2023 - Race 1 Bahrain

[Used to be Starter]

Nice drive by Sargeant. It was good to see an American on the grid for the 1st time in a while. He did a decent job and didn't embarrass himself as some have done in the past.

I also had the pleasure of missing the crash fest in St Pete today. A worthwhile miss.

[airshifter]

Great race overall for a season opener IMHO.

Max couldn't be touched, but had the chance to get away. Losing some positions at the start kept Checo fighting for 25 laps or so, and made it apparent that the Ferrari can get in the mix and at least make things difficult for the RB. Once clear of Leclerc, I think both Perez and Max just had to worry about tire management for the rest of the race.

As is the norm it seems, Sainz just can't keep pace with Leclerc, and gets into his own head easily. While he was moaning about not being able to defend without another stop, he could have been fighting and had enough left to defend from Hamilton if his head was in it. While Charles was certainly on for a podium until the car failure, Sainz was caught up and passed by Fred, and only a couple seconds ahead of Lewis at race end.

As for the Mercs, much better than many expected. I think George was quicker at first, but stuck behind Lewis he didn't do his tires any favors. He should have pushed the issue and tried to pass on track, or backed off. But in the end not bad for Mercedes overall.


Bottas quietly in the points without much notice. A freaking Williams IN THE POINTS at a season opener with a first race rookie in 12th in the car. Yuki just out of the points. Yeah, the deck has shuffled some for sure. Hopefully it continues though the season.


As for AM, nothing short of amazing for a first race. As expected Fred drove the wheels off the car and seemed to have not lost much of anything in racecraft. His big "twitch" moment on the first pass attempt on Lewis still has me wondering what happened though. It looked like he expected contract and twitched hard to the left. Either way, the sly old guy got it done in style. And for someone that seemed maybe unfit to race Lance did well other than the early contact. I suspect that could have gone bad in a hurry, and the young Stroll will make no favors with either Fred or Dad if he keeps doing those kinds of things. But overall barring that setback, Fred was the second fastest car in race pace.



That kind of jump in performance from AM proves that it can be done, and the "big teams" still have to get it right to stay up front. Between that, the tightening up of the midfield to smaller delta's, and the ability to follow and attack over dozens of laps rather than a couple shows me the new regs are doing exactly what they were trying to do. RB was lucky to get it so right the first year that they maintain pace for now, but the cuts will hurt them with development. Ferrari and others made progress, but I think both Ferrari and Merc are going to be haunted with past mistakes they have stuck with. For the reds it seems to be more reliability and some driver issues with Sainz, for Merc is just seems they got it wrong last year and stuck with it.


Next race could rally change things though. More high speed corners, less forgiving of those loose today, and a new environment to see what cars shine where.

[F1nKS]

Sorry you are missing the point and statistics is just numbers.

And you are poster child for the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[Nitrodaze]

Between that, the tightening up of the midfield to smaller delta's, and the ability to follow and attack over dozens of laps rather than a couple shows me the new regs are doing exactly what they were trying to do. RB was lucky to get it so right the first year that they maintain pace for now, but the cuts will hurt them with development. Ferrari and others made progress, but I think both Ferrari and Merc are going to be haunted with past mistakes they have stuck with. For the reds it seems to be more reliability and some driver issues with Sainz, for Merc is just seems they got it wrong last year and stuck with it.


Next race could rally change things though. More high speed corners, less forgiving of those loose today, and a new environment to see what cars shine where.

Well, that is my point also, the new Regulation is effective in the midfield where it is now closer than ever. At the sharp end of the grid, it is grossly ineffective as Redbud can once again waltz away with both championship titles. I think the gap they have now is big enough for them to weather the effects of the development penalty that they have to endure this season.

Ferrari has turned out to be disappointing. And Mercedes has seriously lost the plot. Unfortunately, Aston Martin is still a long way off the Redbull pace, but l think they can get closer when they properly unleash the full potential of that car. The interesting battle at the sharp end is who is going to be runners-up to Redbull this season. My money is on Aston Martin with Ferrari duking it out with Mercedes for 3rd.

I think Ferrari may slip backwards due to the absence of a technical director, as the in-season development battle ensues. Mercedes would certainly get stronger and maybe win a race or two, but realistically, l cannot see them winning any of the 2023 championship titles at the moment. It would take something special to turn the W14 into a championship-winning car from a 0.635s deficit. It would be particularly brilliant if Aston Martin can win one of the titles.

