Formula 1 fans have already declared the 2024 season over after the qualifying round ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Heading into the season, there were hopes that the rest of the paddock could close the gap to Red Bull after a truly dominant 2023 campaign.
Max Verstappen eased to his third successive F1 world title after winning 19 out of 22 races.
During the practice sessions in Bahrain, Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez appeared to struggle to find pace, leading to fans hoping it would be a much closer season.
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However, those hopes were well and truly dashed after qualifying.
Verstappen took pole, finishing 0.2 seconds faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Reacting on social media, one fan said: “Season Is Over Thanks For Watching.”
Another tweeted: “There’s the F1 season over for another year.”
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A third fan added: “Yup season is over Max is winning it again.”
Someone else wrote: “Well... after that qualifying, we are in 2023 again. Max is winning the 2024 season, the rest is racing for P2 in this season.”
A fifth commented: “There's the F1 championship over already after week 1, just hand it to Max now and write the calendar year off.”
Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen admitted his pole position came unexpectedly, he said: “It was a lot of fun. The track had a lot of grip but with the wind the last two days, it was tricky to get the whole lap together. It was the same in qualifying.
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“To really get everything out of it in Q3 was a little more difficult but I'm very happy to be on pole. It was a little bit unexpected but luckily in qualifying the car came to us and I felt a bit happier with the whole car.”
Verstappen added: “The race is going to be close as well. We look good as well but we'll see tomorrow. I'm confident we can have a strong race.”
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Formula 1, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Fan Reactions