Yahoo Autos Who’s Hot, Who’s Not, at F1’s Spring Break
Technically speaking, Formula 1 shouldn’t be on an unofficial Spring Break, but the axing of China’s grand prix has created a near-month-long gap in the schedule just three races into the record-breaking 23-race season.
Autoweek reflects on who’s hot, and who’s not, after the opening salvo to 2023.
Red Bull
Red Bull looked exceptionally strong pre-season to the extent that Max Verstappen was being crowned before a wheel had been turned in anger. The expectations were duly accurate.
The RB19 has been a potent machine, especially in the hands of Verstappen, who is already on course for title three on the bounce. He would have a total clean sweep of poles and wins but for an errant driveshaft in Q2 in Saudi Arabia. Teammate Sergio Perez picked up the pieces there at a venue where he has previously thrived, but shambolic Saturday in Australia demonstrated why he will not challenge Verstappen race in race out.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin looked good in preseason. But no one expected them to be quite this good. Second in the standings, with the evergreen Fernando Alonso third in each Grand Prix, is no fluke as the AMR23 has strong performance while Aston Martin has been operationally slick.
A rejuvenated Alonso has slotted into Team Green like a glove while Lance Stroll has been solid after a pre-season compromised by his wrist fractures. Owner Lawrence Stroll is now impatient for victory, which is quite the turnaround for a team that finished seventh in 2021 and 2022. The good times have only just started for Aston Martin.
Mercedes
Mercedes realized in Bahrain that it was wrong to pursue its narrow sidepods concept and set about remedying that error long-term. Consequently its title aspirations are over for another season but it ran 1-2 during the early laps in Australia, so the situation is not as bleak as the team sometimes likes to suggest.
Lewis Hamilton remains uncomfortable in the car owing to a seating position that he feels is too far forward, which is not an easy fix, though Mercedes will make tweaks where possible. Mercedes is firmly looking at the long game so across the next few months results may look an awful lot like 2022—albeit with a performance ceiling enforced by aerodynamics rather than porpoising.
Ferrari
Ferrari’s title drought is going to extend to a 15th season as hopes of a championship challenge have already been crushed. Ferrari’s SF-23 is in the mix with Mercedes and Aston Martin but is some way adrift of the dominant Red Bull package.
Lead driver Charles Leclerc has yet to have a clean race, with his engine failure in Bahrain triggering a grid drop in Saudi Arabia, which was followed by a lap one clash in Australia. Last year’s runner-up is a lowly 10th in the standings on just six points. Carlos Sainz has fared moderately better but has only 20 points. Ferrari’s performance malaise means it is hard to yet ascertain whether operational issues that were so costly in 2022 have been addressed.
