A stinker in the desert for Mclaren
The Bahrain Grand Prix marked a dismal first outing for the boys in papaya. After a relatively promising start from Piastri, who made up two places in the opening laps, things quickly unraveled after an electrical fault on lap 15 saw the Melbourne-born rookie dive into the pits for a steering wheel swap a la Lewis Hamilton at India 2012. However, rather than a speedy 3.1 second five wheel change, Piastria’s car never came back to life, as mechanics wheeled him slowly into the pits to bring his debut Formula 1 weekend to a rather sad and premature end. Things were similarly disappointing for Lando Norris, who struggled with a pneumatic issue that saw him pit twice in the first 19 laps and five times during the whole race.
When it rains, it pours
While Estaban Ocon’s Alpine was at least more reliable than last year’s rival, Mclaren, that didn’t stop the Enstone outfit from trying everything possible to sabotage their own race. Before the lights even came on, Ocon had lined himself up incorrectly in his grid slot, rolling his nose at least a tire’s length too far forward. He picked up wing damage in the opening laps and was then handed a 5-second penalty for his starting grid infringement. However, Alpine’s over-zealous pit crew got their hands on his front wing just a bit too early, which saw him slapped with another 10-second penalty for serving the first five-second penalty incorrectly. Ocon was clearly so vexed he managed to speed in the pitlane, earning him another five seconds to complete a hattrick of violations to the tune of 20 seconds. Still beat Mclaren though.
Redbull’s wings
It’s clear that Rebull is, well… clear, of the whole grid to start 2023. Verstappen drove away from the field at turn one and never looked back, with Perez in tow a few seconds back down the road. With a car that looks even faster than last year’s, and Redbull’s early 2022 reliability woes seemingly in the rear-view mirror, are Redbull set for a season of unparalleled dominance in 2023?
The name’s Alonso, Fernando Alonso
Some of the best wheel-to-wheel racing came in laps 38 and 39, as Mercedes and Aston Martin duked out a stellar tactical battle. Hamilton boxed ahead of Alonso for his second stint to avoid the undercut, but the veteran Spaniard soon caught up and was all over Hamilton like a rash, eventually making a sublime move down into turn 10, perfectly timed to take both Hamilton’s place and DRS to ensure the pass stuck.
Alonso continued his rampage, passing Carlos Sainz with a cheeky “Bye Bye” as he sailed past his compatriot. The two-time world champion even had time to tell his pitwall that the AM23 was “a lovely car to drive” and to enquire as to the fortunes of the one-armed bandit Lance Stroll, presumably blissfully unaware that it was the Canadian who nearly ended his race on lap one. He should mention that to the team boss… maybe not. Still, a podium and driver of the day isn’t a bad first outing. AM is shaping up to be a serious contender for podiums this year.
We are checking
After a blistering start in Bahrain last year, Ferarri picked up this year where they left off last year, with engine reliability problems and sad Charles Leclerc radio messages. The car that didn’t retire, number 55, is apparently slower than an Aston Martin. Ferarri will have hoped to challenge for both the constructors and driver’s championship this year, instead they might be in a three-way fight for second place that could see them finish fourth.
Honorable mentions:
Pierre Gasly climbed 11 places from dead last on the grid to secure Alpine’s first points of the season
Alex Albon held off Yuki Tsunoda to score a point for Williams
Classification
VER
PER
ALO
SAI
HAM
STR
RUS
BOT
GAS
ALB
TSU
SAR
MAG
DEEV
HUL
ZHO (fastest lap)
NOR
OCO (RETIRED)
LEC (RETIRED)
PIA (RETIRED)
Giveaway: Win a McLaren Christmas New Era Bobble Beanie
Don’t worry! There are going to be prizes from all of the Formula 1 teams including artwork, merch, and more. But I’ll be sending one of our subscribers from March this awesome McLaren Christmas beanie. (UK-only I’m afraid, I can find an alternative if you live abroad, even just a gift card)
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