After a long 3 months Formula 1 is back! Welcome to the first Grand Prix of the 2023 season in Bahrain.
This is the first time we get to see the new cars on track to race along with seeing how the rookies perform for the first time under the pressure of an F1 race.
I'll be updating this post over the weekend when new results/news come up!
JUMP TO:
Bahrain Schedule (GMT)
Friday 3rd March 2023:
Free Practice 1: 11:30 - 12:30
Free Practice 2: 15:00 - 16:00
Saturday 4th March 2023:
Free Practice 3: 11:30 - 12:30
Qualifying: 15:00 - 16:00
Sunday 5th March 2023:
The Race: 15:00
About The Track
The Bahrain International Circuit was built in 2002 with the first Grand Prix being held in 2004.
The circuit has three DRS zones with a speed trap just before Turn 1.
The race will have 57 laps of the 5.412km circuit.
The lap record was set by Pedro de la Rosa at 1:31.447 in 2005.
Free Practice Updates
Free Practice 1 -
Times By Teams:
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P9. 1:34.689. Completed 20 laps.
Zhou Guanyu: P8. 1:34.575. Completed 18 laps.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P13. 1:35.015. Completed 20 laps.
Nyck De Vries: P16. 1:35.402. Completed 25 laps.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P15. 1:35.105. Completed 20 laps.
Pierre Gasly: P17. 1:35.455. Completed 22 laps.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P2. 1:33.196. Completed 22 laps.
Lance Stroll: P6. 1:34.298. Completed 17 laps.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P20. 1:36.072. Completed 21 laps.
Charles Leclerc: P5. 1:34.257. Completed 17 laps.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P7. 1:34.402. Completed 20 laps.
Nico Hulkenberg: P14. 1:35.043. Completed 22 laps.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P4. 1:34.165. Completed 21 laps.
Oscar Piastri: P12. 1:34.997. Completed 24 laps.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P10. 1:34.917. Completed 13 laps.
George Russell: P11. 1:34.966. Completed 20 laps.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P3. 1:33.375. Completed 21 laps.
Sergio Perez: P1. 1:32.758. Completed 21 laps.
Williams
Alex Albon: P19. 1:36.018. Completed 15 laps.
Logan Sargeant: P18. 1:35.749. Completed 24 laps.
Overall Rankings For FP1:
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:32.758 |
2 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.438 |
3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.617 |
4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.407 |
5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +1.499 |
6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.540 |
7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.644 |
8 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa ROmeo | +1.817 |
9 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1.931 |
10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +2.159 |
11 | George Russell | Mercedes | +2.208 |
12 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +2.239 |
13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +2.257 |
14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +2.285 |
15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +2.347 |
16 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | +2.644 |
17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +2.697 |
18 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +2.991 |
19 | Alex Albon | Williams | +3.260 |
20 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +3.314 |
Free Practice 2 -
Times By Teams:
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P12. 1:31.793. Completed 28 laps.
Zhou Guanyu: P10. 1:31.586. Completed 27 laps.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P18. 1:32.525. Completed 27 laps.
Nyck De Vries: P19. 1:32.605. Completed 28 laps.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P11. 1:31.608. Completed 25 laps.
Pierre Gasly: P7. 1:31.475. Completed 24 laps.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P1. 1:30.907. Completed 25 laps.
Lance Stroll: P6. 1:31.450. Completed 28 laps.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P14. 1:31.956. Completed 28 laps.
Charles Leclerc: P4. 1:31.367. Completed 26 laps.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P16. 1:32.110. Completed 18 laps.
Nico Hulkenberg: P5. 1:31.376. Completed 25 laps.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P9. 1:31.570. Completed 27 laps.
Oscar Piastri: P15. 1:32.024. Completed 27 laps.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P8. 1:31.542. Completed 27 laps.
George Russell: P13. 1:31.882. Completed 25 laps.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P2. 1:31.076. Completed 24 laps.
Sergio Perez: P3. 1:31.078. Completed 26 laps.
Williams
Alex Albon: P17. 1:32.440. Completed 28 laps.
Logan Sargeant: P20. 1:32.749. Completed 29 laps.
