The Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit kicks off a new season of the Formula 1 World Championship this Friday. The first qualifying practice sessions of the year, which will have a second session on this Saturday, will mark the grid of the race Sunday.
All eyes in the paddock are on Max Verstappen, last season’s champion with Oracle Red Bull Racing. He won 15 of the 18 Grands Prix.
The RB19 promises new victories for this year after the first times added in the preseason. Before this appointment in the media there were some doubts about the fitness of the Dutch pilot, but the debate ended in a dead end.
“It’s hard to know. Verstappen is the favourite, without a doubt, but we can’t know to what extent. Red Bull knew how to interpret last year’s regulation change like no one else and now it has the best car-driver combination,” says Albert Fàbrega, chief of mechanics of the extinct HRT and today a commentator on DAZN.
On the other hand, Ferrari, which has Carlos Sainz, has not yet found its best form. Just like Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team. Many are those who bet that the big surprise of the campaign will be the Aston Martin team with Fernando Alonso.
Among the reasons that invite optimism, it is enough to listen to some of its adversaries. “According to our calculations, right now Aston Martin is at least fourth and could even pose a threat to Mercedes and Ferrari,” a rival engineer explained to the prestigious Auto Motor und Sport magazine.
This verdict adds to the praise received by Christian Horner himself, Red Bull’s main team. “It seems that his concept of car has made them advance and it seems that they are not too far away,” admitted the Briton, also highlighting the role of Alonso: “Fernando, in particular, seems very competitive.”
Alonso with Aston Martin also plays at home. About twenty Spanish engineers work in the team with whom, for many, was his youth idol. “He is very close. He has a reputation for being demanding, for pushing to the maximum,” says Iván Fernández, responsible for improving the team’s single-seater simulator.
The Formula 1 broadcast rights for the 2023 season in Spain are held exclusively by the DAZN and Movistar channel.
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