Well, the 2023 season started with a bang. There were fireworks on and off the track as the cars finally showcased their proper race pace. This year, testing ran rapidly with rumors and anticipation for what the mighty Aston Martin could show in a race. They got acquainted with the new regulations and took a giant leap this year.
Testing had so many non-answers about who was fast and who was not. It was unclear which teams had their stuff together, but the pessimistic vibes of McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes told what teams needed profound changes for success.
There are finally some takeaways:
- Verstappen and Red Bull are a monster coming out of the gate.
- Aston Martin is coming for all the teams in the top 3.
- The development race will matter more than ever.
Let’s get into what happened.
THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST RACE
There is so much doom and gloom on F1 Twitter about how strong Red Bull was in the season’s first race. The car is insane, and Red Bull as an organization is iron-clad. They execute their strategy to a T, and their pitstops are always some of the best on the grid.
Still, Mercedes will not simply stand around and stick with their flawed philosophy. They will bring drastic changes to their car and not just stand around. Ferrari has something in their car which could lead to victories on different tracks. Fred Vausser knows what it takes for a driver to be comfortable in a car, and the team will head in the right direction with him at the helm.
All Aboard The Aston Martin Hypetrain
Following F1 during the break and avoiding the Aston Martin buzz were impossible. Early on, reports came about of drastic improvements, so much that some expect Aston to challenge for a race win.
What played out was a podium for Fernando Alonso after a DNF from Charles Leclerc. Alonso was rapid all weekend, finishing in the top three, even in one session. The car was fast on the track, but only qualified 5th, showing their one-lap pace might not be extraordinary.
While their soft tire pace was nothing to write about, their race pace was insanely good. Per F1 Pace, their first stint with Alonso on soft tires was only 6th best, but their second and third stints were third best. Checo and Max were the only two drivers better during their second and third stints. Ferrari’s tire degradation is letting their one-lap pace down, and Aston has improved when it comes to their tire deg.
Sam Collins of F1TV created a thread of all the technical changes that Aston Martin brought into the season. They took different ideas from the top three, but the car is mainly Red Bull-inspired. The side pod takes a lot from Red Bull, and the suspension takes a lot from Mercedes, a team who got their tire deg down toward the end of the season.
The team, under the leadership of Mike Krack, has taken a clear step up.
The race wasn’t perfect for Aston as Alonso and Stroll made contact on the first lap. Lance deserves a ton of praise for racing following his injury and grinding out a top 6 finish. Still, his past few seasons of lackluster results leave questions about his ability to help Aston Martin in their push up the grid.
Lance’s seat in F1 came about from his father’s money, and someone in the pinnacle of motorsport should be delivering more promising results. He has flashed moments of good racing, but he must produce consistently this season.
He may take a step forward this year and improve his overall race craft. The car looks very drivable, and excuses are running thin. This year will highlight his level as a driver.
McLaren is really bad
After a considerable shakeup internally that promoted Andrea Stella to team principal, whispers around the paddock pinned the team to take a giant step backward. The race was a disaster as Oscar Piastri DNF, and Lando Norris finished 17th after multiple pitstops due to a car issue. The car and the Alpha Tauri look like one of the most challenging cars to drive on the grid. Even during qualifying, the car was not competitive for any points.
Zach Brown said the team expects to bring a series of significant upgrade packages in the future, but the team is far from where they were last season. The car seems to be going nowhere, and the driver’s body language tells the whole story.
The wind tunnel should be coming soon, and they have the resources to challenge points, so car development should come to them eventually. The question at this point is if it will come soon enough for Lando Norris to say with the team.
Ferrari fall flat
The exit of Matia Binnoto had Ferrari fans excited for a new chapter in the team’s leadership. Charles Leclerc came in as a driver the team is building around, and Sainz looked to get off to a hot start and avoid inconsistencies. The one-lap pace of the car remains extraordinary. Charles Leclerc secured second place in qualifying, beating out Checo in the fantastic Red Bull car.
The race, however, showed that Ferrari has the same issues they faced last year: teams are closing up to their pace behind them, and Red Bull’s gap keeps increasing. The car tires fall off so quickly, and while their strategy calls were right on, the tires can’t hang on long enough for the drivers to deliver constant lap times. Charles had a few lock-ups that resulted from trying to compensate for the car’s deficiencies.
Leclerc ended up retiring due to an engine issue, and Sainz looked off the pace due to tire issues. Carlos needs to figure out the car and get more pace, tire deg aside. Reliability has long been an issue for Ferrari, but they need to get to the bottom of these engine issues before they can afford to develop more on the car.
If Ferrari can focus on engine reliability and tire wear, they should comfortably be the second-best team on the grid. It just seems “if” never becomes “when.”
Mercedes needs a new direction
It’s time to end the “zero sidepod” and start from scratch. One of Mercedes’ customer teams surpassed them, and Sunday’s Bahrain race was embarrassing. Russell was unable to defend from Stroll, who was coming off an injury, and it looked like the car did not have any noteworthy pace. Qualifying was a dud, and the race was even worse as the machinery let the drivers down.
The team came so far in the backstretch of last year, almost passing Ferrari in the battle for second. The car’s race pace is not as good as Aston Martin’s. Red Bull, and to a lesser extent Ferrari, have the best handle on the regulations, and it’s time to admit defeat on their ideas. Seeing the three top teams’ unique philosophies was fascinating, but Mercedes must give up.
Lewis’s recent comments about the car highlight the need for a philosophical pivot. He is still a phenomenal driver and can extract all the car offers. If Lewis can only get to fifth place in the car and not challenge for a podium, then there are severe issues with the car. He can massage tires like no other, and even his tires fell off a cliff. Toto Wolf has a lot of work in front of him. He is facing the most challenging time he has ever met and needs to show he can pull the team together.
Quick hits
- Shoutout to Logan Sargeant and the Williams team. They scored a point, and Logan was competitive with Albon. The team looks like they will fight for issues later in the season.
- Verstappen is on another level and will walk away with another driver’s championship. 2021 will be a stain on his record, whether fair or not, but these last two years, he has more than deserved the title of the best driver. He is truly a racing monster, and with a Red Bull car that good, it is genuinely terrifying.
- Everyone has been discussing Lando Norris leaving McLaren, but starting the conversation feels early. He seems to love McLaren, and it feels like he will give them every chance to figure it out, but if Checo continues not to be a match for Max, the Red Bull seat could entice him to jump ship.
- Gasly looked like a new man on Alpine after a successful debut. He didn’t qualify well but made his way up the grid and got 8th place.
- Alpine needs to stick with the pink livery. It stands out and looks fantastic on the track. The color also saves a tiny bit of weight, giving the team even more incentive.
The Free pitstop 