JAKARTA - The Formula One (F1) race for the 2023 season begins. The inaugural F1 series will be held in Bahrain, March 3-5.
F1 The Bahrain Grand Prix will mark the start of Max Verstappen's struggle in carrying out his title defense mission. The Red Bull Racing rider also pursued a third straight title after winning the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Three months after his 2022 F1 closing win in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen returned to the Gulf. This race will be a challenge for the 25-year-old from the Netherlands as he has never won the season opener in Bahrain.
Last year, he suffered engine failure while in second place towards the end of the race. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who started from pole position, won the fastest lap points and a convincing victory in Sakhir.
Ferrari came strong at the start of last season, before Red Bull caught up with his points and became world champion.
Of course Red Bull want to appear without a hitch in the season opener race in Bahrain after they complete their three-day pre-season test there as the fastest overall.
Feeling satisfied with the test results, and with high determination, Verstappen did not want to boast ahead of the first race.
"I came home late after the test and was happy to lead such a race and we headed for this weekend in a good position," Verstappen said as quoted by Antara via AFP, Thursday, March 2.
"Many have to be interpreted in reading the data from the test, but each track is very different in terms of how the car acts."
"So I think we, as a team, now have to focus on improvement and continue it until this year. We have had three positive days, but the most decisive thing is how it will be during the race," he continued.
Verstappen's record in Bahrain includes two second finishes, in 2020 and 2021, and three failed to finish. He will seek pardon on Sunday when Ferrari, again, is likely to become Red Bull's closest rival.
Leclerc presented a 1-2 win with Carlos Sainz for Ferrari and both drivers want to repeat the feat under the leadership of new boss Fred Vasseur, former head of the Alfa Romeo team, tasked with replacing Mattia Binotto.
Meanwhile, Mercedes is said to still have the potential of W14 when appearing mediocre during the pre-season test in Bahrain.
Although the problem of porpoising has been resolved in this year's Mercedes.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and team-mate George Russell admitted the Silver Arrow team faced a steep path to getting their car back to the top. "We are taking a test that is not very smooth," said team boss Toto Wolff.
"We had a problem with reliability and were overwhelmed by the setup on the second day, but we learned a lot and made progress on the last day. Our expectation is that we will have to catch those in front," he continued.
Of the many teams that experienced progress in the Bahrain test, Aston Martin made significant progress after Fernando Alonso, who replaced Sebastian Vettel, showed the potential for AMR23 speed.
However, the two-time world champion revealed that the opportunity to develop Aston Martin's car was less than optimal due to the absence of Lance Stroll, who suffered an injury during cycling exercises.
Therefore, Alonso, who had to share tasks with reserve racer Felipe Drugovich, who is the 2022 F2 world champion, could not get feedback from Stroll in terms of comparing car performance this year to its predecessor.
Meanwhile, Australian Oscar Piastri will debut with McLaren and become one of the rookies this year, alongside US Logan chanceant of the Williams team.
Dutch racer Nyck de Vries will fully race for AlphaTauri, after appearing once as a replacement for Alex Albon from Williams' team last season.
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