Ferrari haunted by ghosts of F1 past as Aston Martin embarrass rivals - What we learned at the Bahrain GP
Ferrari haunted by ghosts of F1 past as Aston Martin embarrass rivals - What we learned at the Bahrain GP
The first F1 race weekend of the year is in the books with Red Bull utterly dominant.
Max Verstappen headed home team-mate Sergio Perez by 12 seconds to complete a comfortable one-two ahead of Fernando Alonso, who stunned for Aston Martin.
With Red Bull and Aston Martin gleeful and Ferrari and Mercedes on the back foot, GPFans takes a look at what we learned at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Red Bull supremacy
There were ominous signs ahead of the weekend that Red Bull could run away with the victory, but surely nobody could have predicted they would do so in such a dominant style.
Third-placed Alonso was 38 seconds down by the chequered flag, with Carlos Sainz's Ferrari a further 10 seconds back.
READ MORE: Verstappen delivers masterclass as Alonso stuns and Ferrari crumble
Verstappen's qualifying pace was touchable only by team-mate Perez and the RB19's race pace was sublime.
There is every chance this car could win every race this year given the chasm in performance to its rivals - a daunting prospect for the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
Aston Martin embarrass rivals
First on the Scuderia and Silver Arrows' radar will be Aston Martin, who performed a miracle of sorts to secure a podium.
Alonso was at his very best in picking off Lewis Hamilton and Sainz in the race - his move on the Mercedes particularly sensational.
The performance of the still-recovering Lance Stroll to finish sixth and ahead of George Russell underlines the strength of the AMR23, which given the Silverstone factory upgrades are yet to be completed is an outstanding achievement.
READ MORE: Hamilton in Mercedes demand in wake of HUGE deficit
There may not be a championship challenge this season, but with a wealth of aerodynamic testing time, this could be a set-up year for Aston Martin before a tilt in 2024.
Ferrari ghosts retrun
Another year, yet more pain for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc retired in the final third of the race.
The Monégasque looked to have settled for third with a comfortable gap back to team-mate Sainz, who was ahead of Alonso at the time, when a power unit failure left him stranded on the side of the road.
After the issues experienced with the engines last season, Ferrari fans could be forgiven for feeling empty after the opening race. Leclerc was already on his second energy store for the year after a swap before lights out.
This almost guarantees at least one grid penalty letter in the season. Ferrari's outlook is bleak.
McLaren misery
If something could go wrong for McLaren, it likely did.
Oscar Piastri's eagerly-awaited F1 debut was cut short with an electrical issue just 13 laps into the race.
For Lando Norris, fortunes were no better with his MCL60 forced into six pit stops in order to top up on pneumatic pressure.
READ MORE: F1 2023 race day team-mate head-to-head rankings
That left Norris at the back of the field and although his pace behind Hamilton and Alonso when a lap down was cause for optimism, the fundamental issues for the Woking-based team leave it a long way behind its rivals.
Williams surprise
Points for Williams in the season opener seemed highly unlikely, despite the team's promising pre-season test.
Logan Sargeant was impressive on debut, missing out on Q2 despite setting an identical time to Norris who went through by virtue of setting his time first.
By the end of the first lap, the American was up three places and eventually finished less than 10 seconds behind Alex Albon in 12th.
But the Thai-British driver was able to fend off the late advances of AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda to take a point in 10th, underlining the steps forward taken at Grove.
With former Mercedes strategy guru James Vowles now at the helm, Williams' fortunes could well be on the up.
READ MORE: F1 Schedule 2023: Dates, times and TV details for all races
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
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