Max Verstappen, champion of the last two seasons of Formula 1. (AFP)
The dominator of the Formula 1 tracks last year and double world champion, Max Verstappen (Red Bull), will put his crown on the line this weekend in Bahrain, the scene of the first Grand Prix of 2023.
Source: AFP
This start of the course will serve to clarify some of the questions about the new 2023 season, regarding whether there will be signs of a more contested championship at the top of the table, if Mercedes and Ferrari they can catch up with Red Bull after its total dominance in 2022, and if lewis hamilton He is in a position to fight for the scepter again.
the monegasque charles leclerc (Ferrari), runner-up in the world last season and one of the contenders for the title, confesses that the RB19a new Red Bull car, “seems very good”.
Not in vain, the indications left in the pre-season tests also held in Bahrain last week, put Red Bull back at the front of the grid, a good omen for the current champion of the constructors’ title.
Verstappen, for his first celebration in Bahrain
Last season, Red Bull, Verstappen and his Mexican teammate Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez pretty much swept everything on the track in 22 Grands Prix.
Normally surpassed in Saturday qualifying by Ferrari, which returned to a good level in 2022, on Sundays in the race the Austrian team showed all the power of its single-seaters, taking 17 of 22 races in 2022, of which 15 were for Verstappen, a record.
In the hours before this first race of the 23 World Cup, Verstappen’s rivals, in Formula 1 since 2015, know that the Dutchman has never won the first Grand Prix of a season, nor has he managed to win in Bahrain.
Also read: Stroll will participate in the Bahrain GP after overcoming injury
In 2022, the Dutchman had to retire when he was second in Sakhir behind Leclerc in the last few laps of the Grand Prix, the same fate for his teammate Pérez, who had to retire on the last lap.
A career script that sure Ferrari He wants it to be repeated, with the Scuderia being the best positioned on the grid to contest the World Cup against Red Bull.
Often the victim of his own strategy mistakes and reliability issues last season, coupled with occasional errors in leclerc and the Spanish Carlos SainzFerrari could not be a long-term match against the power of the Austrian team.
Hamilton seeks to win again
Mercedesthe third team in 2022 after going through difficulties adapting to the new regulations, hopes to start the course on a better foot and return to the front lines of the grid.
In Bahrain, its star pilot lewis hamilton he wants to be able to rediscover victory, in a drought since 2021. Last year, the 38-year-old pilot lived his first blank season since 2007. The statistics play in their favor in the Gulf circuit, since He is the driver who has won the most times in Bahrain since the first Grand Prix organized in 2004.
Hamilton will be escorted by the also British George Russellwho despite the bad year for the team, achieved eight podiums and one victory in 2022.
In Aston Martinthe canadian Lance Strollwho injured his wrist in a bicycle accident in February, will finally be ready to take part in this first event of the year.
His teammate this season will be Spanish Fernando Alonso, newcomer to the British team after two seasons at Alpine. The two-time world champion has left good feelings during the pre-season tests.
Extra-sports, as every year since the 2011 Shiite revolution in Bahrain, several NGOs and European parliamentarians have raised their voices against human rights violations in the kingdom, and about the situation of political prisoners.
