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The 2023 F1 Spanish GP is a return to a more conventional/traditional track on the calendar.
The race in Barcelona is going to feature an amazing atmosphere this time around, especially since the country's favorite will be racing in competitive machinery after almost a decade.
Fernando Alonso will be racing with Aston Martin at the 2023 F1 Spanish GP. Since 2013 when the Spaniard had a competitive car in Ferrari, this will be the first time Alonso will have the opportunity to give his fans something to cheer about.
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The race in Barcelona comes after a very interesting and fun weekend in Monaco. The qualifying was absolutely stunning and the race too delivered interesting action.
What can we then expect from the 2023 F1 Spanish GP? Well, to read the preview for the race weekend, click here. You can also take a look at the drivers and the teams that are desperate for a strong result this weekend.
This feature however is not about that stuff. It's more about having some fun where we share our predictions for the 2023 F1 Spanish GP.
So without further ado, let's get straight to it.
#1 Max Verstappen wins the 2023 F1 Spanish GP
What we have seen in the first six races is the fact that Red Bull enjoys a significant advantage over the rest of the grid. That kind of advantage is hard to lose, especially for a team as ruthlessly determined as Red Bull. While in Monaco, picking against Red Bull was still cogent, one cannot do that here.
The car is just too good, the track (especially the new layout) offers opportunities to pull off overtakes and as a result, it gives the team enough of a margin for error to win the race.
Now, if we have to pick between the two Red Bull drivers, it's hard to look beyond Max Verstappen at the moment. The driver is just on a different level to his competition and it's hard to see anyone getting the better of him.
#2 Expect a competitive weekend from Alpine
Many feel that Alpine's podium in Monaco was a bit of a flash in the pan. The French team has not proven itself to be as competitive as the top four before the race in Monaco.
However, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that Alpine had quite a few giant-killing qualifying performances even before Monaco.
Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have out-qualified the Ferraris, the Mercedes, and the Aston Martins even before Monaco. Their main concern has been the race pace and because of that one can't pick the Alpine drivers to be podium contenders for the Spanish GP.
However, can they beat a Ferrari, an Aston Martin, or a Mercedes driver this weekend? Sure, they can. And that's exactly what we're predicting for the French squad.
#3 Ferrari could struggle with tire wear, no glory at home for Alonso
The 2023 F1 Spanish GP track layout can put a lot of stress on the tires as we have seen over the years. To make things arguably even more demanding will be moving to the old track layout this season.
For teams that have struggled with tire wear, this is going to be an issue because thermal degradation is one of the major concerns in Barcelona.
For the 2023 F1 Spanish GP, Ferrari might be in trouble because while the car does have an impressive one-lap pace, the race pace can be a bit problematic.
Similarly for Aston Martin, while Alonso can continue to push boundaries when it comes to performing in F1, beating Red Bull would be even harder in Barcelona because of the car's better tire management.
The 2023 F1 Spanish GP race weekend could feature Ferrari struggling with tire wear while Fernando Alonso winning a race might be a step too far.
#4 No major jump for Mercedes, a bad weekend for McLaren
The new Mercedes upgrade package had everyone intrigued and many fans and pundits included are curious to see what the car could do on a more conventional track.
Unfortunately, the expectations might need to be tempered a bit. The new upgrade package should help the car but expecting an overnight change in fortunes might be a step too far.
On the other side of the paddock, even McLaren is supposed to bring new bits to the car at the 2023 F1 Spanish GP. While these bits aren't going to be revolutionary, they should help the car in general.
Having said that, expecting the car to become better overnight is certainly not going to happen and a track like Barcelona might not prove to be the best showcase for McLaren.
#5 The overall racing should be better
There have been far too many complaints when it comes to the overall racing element of the 2023 F1 season. There's no denying that racing has truly suffered because of the progression that the cars have made over the last season.
The layout change for the 2023 F1 Spanish GP should help the racing element this weekend plus to add to it, the stress on tires could bring a two-stop race into the picture,
This level of variability is certainly going to help the overall racing this weekend, something that appears to be a major complaint this season.
