We have just witnessed the first race of the new F1 season and a new season to look forward to is always really exciting. It is fair to say though that the race in Bahrain was not an absolute thriller and everyone wanting a tight championship battle (which is probably all of us) will have come away feeling less than positive about the title going down to the wire. Verstappen and RedBull have carried their title winning form into 2023 and appear to have a package to make their rivals shudder.
That said though the race in Bahrain did provide some entertainment and there are things we can unpack that are interesting and should give us reason to look ahead with some anticipation of what is to come. Chief among these is the fact that Aston Martin have genuinely made a lot of progress over the winter and the hype pre-season was not just hot air and wishful thinking. Ok they are not a match for the World Champions and on pure pace they do not have a race winning car yet but those of us with any knowledge of the sport did not really expect to see that anyway. Teams do not make a jump that big in one year and Aston are still in a building phase at the moment.
The step that Aston have made though has finally given Fernando Alonso a car that allows him to fight at the sharp end and get what will hopefully be regular strong results. And that is something that we should all be celebrating. Alonso mixing it with the best is always thrilling to witness and love him or loath him (I am myself a fan) there is no doubt that the man is a huge talent and F1 is more exciting when he has a car that can compete. All the evidence seems to point to Aston having produced a car that will be competitive year long and so podiums should be the target every weekend from now on. A top three for them is by no means guaranteed, lets remember that LeClerc did not finish in Bahrain, but knowing that Aston Martin can fight for those kind of results is really encouraging. On those odd days were RedBull find themselves in trouble or at sea we may even see Fernando or Stroll fighting for the top step of the podium. As a fan of Fernando and the Aston Martin brand that would make me very happy. What Aston will need to be strong on is development as things will move fast as the season gets going and teams are pushing to find an advantage.
Lets take a moment to congratulate Lance Stroll on his drive as well after his pre-season biking accident. Racing with fractured wrists and broken toe cannot be easy, I have to say I wasn’t really even expecting to see him racing last weekend. Those injuries added to the lost time in the car at testing would have been a significant handicap and so we have to acknowledge his impressive performance.
Up there with Aston Martin as the most improved out of all the teams is Williams in my opinion. Okay the jump they have made that Aston have but they were starting from a lower point. But for me they looked good in Bahrain and through testing as well. They may have possibly got into Q3 with Albon in quali and the pace from both drivers was good throughout the race. Starting the season with a points finish is a big result for them. And Sargent was only ten or so seconds behind Albon at the end which suggests that the car is a genuine improvement. Williams are a team with a new team principle and as yet without a technical director so if they are regularly threatening the top ten then that will be a win for them.
So those are the main success stories of F1 2023 so far but for some others things are not looking quite so positive. I will start with Ferrari as they were hoped to be the closest challenger to RedBull and have made changes over the winter to try to rectify their major weaknesses from last season. The early signs though do not look any better then they did last November. They did not have the pace to stay with Max in the early phase of the race and the reliability gremlins were very much still in evidence, with Leclerc retirement from some kind of engine issue and also having to change his control electronics pre race.
The pace issue might not be so evident at other tracks, Bahrain’s abrasive track surface does after all sometimes through teams a curveball so we may see some improvement in that area when we go to Jeddah and Melbourne, I am certainly writing them off just yet. Of more concern at the moment may be the lack of reliability. It cost them a lot of points in 22 that can not be a problem if they want to hang on to RedBull’s coast tails this term. New Team principle Fred Vasseur has only been in place for a matter of weeks so he has not had a chance to instigate many changes yet. There has been a change made in the head of strategy department but other than that will have to wait to see what Vasseur will do differently to his predecessor. At this moment in time however they do not look in title fighting form.
Over at Brackley Mercedes decision to continue with the same design concept as last year looks to be have failed and talk of radical car changes already show that things are not well. Teams will soon be laying down their concept for next year so some serious thought needs to be given to how they want to move forward otherwise this year’s development will effect what happens for 24. What Merc can gain this year remains to be seen but is looks like they will have another tough season to contend with. Lewis Hamilton has yet put pen to paper on a new contract and how the team navigate the next few months may determine what happens with the seven time Champ’s future.
I am not going to through every team but the other major talking point for me personally is the situation that McLaren finds itself in. They are another team that were hoping for a big year but what the team describes as ‘ not hitting targets’ is in fact a major step backward. I feel for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at this point as it difficult to see how much they will be able to pull back over the coming months. They are pinning their hopes as this moment on a big upgrade for Baku but they need a lot of pace to stand any chance of overturning their slip to fifth in the teams championship last year. Norris is now at the stage of his career where he deserves a winning car and will soon get frustrated if McLaren show no signs of giving that to him. He may be locked into a contract until the end of 2025 but that will not stop him looking at other options, and as we have seen previously contracts are not always as solid and binding as you may think. For McLaren to keep him long term Zak Brown and co must do better.
Let us see how all these stories and others play out over the coming months and hope that the RedBull walkover that we all think is likely does not happen. Whatever may happen there is a season of racing ahead of us and as a fan I am very glad to have my favorite sport back.
My F1 talk 