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The 2023 F1 season is right on the doorstep and the Bahrain GP will kickstart an interesting 23-race season. We've had the three days of testing, we've had plenty of F1 pundits make their predictions on what the pecking order is going to be, and we've had fans give their take as well.
The time for talking is now over as the cars start peeling off the layers of performance one by one. Before we do that, it's always fun to just sit back and make some off-the-cuff predictions (and see how many of them fall apart as the weekend unravels). So, without further ado, let's jump straight to it as we share our top 5 bold predictions for the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP.
#5 Midfield will be all over the place
While the frontrunners have still got an established order, what happens in the midfield is anybody's guess. The performance gap between the teams is just too small and as a result, it will come down to the drivers to pull something out of the hat.
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While there may still be some set pattern at the front of the field, it's hard to be confident with a set pattern in the midfield. From the fifth team onwards to the 10th fastest team, you could possibly see driver points.
After the test, it did appear that Williams was the slowest car, but can we rule out Alex Albon scoring points at the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP? Probably not.
#4 Mclaren will have a disastrous weekend
When you have an underdeveloped car in a team that looks deflated by the situation in a midfield that has improved, you're looking at a disastrous race weekend. McLaren appears to have outdone itself in terms of having a bad pre-season.
McLaren had a poor one the last time around in 2022. The team's Bahrain GP showing last season was forgettable, to say the least. This time around, the team once again finds itself in a similar situation.
Can McLaren bounce back and produce a decent result? It looks tough if we compare the Woking-based team with other teams in the midfield. In all likelihood, McLaren are looking at a point-less finish in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP.
#3 The fight at the front will be close
Much has been made of the impending doom of a Red Bull/Max Verstappen domination based on pre-season tests. It's safe to say that Red Bull are in a strong position after the pre-season test. How strong? It's hard to say because while Red Bull were running the Bahrain spec rear wing, Mercedes were running the high downforce rear and Ferrari were running a low downforce rear wing.
Both potential Red Bull competitors still have a lot to learn and it's hard to pinpoint how much, if any, improvement is in store for the team. At the same time, there are question marks over Red Bull as well heading into the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP.
Lest we forget, the team suffered a surprise DNF in their first race last season. All in all, it's premature to jump to conclusions as the teams have still not unveiled their cards yet.
#2 Fernando Alonso will be on the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP podium
During pre-season, if anybody had claimed that we will see Fernando Alonso on the podium at the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, they would have been laughed off. Yet, here we are, on the eve of the first race of the season in anticipation of something brilliant from the wily veteran.
Having said that, one of the major reasons why an Alonso podium shouldn't be a surprise is not only the brilliance of Aston Martin but also the struggles of Ferrari and Mercedes. Other than Red Bull, if there was one team that impressed the most, then it was Aston Martin. The race simulation was so impressive that many F1 Pundits are placing Aston Martin ahead of even Mercedes.
For the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, we're backing a Fernando Alonso podium not only because the car is good but also because in Alonso, the team has the hungriest driver on the grid. Alonso has got his hands on a competitive car for the first time in a decade and he's not going to let go of this opportunity.
#1 Max Verstappen wins the race
Yes, we've predicted a close race for the win, we're not backtracking on that claim. Having said that, what the last two F1 seasons have taught us is that the beauty of Red Bull is not the fact that it has the fastest car on the grid. It is the fact that the Max Verstappen-Red Bull combo is the most efficient on the entire grid.
The team has the best driver in a competitive car with a team that excels in perfect race execution. Even if the Dutch driver has a competitive car and holds a tenth or two of an advantage, he doesn't slip up.
Unless we see a reliability issue or something freaky, Max Verstappen is winning the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP.
