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The second day of the 2023 F1 pre-season testing ended with Alfa Romeo at the top of the standings and a clearer picture of what to expect this season. With teams learning more about their challengers, they're starting to push the boundaries with their cars. We saw quite a few teams like Ferrari, Red Bull, and Alpine doing race simulations today as the limited testing time draws to a close already.
There were a few teams that impressed while others that ran into trouble with just one day of testing left before the start of the F1 season next week. As the clock wound down, we had Guanyu Zhou's glory run at the top of the timesheets followed by a Red Bull in second.
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So what did we learn as the second day of the F1 pre-season drew to a close? Let's take a look.
#1 Red Bull and Ferrari lead the pack
After the first two days of running, it's becoming more and more clear that we could be looking at Ferrari and Red Bull fighting it out at the front of the pack. There are indications that Red Bull might hold the edge at the moment but Ferrari appear to have a fighting chance at the moment.
After a 157-lap stint with Max Verstappen on the first day, the duties were split on the second day as Red Bull tried what appeared to be a race simulation run in the second half of the day. Charles Leclerc did the same for Ferrari as well and it does appear that the two teams were very close in the long runs.
All in all, we might be looking at another Verstappen vs Leclerc battle in the first few races of the F1 season.
#2 Mercedes is in trouble
Mercedes were a bit coy during their 2023 car launch event. The team has used the word "eventually" far too many times in the pre-season. The team claims it will contend for the title "eventually."
George Russell claimed that the team will challenge for wins "eventually". What this "eventually" more or less means is that the car is not where near the level Mercedes wants it to be. This became evident early in the day when Lewis Hamilton did what appeared to be a push lap with the C3 tires.
The lap was patchy, the car lacked balance and most importantly, it was slow. To make things worse, the hydraulics issue ended the day early for the German team. If we had an F1 race tomorrow, it would take a brave man to put his money on Mercedes to win.
#3 So is McLaren
That long-term contract signed by Lando Norris is starting to look more and more like a mistake. McLaren admitted during their car launch that the team was not where it wanted to be. It's safe to say that nobody expected the team to be this far off and that the team is struggling big time.
The team can forget about closing the gap to the front as for now, there is a bigger concern over where the car will find itself in the midfield. The car looks like a handful with both drivers behind the wheel, but it's the lack of preparedness that seems shocking.
Unless we see a drastic change on the third day, McLaren might end up playing catch-up once again with the rest of the field.
#4 Alonso might have hit the jackpot with Aston Martin
The smile on Fernando Alonso's face will get wider as Aston Martin continues to peel one layer of performance after the other. Unless the team has everyone fooled and is only doing glory runs, Aston Martin has laid a fantastic foundation for the season.
At worst, the Silverstone-based team is leading the midfield (unless Alpine springs a surprise), and at best, the team might have the third-best car on the grid. Either way, the team looks well-placed to make a big leap this season.
#5 How does the F1 pecking order look?
Finally, if we take a look at the F1 pecking order, things are not entirely clear and it's hard to give a definitive answer as to where each team finds itself. Having said that, there are still some rough estimates that can be made here based on how these cars have looked during the F1 pre-season testing.
The cars can right now be divided into three groups. The first is the lead group consisting of Red Bull and Ferrari. It's hard to pick which of the two teams are ahead. The second group has Mercedes and Aston Martin. Mercedes should find themselves ahead but the optimism surrounding Aston Martin leaves the door open for an upset.
Then we have the entire midfield bunch that starts with Alpine and encapsulates the rest of the field. Haas looks good and so does Alfa Romeo. Williams appears to have taken a step forward, but it's hard to say how definitive it's going to be. Then we AlphaTauri, a car Yuki Tsunoda wasn't truly happy with yesterday so it's hard to put a finger on how good it is. Finally, we have McLaren and Alpine.
McLaren is in trouble but it's hard to ascertain to what extent. Alpine, on the other hand, looked much better today than yesterday but is yet to show its hand. The third group is arguably going to be the most unpredictable this season as the gap between these cars is not going to be massive at the start of the F1 season.