Overall Rankings For FP2:
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:30.907 |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.169 |
3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.171 |
4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.460 |
5 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +0.469 |
6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.543 |
7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.568 |
8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.636 |
9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.663 |
10 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | +0.679 |
11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.701 |
12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +0.886 |
13 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.975 |
14 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +1.049 |
15 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.117 |
16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.203 |
17 | Alex Albon | Williams | +1.533 |
18 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.618 |
19 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | +1.698 |
20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1.842 |
Free Practice 3 -
Times By Teams:
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P17. 1:33.629. Completed 14 laps.
Zhou Guanyu: P12. 1:33.180. Completed 13 laps.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P16. 1:33.475. Completed 15 laps.
Nyck De Vries: P20. 1:34.082. Completed 18 laps.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P11. 1:33.116. Completed 16 laps.
Pierre Gasly: P10. 1:33.064. Completed 13 laps.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P1. 1:32.340. Completed 13 laps.
Lance Stroll: P7. 1:32.919. Completed 16 laps.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P8. 1:32.945. Completed 21 laps.
Charles Leclerc: P5. 1:32.624. Completed 21 laps.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P14. 1:33.381. Completed 21 laps.
Nico Hulkenberg: P15. 1:33.423. Completed 23 laps.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P13. 1:33.202. Completed 16 laps.
Oscar Piastri: P9. 1:33.045. Completed 12 laps.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P4. 1:32.555. Completed 17 laps.
George Russell: P6. 1:32.731. Completed 17 laps.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P2. 1:32.345. Completed 13 laps.
Sergio Perez: P3. 1:32.446. Completed 12 laps.
Williams
Alex Albon: P19. 1:33.882. Completed 15 laps.
Logan Sargeant: P18. 1:33.665. Completed 15 laps.
Overall Rankings For FP3:
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:32.340 |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.005 |
3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.106 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.215 |
5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.284 |
6 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.391 |
7 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.579 |
8 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.605 |
9 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.705 |
10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.724 |
11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.776 |
12 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | +0.840 |
13 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.862 |
14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.041 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1.083 |
16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.135 |
17 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1.289 |
18 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1.325 |
19 | Alex Albon | Williams | +1.542 |
20 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | +1.742 |
Qualifying Updates
Eliminated in Q1 -
Nyck De Vries
Oscar Piastri
Alex Albon
Logan Sargeant
Kevin Magnussen
Eliminated in Q2 -
Nico Hulkenberg
Yuki Tsunoda
Valtteri Bottas
Lando Norris
Zhou Guanyu
Through to Q3 -
Charles Leclerc
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
George Russell
Esteban Ocon
Lance Stroll
Lewis Hamilton
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso
OVERALL RESULT OF QUALIFYING:
*this does not take into account any penalties, final starting grid can be found under 'The Race' section*
The time listed shows the driver's fastest qualifying lap for their respective final qualifying sessions. Blue is for Q3, red is for Q2, and no background colour is Q1. For the driver's times for Q1, Q2, Q3, see below in 'Qualifying Results by Team'
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:29.708 |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:29.846 |
3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:30.000 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:30.154 |
5 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:30.336 |
6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:30.340 |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:30.384 |
8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:30.836 |
9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:30.984 |
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:30.809 |
11 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:31.381 |
12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.443 |
13 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.473 |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:32.510 |
15 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:31.461 |
16 | Logan Sargeant | Haas | 1:31.652 |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 1:31.892 |
18 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:32.101 |
19 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:32.121 |
20 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:32.181 |
Qualify Results By Team -
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P12. Q1 = 1:31.504. Q2 = 1:31.443.
Zhou Guanyu: P13. Q1 = 1:31.615. Q2 = 1:31.473.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P14. Q1 = 1:31.400. Q2 = 1:32.510.
Nyck De Vries: P19. Q1 = 1:32.121.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P9. Q1 = 1:31.508. Q2 = 1:30.914. Q3 = 1:30.984.
Pierre Gasly: P20. Q1 = 1:32.181.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P5. Q1 = 1:31.158. Q2 = 1:30.645. Q3 = 1:30.336.
Lance Stroll: P8. Q1 = 1:31.184. Q2 = 1:31.127. Q3 = 1:30.836.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P4. Q1 = 1:30.993. Q2 = 1:30.515. Q3 = 1:30.154.
Charles Leclerc: P3. Q1 = 1:31.094. Q2 = 1:30.282. Q3 = 1:30.000
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P17. Q1 = 1:31.892.
