Formula One is Back!
Two weeks ago, the F1 2023 season commenced, with the Bahrain GP. Since then, the league has seen one more race in the Saudi Arabia GP, giving us an idea for what we should expect for the rest of the year.
Unsurprisingly, Red Bull continue their pure domination from last season, securing a 1-2 in both Sakhir and Jeddah, even despite a starting position of p15 from Vertsappen in Jeddah due to a car malfunction. Christian Horner and the rest of the team hope to be cruising towards another constructers championship, while the drivers championship sees only one point between Verstappen in first and Perez in second, which could serve to be a very healthy competition as the season progresses.
Surprisingly however, is the emergence the Aston Martin in these first two races. During the tail end of last season, former Alpine driver and F1 seasoned veteran and 2 time WDC Fernando Alonso signed a contract that would see him in an Aston Martin for his 20th season in F1. Alongside him is team owner Lawrence Stroll's son Lance Stroll, representing Canada. Expectations for Aston Martin were generally low coming into pre-season testing, due to the struggles that former 4 time WDC Sebastian Vettel had with the car last year, which many believe was a contributing factor as to why he retired. However, Aston Martin has had a blinder so far! In the first race, Aston Martin saw Fernando Alonso podium at p3, a brilliant result for him and the team, along with Stroll gaining two positions to finish p6, especially impressive considering he was driving with broken wrists. Alonso then followed up his impressive inaugural race with Aston Martin with another p3 in Jeddah. Unfortunately for Stroll, he was unable to finish the race due to his breaks overheating, however not before we saw him gain a position on Ferrari's Carlos Sainz with a beautiful overtake. It is sure looking good for Aston Martin this season, looking to achieve p2 in the constructers championship, and even potentially sneak a race win in.
While teams such as a Ferrari and Mercedes have had some underperformance, there is no major concerns to worry about like there is with McLaren. Nearly finishing in p4 for the WDC, and young star driver Lando Norris finishing in a very respectable p7 in 2022, the addition of young Australian talent Oscar Piastri had fans very hopeful for this season. However, McLaren have dropped a disasterclass in these first two races of the year. Currently, McLaren are sitting dead last in 10th in the constructers championship, yet to record a point, and therefore Piastri and Norris are sat at 19th and 20th in the drivers' championship. In the first race of the season especially, Piastri was not able to finish the race due to car malfunction, whilst Norris had to pit 6 times, double the average per race, as there were problems with his car too. While they hoped this season they could push for top 4 in the constructors championship, if they continue they way are going, they would be lucky to not finish dead last.
