F1 2023 Bahrain GP Preview
1st March 2023After a long winter and a, contrastingly, short pre-season test, Formula 1 racing action is set to return with the season opener at Bahrain officially getting underway this weekend.
The 2023 season opener is just days away, on March 5, 2023, after 105 days since the chequered flag fell on the 2022 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
So, what are some talking points going into the opening race of the season?
Will Ferrari and Mercedes be able to threaten Red Bull?
After a relatively short pre-season test session, last week, Red Bull looks to have the package everyone wants. The car is fast on both long and short runs and looks to be very reliable, this begs the question: can anyone threaten Red Bull this weekend?
While Red Bull stood out as the one to beat in the three-day pre-season test, the rest of the grid may have withheld some performance away from the grid in a bid to hold their cards close to their chest.
Ferrari and Mercedes seem to have decent packages underneath them but remain optimistic that Red Bull remains ahead of them in the development race.
In a press release, Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin said:
“It’s clear that we still have work to do on car pace but [Day Three of pre-season testing] has given us a much more coherent picture of where we need to focus our efforts.
“We’ll be using the time ahead of next weekend to go through the data we’ve collected, and aim to extract a bit more lap time.”
Ultimately, Ferrari and Mercedes will want to give the defending champions a run for their money this season after a year of development on this generation of F1 cars.
Who will race for Aston Martin?
It remains unclear if Aston Martin’s injured driver, Lance Stroll, will return to the grid this weekend after the Canadian suffered a minor training accident prior to pre-season testing. As a result, this has led to speculation on who could replace the recovering driver in the event he does not race.
Eyes are on 2022 Formula 2 champion, Felipe Drugovich, to make the step up and embark on his F1 debut in Stroll’s place. However, it has been reported the now-retired four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel could make a shock appearance this weekend.
Since then, the team have dropped Vettel as a substitute and has now backed Drugovich as their stand-in driver if Stroll cannot make it.
It’s very likely the team will make the announcement, officially, at the very last minute to ensure they give Stroll as much time to make it to the opening weekend.
What to watch: the Rookies
A few new faces have joined the grid since the sport ended its 2022 season. Logan Sargeant will race for Williams, Drugovich – potentially – at Aston Martin, Nyck de Vries in Alpha Tauri and Oscar Piastri with McLaren.
Sargeant, De Vries and Drugovich will all have something to prove to both themselves and their respective teams. However, many eyes may be fixed on McLaren’s latest driver: Piastri.
The young Aussie was the talk of the paddock last summer after the ordeal between McLaren and Alpine. The Woking-based outfit soon won the ordeal, securing Piastri to replace Daniel Ricciardo.
Fans, pundits and the media will want to see if McLaren made the right decision in cutting Ricciardo loose for the hot prospect.
What time is it on?
Friday:
FP1 – 11:30am
FP2 – 3pm
Saturday:
FP3 – 11:30am
Qualifying – 3pm
Sunday:
Race – 3pm
Times are based in the UK (GMT)
That’s all for the article; F1 Bahrain GP Preview!
What are you looking forward to this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Tottenham Hotspur and F1 launch in-stadium karting track
- Spanish GP circuit removes final chicane
- What we learnt from F1 2023 pre-season testing
- F1 Testing – Day 3: Perez tops testing ahead of Hamilton and Bottas
- F1 Testing – Day 3: Sainz on top of afternoon runners
- F1 Testing – Day 3: Leclerc on top in morning as Bottas sees early end
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