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The first free practice session of the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP ended with Sergio Perez leading the timesheets.
Red Bull hit the ground running as soon as the session started, with Perez right at the top of the standings on a medium tyre run. Later in the session, the Mexican went one better, as he did the same on soft tyres. The Red Bull driver was followed by Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin with a lap that was almost four tenths off the best time of the session.
Alonso was followed by Max Verstappen who was six tenths of a second behind his teammate. The top five were completed by Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, who did his run on medium tyres. So, after the first hour of running, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Bahrain GP FP1: Key Takeaways
Here are the key takeaways:
#1 Red Bull look ominous, Max Verstappen yet to find his feet in new car
It's safe to say that the gap between Red Bull and the rest is more than just a couple of tenths of a second. The car looks the best on the grid, and it does appear that competitors are still figuring things out to stop the Austrian team's juggernaut.
Talking about the drivers, Sergio Perez not only seems motivated but also looks the most comfortable of the two drivers.
It does appear that Max Verstappen is still getting used to the new car and has not found the sweet spot yet. Interesting times in the team as Perez seems to be in better form early on.
#2 Aston Martin impress on lower fuel
A P2 finish in the session from Alonso was impressive in every which way. There is, however, a caveat that needs to be kept in mind.
The Spaniard was running the car around 9 kg lighter in fuel compared to Red Bull. If we take that into consideration, the four tenths of a second gap to Red Bull will increase.
Aston Martin and Alonso might not be snapping at the heels of Red Bull just yet, but it's safe to say that the car is surely an upgrade on what they had last season.
#3 Mercedes and Ferrari have work to do
Neither Ferrari nor Mercedes tried a run on soft tyres, as both teams were pre-occupied testing different components and setups.
In terms of pace, the two cars should not ideally find themselves in the clutches of midfield, but they're surely not on the same level as Red Bull yet.
In terms of performance, Charles Leclerc might be the driver to catapult Ferrari to the front tworows. However, there are still far too many questions that need to be answered by Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of performance.
#4 McLaren might not be in as bad a position as feared
Almost every F1 pundit (including us) had eulogised McLaren ahead of the Bahrain GP for a solid reason. The car looked horrible heading into the Bahrain GP race weekend, and not many thought there was much the team could do with it.
In the pecking order, we had McLaren as the eighth fastest car, only ahead of AlphaTauri and McLaren. By the looks of it, there's more performance available in that car, though.
Lando Norris ended the session with an impressive P4 time on soft tyres. It was almost a second down on Alonso'sbut quicker than quite a few other midfield teams. There's still hope for McLaren this season, and we could see them reach some semblance of respectability at the 2023 Bahrain GP.
#5 Midfield order is anybody's guess ahead of 2023 Bahrain GP
It's safe to say that the midfield order is anybody's guess right now. Alpine have been too shy when it comes to showing their cards.
The team did not attempt a run on soft tyres with either driver. Haas look all over the place with almost a half a second gap between Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, while Alfa Romeo appear to have some teething issues.
The second free practice should make things a bit clearer, but for now, it's anybody's guess how the midfield would shape itself for the 2023 Bahrain GP.
