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The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP is knocking on the door as the season kicks back into life after an enforced four-week break.
The first three races of the season have not really set the world on fire. Red Bull is fast and arguably too fast for anyone hoping to be a part of the championship fight. Three races and three wins, all in dominant fashion, means Max Verstappen is in a prime position to win his third world title.
Having said that, F1 can be a very unpredictable sport and we can see things change very quickly. Keeping that in mind, it felt like the right time to make some good old predictions. More often than not, we make bold predictions that tend to be termed 'outrageous' most of the time. This time around, we're treating our predictions segment differently. This time, we're not going for bold predictions but outrageous ones.
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In this feature, we share five outrageous predictions (that would more or less end up being wrong). Having said that, if these predictions prove to be right, we're in for a stunning season.
So without ado, let's jump straight to it as we share our 'outrageous predictions' (wishful meanderings?) for the remainder of the 2023 F1 season.
#1 Aston Martin and Ferrari close the gap to Red Bull for a three-way F1 title battle
With Mercedes expected to converge its car towards Red Bull's concept, it would be hard to see the German team close the gap to the front.
Having said that, both Ferrari and Aston Martin have a bigger chunk of development time available. With Red Bull struggling to develop the car during the season, both Ferrari and Aston Martin will continue to close the gap to the front.
Eventually, by the time we hit Silverstone, the performances will level out and what we'll see is a championship battle between Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Fernando Alonso.
Again, this might be wishful thinking but with both Ferrari and Aston Martin having such major chunks of development time available over Red Bull, this could certainly happen.
#2 Lewis Hamilton switches teams and moves to Ferrari
With Mercedes falling by the wayside as the fourth-fastest team on the grid, Lewis Hamilton becomes disillusioned within the team. With not only an underperforming machinery but also an upstart charger in George Russell, Hamilton decides to try a different challenge in his career.
After almost a decade-long partnership with Mercedes, Hamilton decides to switch teams and chase legacy. The seven-time world champion decides to chase immortality in the sport by trying to win a world title with Ferrari.
By the end of the season, Hamilton, as a Ferrari driver for 2024 becomes official as the legend chases a completely different challenge.
#3 Alpine wins a race this season
The shrinking field will play a major role this season in making driver performances one of the major factors.
The race in Melbourne proved that Alpine could hang in the front-running group. With a set of major upgrades coming in and the French team's track record of having an impressive developmental strategy, we're looking at Alpine closing the gap to the front.
When that happens, we're looking at either Esteban Ocon or Pierre Gasly knocking on the doors of the occasional podium for the team.
To add to this, keep an eye on a freak red flag, safety car, or a late race crash/collision resulting in a repeat of either the 2020 F1 Italian GP (Gasly's first win) or the 2021 F1 Hungarian GP (Ocon's first win). The French team is going to pick up its second win in this new avatar!
#4 Nico Hulkenberg scores his first F1 podium
Nico Hulkenberg and F1 podiums have a love-hate relationship in the sense that the German loves them but the podiums hate him.
He was only a few mini sectors away from securing his first career podium in Australia. If the red flag had been called out after Verstappen had crossed the first sector, then Hulkenberg would have scored his first podium (he was P4, and Sainz in P3 was destined to have a penalty).
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Having said that, in a season where red flags, safety cars, and a bunched-up field are starting to become the norm, we might be looking at a race where the Haas driver can snatch his first-ever podium.
Could he get it done? Well, the German almost won a race in Force India once, so a podium could surely be on the cards.
#5 Audi/Sauber announces Daniel Ricciardo as one of the two drivers in 2024
Daniel Ricciardo reminded everyone how charming he could be in an F1 paddock when he made his way to the 2023 Australian GP. Having said that, there are still a lot of things that would need to fall in line if the Australian hopes to return to F1.
He needs to find suitors and more importantly, he needs to find suitors from teams that are potential frontrunners. One team that could potentially fit his bill is the Audi/Sauber coalition. Whilst there have been modest targets set by the German manufacturer for its debut in 2026, the wheels are already in motion. Seidl is working in the background and putting things in place for the impending debut in 2026.
One of the things the brand could need when it debuts is a big and marketable name. While Guanyu Zhou is a name that would work in China, the rest of the world is clearly not identifying with him or his driving prowess.
Bottas, on the other hand, has been uncharacteristically disappointing at Alfa Romeo and is not as big a name as Ricciardo.
If the Australian is willing to play a long game then a slot in the Switzerland-based team is there for the taking. With no other attractive option available, we might be looking at Ricciardo finding a home with Audi/Sauber in hopes of building his name after a disappointing McLaren stint.
