Round 1 of the F1 2023 season has concluded, and what a race it was. Red Bull's Max Verstappen dominated the race finishing 10 seconds ahead of the field. His teammate Sergio Perez took P2. However, the story of the race was how Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin conquered the midfield after passing Carlos Sainz's Ferrari to round out the Top 3.
The biggest upset of the Bahrain Grand Prix was Mercedes fighting to survive the Top 6. Weeks after breaking both his wrists and toe, Lance Stroll was able to fight George Russell's Mercedes to take P6. Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff, and George Russell unanimously berate the current aerodynamic concept of the W14, deeming it second tier. Mercedes looks to be fighting the midfield this season again after being unable to produce a product capable of its stature. The eight-time world champions have announced plans to design and introduce a new concept in the coming months. Don't expect Mercedes to lock out the front row anytime soon.
Another struggling team, which is a Mercedes customer team, is McLaren. With the early retirement of Oscar Piastri's McLaren on his debut, and Lando Norris nursing his McLaren with hydraulic issues to the end of the race, the MCL 60 seems to be no improvement from its predecessor. In fact, the car shows signs of regression instead of progression. The positive side of this is that McLaren was aware of its troubles and is redesigning its car. We are expecting to see this new design for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Yet again, Ferrari seems to have issues with its engine. All the preseason rumors that Ferrari was able to solve its reliability issues and bring power back have no merit. Charles Leclerc, who had a wonderful start of the lone holding P2 right behind Max Verstappen, had to retire the car after an engine issue. Distraught and unmotivated, Charles Leclerc doesn't seem to hold his head high for the SF-23. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing if Ferrari will remedy their woes this season.
Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari are three teams to keep your eye on as we progress through the season. The potential hiding in each of these teams is eager to come out, but, ultimately, it's down to the execution of the product to be worthy of its name.
Tune in on the latest episode of the VSiN F1 Betting Podcast to hear why Ben and I brand Mercedes as practicing AMATEURS.