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The first day of running in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP weekend is done and dusted. We have...'surprise, surprise'.. Fernando Alonso leading the timesheets with the two Red Bull drivers trying to chase him down.
The entire pecking order seems a bit jumbled with Ferrari and Mercedes opting to turn down their PUs for their second soft tire run. Also, a swarm of midfield teams took over on the timesheets.
Having said that, the run for Friday is now done and dusted. What's next is the FP3 session on Saturday, followed by the first qualifying session for the season. So what can we expect in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP qualifying? Let's take a look as we share our predictions for the session.
#1 Williams and AlphaTauri drivers don't escape Q1
One of the clearer pictures from the first day of running was where the Williams and AlphaTauri drivers found themselves on the timesheets. By the looks of it, neither team has made the kind of progress that warrants a team to be super confident about its chances in the midfield.
Both the teams have good drivers and it's already obvious that both the rookies (Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant) have gotten used to the car already. They are up to the pace but the car is just not up to the mark and the teams are going to struggle massively because of that. Neither driver jumps the Q1 barrier unfortunately as the cars are just not up to the mark.
#2 Nico Hulkenberg makes Q3
This might be a bit of a bold prediction but we're just enamored by that stunning lap Hulkenberg did in his soft tire run. The German has already gotten used to the car.
Haas appears to be decently competitive as well and most importantly, Nico has started to shade Kevin Magnussen already. We're backing Nico Hulkenberg to the hilt here as we predict a Q3 appearance for the German in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP qualifying.
#3 One of the Mercedes is getting out-qualified by a midfield driver
Mercedes is in a spot of bother by the looks of it. Be it the medium or the soft tire, the lap times are just not there.
Heading into the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, Mercedes was expected to be a part of the chasing pack. While that chasing pack was supposed to include teams like Ferrari, it does appear that the German team is in a worse predicament.
There is a serious threat from Alpine behind it in qualifying, while Aston Martin is just miles ahead of whatever either of the Mercedes drivers can put together.
For the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, expect at least one of the two Mercedes drivers to be out-qualified by a midfield driver. It's not a piece of good news for the German team but it certainly is a wake-up call.
#4 Aston Martin will NOT be on the front row of the grid
Yes, the hype is real. Yes, Aston Martin is a strong car. And yes, Fernando Alonso is a podium candidate for the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP.
It's safe to say that the lap time from Alonso was exquisite to watch. However, Red Bull has not shown its cards entirely. Max Verstappen is still not entirely comfortable with the car and it shows in his lap times. You can expect the team to make changes overnight to make Verstappen more comfortable.
On the other hand, Ferrari ran in an underpowered PU mode in FP2 and it became evident when neither driver made significant improvements to their first soft tire runs.
There's more to come from Ferrari over a single lap, especially with someone like Charles Leclerc in the wings. Aston Martin will feature in the top 5 (at least one of the drivers), it's hard to contest that. However, a front row? We're still going to hold our horses on that one.
#5 Max Verstappen secures pole position for the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP
Well, if not Fernando Alonso, it has to be Max Verstappen on pole position, right? That's what we've gone with as well. We can't discount the fact that Red Bull is a well-oiled machine. There's still performance on the table that Verstappen has been unable to extract from the car.
On Friday night of the F1 Bahrain GP, we can expect the astute Red Bull engineers to burn the midnight oil to find a more favorable setup for the reigning F1 champion. We can also expect a Charles Leclerc vs Max Verstappen battle for pole position on Saturday with the reigning champion coming out on top.
