2024 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: How to watch, storylines, track details, and more

Formula 1 returns to the track this week, as the teams are in Bahrain for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first race of the 2024 season. Following a week of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, now the lap times count for real.

This year is shaping up to be a transformative year for F1. The stunning announcement that Lewis Hamilton was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of 2024 is set to ignite an explosive driver transfer market. With more than half the grid — 13 drivers to be exact — set to see their contracts lapse at the end of the season, driver movement might be the biggest story of the year.

That, and the lingering question over whether anyone can catch Max Verstappen.

It all gets underway this week. Here is how to watch, and what to watch for.

How To Watch:

• Practice 1 – Thursday February 29 – 6:25 a.m. – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
• Practice 2 – Thursday February 29 – 9:55 a.m. – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
• F1 Show: Bahrain – Thursday February 29 – 11:10 a.m. – ESPN3/WatchESPN
• Practice 3 – Friday March 1 – 7:25 a.m. – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
• Qualifying Pre-Show – Friday March 1 – 10:00 a.m. – ESPN3/WatchESPN
• Qualifying – Friday March 1 – 10:55 a.m. – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
• F1: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook – Friday March 1 – 1:00 p.m. ESPN3/WatchESPN
• Grand Prix Sunday (Pre-Race Show) – Saturday March 2 – 8:30 a.m. – ESPN/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
• Grand Prix Race – Saturday March 2 – 9:55 a.m. – ESPN/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
• F1: Checkered Flag – Saturday March 2 – 12:00 p.m. – ESPN3/WatchESPN
• F1: Ted’s Race Notebook – Saturday March 2 – 1:00 p.m. – ESPN3/WatchESPN
• Grand Prix Race (Replay) – Saturday March 2 – 8:00 p.m. – ESPNNews/WatchESPN

In addition, you can stream the Bahrain Grand Prix and much, much more on F1TV. With an F1TV subscription fans can watch practice sessions, cycle through driver onboard cameras, watch F2 and F3 practices, qualifying, and feature races, and gain access to exclusive F1TV content. Shows on F1TV include “Jolyon Palmer’s Analysis,” “Tech Talk” with Sam Collins, “Weekend Warm-Up,” and more.

What to Watch:

There is Bahrain International Circuit, site of last week’s pre-season testing. As you can see from the above circuit map, courtesy of F1.com, the layout in Bahrain combines a number of different elements, which makes it perhaps the ideal location for testing. The circuit contains a number of long straights, most notably the straight coming out of Turns 14 and 15, through the start/finish line, and into Turns 1, 2 and 3. The circuit has three DRS zones as well.

For more on the circuit, you can ride along as Alpine driver Pierre Gasly takes you on a tour of Bahrain International Circuit:

Here are some of the major storylines heading into the first race of the season.

• Will Alpine be stuck in the middle again?
• How will Logan Sargeant fare in his second F1 season?
• Will McLaren start out on the front foot this season after a slow start in 2023?
• Has Mercedes finally gotten “the physics” right with the W15?
• Is Ferrari truly “Team Two” on the grid?
• Will anyone catch Max Verstappen and Red Bull?
• Red Bull’s investigation into Team Principal Christian Horner dismissed
• All the F1 terms you need to know in the SB Nation F1 Glossary