At age 41–the oldest driver on the grid and 22 years after his F1 debut–Alonso finished 3rd in his first race for Aston Martin. It was his 99th career podium.
The star that shined brightest in the Bahrain night was Fernando Alonso. As the 2023 Formula One season kicked off with a predictable Max Verstappen and Red Bull victory, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin entertained an otherwise unremarkable season-opening Grand Prix.
It was an unexpected outcome for the oldest driver on the grid and a Formula One team playing catch-up.
Since billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll brought the then Force India F1 team in 2018, he has invested heavily in Aston Martin to break into the established ‘Big 3’ teams of Formula One = Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari. However, these attempts have ended in disappointment and controversy. Points deduction and a hefty fine for copying parts of the Mercedes car were particularly low points.
One race is far too soon to confidently say that Aston Martin has finally developed a car that can challenge for regular victories against the established elite teams. However, early signs are positive. Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso, in particular, have been quick and at the top of the timesheets since Day 1 of pre-season testing.
However, it may have been a very different race for Aston Martin, as their two drivers collided going into turn four on the first lap. Luckily, and remarkably, neither Alonso nor teammate Lance Stroll suffered any car damage, and both had fantastic races. Stroll finished 6th to earn good Championship points despite racing with a broken wrist and toe following a bicycle accident a few weeks ago.
From that incident onwards, Alonso drove superbly, winning on-track battles with George Russell and later passing his old team-mate and rival Lewis Hamilton. Then Alonso overtook fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz to cop a podium position.
A sign of how much Alonso was enjoying the Grand Prix was summed up by enthusiastic team radio messages, the best being after overtaking Sainz, he delivered a cheeky, “Yes. Bye Bye” message to his team that was aimed at Sainz.
Away from Fernando Alonso’s star performance, it was a largely predictable start to the new Formula One season as Max Verstappen and Red Bull completed a 1-2 qualifying and race finish. It was Red Bull’s first 1-2 qualifying and race double since the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. That was during the team’s last period of dominance when it secured four consecutive Driver and Constructor World Championships.
It is far too early to write off the whole season as Red Bull domination; there are still a record 22 races remaining. Moreover, the Bahrain track layout and characteristics differ entirely from the characteristics of many upcoming races. However, on the back of a record-breaking 2022 season where Max Verstappen won 15 of the 22 races, Verstappen cantered to an easy victory in Bahrain, finishing 37 seconds ahead of the first non-Red Bull car in Alonso. It remains to be seen if Red Bull’s rivals can make up such a huge gap.
As for Red Bull’s main rivals, Mercedes and Ferrari, both teams still suffer from the same issues that hampered them in 2022. Mercedes lacks overall car performance, and Hamilton (5th) and George Russell (7th) performed as well as they could realistically hope for. For Ferrari, troubles continued to plague Charles Leclerc, who was forced to retire from 3rd place due to engine issues. Partner Carlos Sainz finished 4th.
But perhaps there’s hope with another team and driver. Let’s keep an eye on Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso. Next up is the Saudi Arabian GP, March 17-19.
