Post by Preston Poole | @PrestonPoole405 on Twitter
Testing is over with, and we’re ready to roll in Bahrain this weekend!
Coming into the ‘23 season Red Bull are looking to defend their title sweep from last season, and are in good shape to do so.
Here are some storylines from each team to pay attention to this season in Formula 1.
RED BULL
- Will the RB19 be as quick as last year’s RB18, which ran through the F1 calendar with ease?
- Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez(Checo)? Where does that relationship sit after a weird ending to the ‘22 season?
Red Bull are the team to beat this year without a doubt. Max Verstappen should secure his third straight Driver’s Championship.
FERRARI
- Mattia Binotto is out as Team Principal, in steps Fred Vasseur. Can the Frenchman take hold of an iconic Italian racing team, and fix the race strategy that plagued Ferrari last year?
- Charles Leclerc is the clear number one at Ferrari. How does that affect Carlos Sainz, who didn’t have a terrible year last year and looks to add to that in ‘23.
Ferrari battled to the end last year to try and get their hands on the Constructor’s Championship. They came up short to Red Bull, but under new leadership can Ferrari get it done this year?
MERCEDES
- After a winless season last year, can 38 year old Lewis Hamilton recapture the magic he had from 2013-2020 and win a record 8th Driver’s Championship?
- The W13 was just a bad car which only secured one win last year, as George Russell picked up his first career win in Brazil. Will the Black W14 live up to the hype?
Mercedes had a down year last year compared to their last decade of dominance. Lewis Hamilton might be showing his age, and George Russell came into his own towards the end of the ‘22 season. Overall if the W14 can compete with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari, Mercedes should be in contention for both titles.
ALPINE
- How do Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly work as a team?
- Do they have the car to win best of the rest?
Alpine had lots of drama when it came to driver lineup for this season. At one point it looked like Rookie Oscar Piastri would be driving alongside Ocon, until he wasn’t. French driver Pierre Gasly got out of his contract with Alpha Tauri, and was a no brainer for the French racing team, who now has two Frenchmen driving for them. It’s a decent lineup for Alpine, but they’ll have to fight off the rest of the grid for that fourth spot in the constructors title race.
MCLAREN
- Daniel Ricardo is out, and in steps highly touted rookie Oscar Piastri. Does he have what it takes to challenge Lando Norris?
- Can McLaren get back on the right track with their car this season?
McLaren is notably one of the hardest cars to drive on the grid, and after testing last week in Bahrain it’s shaping up to be a tough year for the once great team.
ASTON MARTIN
- Big news out of testing is that Lance Stroll got injured in a cycling accident. While it’s said to be a minor injury, how long will it keep him sidelined?
- 2 time champ Fernando Alonso joined Aston Martin this season after Seb Vettel retired at the end of the ‘22 season. Can the former champ find it again with a new team?
There will always be questions about who the number one driver should be for this Aston Martin team. While Alonso no doubt is the better driver, the owner of the team just so happens to be the father of driver Lance Stroll. It will be very interesting to see things play out between the two drivers this year and going forward.
ALPHA ROMEO
- No doubt Valterri Bottas won the off season with his mullet and mustache, but can he win on the track this year, and get back to his Mercedes form from just two years ago?
- Zhou Guanyu is a talented young driver. Can he put it all together this year and get Alpha squarely into the best of the rest conversation?
Alpha Romeo has the best looking car on the grid this season. Can the Italian racing team get the best out of their cars and driver this season? It will be fun to watch these guys duke it out on the track.
ALPHA TAURI
- Can Yuki Tsunoda figure things out this year?
- Nyck De Vries finally has a seat in F1, can he out preform Tsunoda and become Alpha’s top dog?
Pierre Gasly is out and in steps the oldest rookie on the grid in De Vries. ’23 is a big year for Yuki. He needs to show he’s capable of being the lead driver at Alpha Tauri. De Vries will challenge him, having scored points in his only race last year.
WILLIAMS
- No doubt this is one of the worst teams on the grid. Can Williams build a car good enough to fight for points every race weekend?
- American Logan Sargent grabs the seat formally occupied by Nicholas Lattifi. Shouldn’t take much for the American to top anything Lattifi ever did in an F1 car.
This is one of the team you feel sorry for on the grid. Williams have a great racing and championship history, but haven’t been able to get anywhere close to that recently. It will be a fight between them and Haas for last place.
HAAS
- Can the only American team on the grid put things together this year? They had a competitive car at points last season.
- How much longer will owner Gene Haas funnel money into a bottom tier race team?
No doubt Haas is one of the most interesting teams on the grid, having Guenter Steiner as your Team Principal helps for sure. Haas have an experienced driver lineup with Kevin Magnussen and Niko Hulkenberg. In the end money is the downfall for Haas, which will have them at the bottom of the grid.
Going to be a fun year on the Formula One Circuit. Follow along here on thesportsanimal.com, we’ll have race previews and recaps for every race this year.
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