A race dominated in Sakhir by reigning world champion Max Verstappen, a second podium for Aston Martin in the turbo hybrid era and Ferrari’s 2022 struggles continue into the new year.

Max Verstappen Continues Winning in 2023

After leading the race for the whole 57 laps, reigning world champion Max Verstappen carried on from where he left off in 2022 after winning by almost 12 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez. Red Bull used a different strategy to most as they completed the race using a soft-soft-hard strategy. Others used a soft-hard-soft or soft-hard-hard strategy.

Aston Martin Back On The Podium

Aston Martin achieved their second podium in the turbo hybrid era after Fernando Alonso secured a debut podium with his new team. The 41 year old overtook the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz on lap 46 for P3 and placed his Aston Martin on the podium for the first time since Sebastian Vettel in Baku 2021. His (Alonso) teammate Lance Stroll finished P6 which was an incredible achievement by the Canadian after he fractured his hand, wrist and big toe 2 weeks before the first race of the season.

Ferrari’s Struggles Continue

I think it’s safe to say Ferrari were surprised to lock out the second row in qualifying considering Aston Martin’s pace in testing and practice. However, the race was yet again a disappointment for the Italian team after Charles Leclerc was forced to retire on lap 41 after an engine failure the team later confirmed. Leclerc was running P3 before the failure and 3rd place was inherited by teammate Sainz before he was overtaken by Alonso.

A Race to Forget for McLaren

The McLaren team had a disaster race in Bahrain finishing the race with Oscar Piastri retiring from the race in his F1 debut and Lando Norris finishing last of the runners and 2 laps down. Norris had to make extra pit stops in the race as the team needed to refill the hydraulic fluid which cost him valuable time and therefore the Brit finished P17.

An Improvement for Williams

Williams finished 10th and last in the constructors championship last year after they hoped the new regulations would help them. This year however, the Williams team look like they have started their push back to the top of the midfield after Alexander Albon finished 10th and rookie Logan Sargeant finished an impressive 12th place.