2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - Race Report

​First of all, hello again, everyone from the 2023 Formula 1 season for which we have been awaiting and even counted the days for over 160 days after a looooooooooong winter break. The Bahrain Grand Prix has been good for all of us motorsports fans, as we have missed the action. It was a great race, despite some unexpected events taking place. So what happened during this race for which we have counted the days? Let's take a look together.

Raining Penalties For Alpine and Esteban Ocon!

As you would remember from the last season, everyone was annoyed by the FIA's decisions: from Red Bull fans to Mercedes Fans, Ferrari fans to Haas fans. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have changed for the 2023 season. As the French driver Esteban Ocon made a millimetric mistake on his grid spot, he was quickly faced with a 5-second time penalty as the FIA cited the reason as ''incorrect starting position''. Alpine and their young driver Esteban Ocon opted to serve the given time during their pitstop; they were shocked by a 10-second penalty. This time the reason cited by the FIA was ''penalty served improperly''. As the young Frenchman served this penalty during his 2nd pitstop, he was hit with another 10 seconds, this time for ''speeding in the pit lane''. As a result, despite having a reasonably lovely qualifying, Ocon couldn't have a lasting advantage. We are extending our support to the young driver.

None Can Stop Super Max!

Red Bull & Max Verstappen's well-known team-driver compatibility continues to elicit admiration and jealousy from fans & opponents. As he is the ''defending champion'' for the 2nd time in 2023, Max Verstappen seems to have his eyes on the 3rd championship in a row. As confidence in himself and his car and aggressive driving style continues to elicit admiration and hate from others, the young champion seems to have vowed to show the same mesmerizing performance. Max opened the season with a victory as he was 12 seconds ahead of his teammate in 2nd place. We congratulate him and wish for the continuation of his success.

What Happened To McLaren?

McLaren, a team loved by many racing fans, made an unlucky start to the season. The team that added the 2021 Formula 2 Champion, young Australian rookie Oscar Piastri to their lineup next to the young Briton Lando Norris; had to pull their rookie out of the race with a steering wheel issue while they saw the chequered flag in only 17th place with Norris also having similar troubles. We hope that these troubles are soon gone for McLaren. Looks like the new technical regulations caused a prominent disadvantage for some of the teams. As we mentioned are affected by the new directories, it would be a shame on our end to not have mentioned Mercedes, one of the most successful teams in the history of our sport. As Mercedes made an unexpected start to the last season (2022) but later developed great for the 2nd half, they made an unlucky start for the 2023 season. While they are experiencing some aerodynamic issues currently, we are sure they will handle it as soon as possible and return to the front of the grid as they should. We wish them the best of luck.

Aston Martin, Alonso, and an F1 Fairy Tale!

Undoubtedly, the surprise of the race and the season is Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin. Aston Martin made an AMAZING start to the season, giving the fans a fairy tale. After adding Dan Fellows, trained by Red Bull's Adrian Newey, to their lineup of engineers, the team appears to have made a strong car. The ''sly old fox'', 42-year-old Fernando Alonso, opened the season with a podium in 3rd place.

Get Well Soon & Congratulations Lance Stroll!

We continue our report with Aston Martin. The young Canadian driver of the team, Lance Stroll, had a horrific accident on his bicycle before the race. Despite having platinum plates placed in his hand with a surgical operation, Stroll was present at the race and saw the chequered flag with points. We hope that he gets well soon, and we also extend our congratulations to him. Let's see what he does with Aston Martin's strong car.

Ferrari & Frustration, AGAIN!

We talked a lot about Ferrari's unfortunate mistakes throughout last season. Unfortunately, the Red team made an unlucky start to the season again. Young Monegasque Charles Leclerc had guaranteed 2nd place throughout the race when on the 41st lap, his engine lost power, and he came to a halt. Since Leclerc is deeply frustrated, strong rumors of a team change for him are circulated on social media. We are curiously following him and wishing him the best of luck.

Red Bull Opens The Season with Big Victory!

The successful team Red Bull, having secured a constructor's championship after 9 years in 2022, opened the 2023 season with a double victory after Ferrari's young Monegasque stopped on the track and Sergio Perez snatched the 2nd place. Red Bull is cited as a favorite to take 1st and 2nd places frequently. We congratulate the team and the 2 drivers.

In summary, while raining penalties marked the race, Red Bull drivers saw the chequered flag in 1st and 2nd place. On the other hand, Aston Martin completed the podium with Fernando Alonso in 3rd place and made a surprise start to the season.

With that, we say goodbye for now, and looking forward to seeing you in Jeddah :)))