s lead may present greater difficulties for other teams competing. There’s no denying Red Bull has a fast car, even though the debate about the pre-season testing persists. If it surpasses the RB19 in speed, the team could potentially win the championship handily this year.

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#About the Author

Justin P Joy

(5210 Articles Published)

Justin P Joy is a Motorsports writer and editor at FirstSportz. He has been a motorsport journalist since 2020 and has published over 4500 articles. Justin has extensively covered two NASCAR, Formula One, and Moto GP seasons for FirstSportz. He has invested more than a decade of his life on Motorsports, first as a fan and later as a dedicated writer. Justin’s in-depth knowledge of Motorsports and his experience as a fan make his writing resonate with most racing fans worldwide. Justin's love for racing started when he discovered Moto GP at the age of 8. That love later guided him into the world of Formula 1. He fell in love with NASCAR after watching Tom Cruise’s “Days of Thunder” and has been an avid follower of the premier stock car racing series since. He has also been investing his time to exploring WEC, WRC, Formula E, Extreme E, and IndyCar in a bid to deeply understand the culture and history of Motorsports to present a unique perspective to the fans.

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