[Nitrodaze]

And you are poster child for the Dunning-Kruger effect.

As usual, like a petulant child, you result to insults

[Bagwan]

As usual, like a petulant child, you result to insults

You dismissed a post that was using statistics to prove a point (which it did very well) , by saying that he missed the point because statistics don't matter .

Perhaps , with a moment to think , you might understand why this was a touch irksome ?

[Zico]

Sorry you are missing the point and statistics is just numbers.

That is some comment to make on a F1 forum, especially by someone who normally places such high value on stats/numbers... when it suits.

[Nitrodaze]

You dismissed a post that was using statistics to prove a point (which it did very well) , by saying that he missed the point because statistics don't matter .

Perhaps , with a moment to think , you might understand why this was a touch irksome ?

Sorry Baggie, l did not dismiss the stats. The stats did not remotely address the point l was making. Besides, it was a poor use of stats. Comparing 2022 stats to 2023 stats would be a more relevant comparison. More so, applying it to the various tier of the grid would also be more representative of the state of affairs. Just quoting stats randomly says nothing to any intelligent person.

But of course, you want to give support to your mate, l get it.

[airshifter]

One race doesn't make a season, and speaking only for myself I don't care who comes out as the winners and losers. While early indications shows that RB should still be on top, that can change. But if the AM move up continues, then it's proving that major changes can be made in a single year of development, and other teams can do the same if they get it right in their development path. This doesn't mean it will always happen, it just gives the teams a chance to have more CFD and wind tunnel time.

Teams that got by with lesser resources in the unlimited budget years should have some chance to catch up, but they still need the funds to reach the cost cap. The teams that were throwing huge amounts at problems might suffer, it depends on how budget efficient they were in the past. For all we know Williams will end up a top 3 team, and RB and Ferrari will be middle of the pack. But since RB and Ferrari were the ones to get the new formula right from the start, others will have to play catch up with them.


RB have only taken both titles last year, unless we want to go back all the way to 2013. The new regs don't guarantee a new constructor or driver will win every year, or that margins through the field will always be a tenth of a second. They simply try to somewhat level the playing field for lesser teams to come to grips with things and build more competitive cars.

[Nitrodaze]

One race doesn't make a season, and speaking only for myself I don't care who comes out as the winners and losers. While early indications shows that RB should still be on top, that can change. But if the AM move up continues, then it's proving that major changes can be made in a single year of development, and other teams can do the same if they get it right in their development path. This doesn't mean it will always happen, it just gives the teams a chance to have more CFD and wind tunnel time.

Teams that got by with lesser resources in the unlimited budget years should have some chance to catch up, but they still need the funds to reach the cost cap. The teams that were throwing huge amounts at problems might suffer, it depends on how budget efficient they were in the past. For all we know Williams will end up a top 3 team, and RB and Ferrari will be middle of the pack. But since RB and Ferrari were the ones to get the new formula right from the start, others will have to play catch up with them.


RB have only taken both titles last year, unless we want to go back all the way to 2013. The new regs don't guarantee a new constructor or driver will win every year, or that margins through the field will always be a tenth of a second. They simply try to somewhat level the playing field for lesser teams to come to grips with things and build more competitive cars.

I think you describe my favourite part of the new regulations very well. There are good parts that is apparently working. Some might suggest that Merccedes is suffering because they are adapting to working with a tight budget. And Aston Martin which is based on Force India that were masters of punching above its weight with a slender budget is doing better for that inherent reason.

But realistically, it would take a massive injection of funds for any midfield team to compete with the big three as we have seen with Aston Martin and we are likely to see with Sauber when Audi takes over. The cost cap is still high enough for there to be a two-tier grid, but it is low enough to prevent the top teams from spending their way out of poor design choices. They now pay dearly with ignominy when they get it wrong like we are seeing with Mercedes. But that said, it is great that Aston has joined the top tier and Alonso is doing wonders with that car.

I think the 2023 F1 championship is there for Redbull to lose if they mess up. Even with their handicap, they are still very likely to be untouchable. Ferrari and Mercedes do not inspire any confidence at this stage of the season. They may improve and try to capitalize on the Redbull penalty, but l believe the penalty may not hurt Redbull enough for them to challenge for the championship. But this is Formula One, anything is possible.