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Max Verstappen dominated the 2023 Bahrain GP, with the two-time reigning world champion starting the year with a win. The mood in other camps was probably more downbeat looking at how the Red Bull just streaked away from everybody else while others were left to fend for themselves.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc suffered a DNF in the very first race of the season. There was a Fernando Alonso podium, and a Mercedes duo off the podium. In all fairness, the team from Austria put a beating on the entire grid at the 2023 season opener.
As the teams move on from Bahrain, who will be in a more pleasant mood as we move to Jeddah, and who will have a bitter taste in their mouth? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Bahrain GP (Winners and Losers)
Winner
Max Verstappen and Red Bull
In what now appears to be a false dawn, neither Red Bull nor Verstappen showed this kind of pace or domination at any moment in the Bahrain GP race weekend.
Friday was all about Aston Martin, as Alonso stole the limelight. Saturday was very close as well as Verstappen effectively beat Leclerc to pole position by only a tenth of a second.
The race was an entirely different script, though. There was just no competition, as once Versappen hit the front, he had at least half a second in his bag. It was utter dominance and truly a throwback to the Mercedes dominance era.
Loser
Red Bull's competition
Ferrari were clearly the second-best car in Bahrain but suffered a DNF for its lead driver. Having said that, even the Italian team was roughly half a second or more behind Red Bull.
Mercedes, meanwhile, were rather shambolic throughout the 2023 Bahrain GP. The team looks beaten at the moment as it falls to fourth in the championship pecking order. The car is arguably even slower than Aston Martin at the moment, as the Zero Sidepod concept seems to be one of the major flops recently.
Winner
Aston Martin
A podium might not have been possible for Fernando Alonso had Charles Leclerc not suffered a DNF, but it's tough to deny the inherent speed Aston Martin have at the moment. The team have done what Alpine and McLaren had aspired to do this season, which was to leave the midfield and join the front group.
Alonso also deserves credit for the decision he made last season. The Spaniard made the right choice, and if he wins a race or two this season, it won't be a surprise to many.
Loser
McLaren/Alpine
McLaren hit rock bottom at the 2023 Bahrain GP, as it did appear that the race was nothing more than a testing session for the team.
The only team other than the top three to score a podium last season, currently have the worst car on the grid. No wonder Andreas Seidl saw that the project was going nowhere and decided to move. A forgettable start to the season for the team.
Alpine, meanwhile, more or less find themsevels in midfield, but it's clear as day that the team's peak in 2023 could be P5 in the championship. Much has been made about the team's growth story, but by the looks of it, the team's ceiling is leading the midfield on its best days.
Winner
Alfa Romeo/Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo Sauber follow a somewhat similar trajectory to what they did in 2022. The car is strong; they have a good driver in Valtteri Bottas who gets results, and at the 2023 Bahrain GP, they had the best race pace in midfield.
Whether this advantage carries over to other tracks is a question mark, but it's safe to say that the team will gladly take these points home.
Loser
The new regulations
Red Bull are dominant at the front, and then, three teams are somewhat similarly paced, followed by a gap and then the rest of the midfield.
The inception of the new rules was to close the gap in the field. In essence, that has happened. The midfield has come closer to the frontrunners, and the entire midfield is jumbled for good measure.
Having said that, when you hand the best driver on the grid the best car, he's going to win in dominant fashion just like Verstappen did at the 2023 Bahrain GP. The next few races are going to be crucial as Stefano Domenicali will hope against hope that there's no repeat of the Bahrain GP this season. That's highly unlikely though.
