The 2023 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix lived up to the hype to kick off the season, and Red Bull picked up exactly where it left off last year. The reigning world champions came into this season looking as strong as ever during the pre-Test sessions and dominated Saturday’s qualifying to secure a front-row lockout. The momentum continued as they pulled off a phenomenal 1-2 with Max Verstappen comfortably leading the race from start to finish. With this, Red Bull finds itself back at the top of the manufacturers’ standings ahead of Aston Martin, which currently sits in second place.
Despite a good start to the year, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner remains cautious about the potential of teams like Mercedes, Ferrari and now Aston Martin, who appear to have taken a step up from last year. speaking to sky sports f1 In a post-race interview, the Briton said:
“It can change very quickly. Look at last year, Mercedes was coming from a long time ago and they had a winning car at the end of the year with that concept. Ferrari, unlucky with Charles but at a different circuit in Jeddah I think.” we have to wait for a sample of two or three circuits, we have only been to one track. Let’s reserve judgment until a few races into the championship.”
George Russell, who finished the race in seventh place, admitted that he expects Red Bull to continue to dominate the 2023 F1 season with little to no threat from any other team. As reported by motoringMercedes driver said:
“Red Bull has this championship secured, I don’t think anyone is going to fight with them this year. I hope they win every race this season. That’s my bet. I don’t see anyone challenging them.”
“Their pace seems weaker this weekend than in testing, which was a bit strange. But, you know, they have it easy at the moment and they can do whatever they want. They may not get pole all the time. “. at that time, because we know that Ferrari is very competitive in qualifying. But when it comes to race pace, I think they are in a very, very strong position.”
With Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing seventh and fifth respectively, Mercedes is also where it left off last season: third in the constructors’ standings.
Aston Martin has secured second place in the standings with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso scoring his 99th career podium finish, this time for the Silverstone-based outfit. Ferrari, on the other hand, had a rather disappointing start in Bahrain with the DNF of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finishing fourth.
Alfa Romeo, Alpine and Williams each finished their cars in the top ten, while McLaren, Haas and AlphaTauri all had a weekend to forget when they left the track with no points after the 2023 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Here’s the 2023 F1 Constructors’ Standings after the Bahrain GP