Nico Hulkenberg: P10. Q1 = 1:31.204. Q2 = 1:30.809.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P11. Q1 = 1:31.652. Q2 = 1:31.381.
Oscar Piastri: P18. Q1 = 1:32.101.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P7. Q1 = 1:31.543. Q2 = 1:30.513. Q3 = 1:30.384.
George Russell: P6. Q1 = 1:31.057. Q2 = 1:30.507. Q3 = 1:30.340.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P1. Q1 = 1:31.295. Q2 = 1:30.503. Q3 = 1:29.708.
Sergio Perez: P2. Q1 = 1:31.479. Q2 = 1:30.746. Q3 = 1:29.846.
Williams
Alex Albon: P15. Q1 = 1:31.461.
Logan Sargeant: P16. Q1 = 1:31.652.
Pre-race Penalties
It's the first race of the season so I'm hoping for no pre-race penalties, but, we'll see...
The Race
Starting Grid -
Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
5 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
6 | George Russell | Mercedes |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas |
11 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo |
13 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
15 | Alex Albon | Williams |
16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas |
18 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
19 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri |
20 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
Fastest Lap - Pierre Gasly
Race Updates -
Lap 1 - Leclerc gets away good and moves in P2. Stroll makes contact with Alonso into turn 4 - Alonso, luckily, doesn't have any punctures but does lose a couple of places because of it.
Lap 10 - Gasly pits for hards. Verstappen told to switch to Strategy 8, whilst Leclerc is told to go to Plan A.
Lap 11 - Norris has to pits for new tyres and for engine issues.
Lap 12 - Albon, Bottas, Hulkenberg, and De Vries all put for new tyres.
Lap 13 - Hamilton pits. Alonso is on the tail of Russell and Alonso battles with him through the first few corners. After a good battle, Alonso prevails and moves into P5 out of turn 6.
Lap 14 - Leclerc pits and it's going to be a double stack for Ferrari's pit stops. Russell also pits, but seems to have issues with the left rear and so it's a slow stop. Piastri seems to have issues with the gear box and told to box to swap the steering wheel, and the engine seems to dead.
Lap 15 - Verstappen pits onto another set of pits. Ocon seems to have damage to the front wing and a 5 second time penalty for being in the incorrect position on the starting grid.
Lap 16 - After a few minutes in the pits, Piastri has to retire the car.
Lap 18 - Norris goes into the pits with the air canister being used again!
Lap 25 - Battle for P2, Perez is all over Leclerc.
Lap 26 - Perez takes P2 at turn 1, making it a 2-1 for Red Bull.
Lap 28 - Ocon has served his 5 second penalty incorrectly and given a time penalty for that, along with another 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Lap 35 - Perez pits for hards.
Lap 37 - Verstappen pits for hards. Alonso has DRS down the main straight behind Hamilton, but isn't able to perform the overtake into Turn 1. However, out of the corner, Alonso battles again, taking P5, but out of the exit of the turn, Hamilton has the better exit reclaiming his spot.
Lap 38 - Alonso goes down the inside of Hamilton and pulls away brilliantly out of Turn 10.
Lap 41 - Leclerc has no power and it's a yellow flag in Sector 3 with a virtual safety car. Power unit problems has cost Charles Leclerc the race.
Lap 42 - Safety car ending. Gasly and Tsunoda pit.
Lap 43 - Ocon retires.
Lap 45 - Alonso pressures Sainz for P3. Sainz manages to cover but Alonso almost makes contact. Sainz reports that his tyres won't last if he keeps at this pace. Going into Turn 11, Alonso manages to overtake!
Lap 49 - Norris pits once again to top up the engine air supply. Ferrari confirm that they had lost the engine on Leclerc's car.
Lap 50 - Hulkenberg gets the black and white flag for track limits.
Lap 54 - Hulkenberg given a 5 second time penalty for breaching track limits but this won't hinder him too much as Norris is currently over a minute behind.
Lap 55 - Norris given a black and white flag too.
Lap 57 - Verstappen takes the chequered flag to make this his 35th race win.
Race Results -
Position | Driver | Team | Gap | Pit Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | ​ | 2 |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +11.987 | 2 |
3 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +38.637 | 2 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +48.052 | 2 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +50.977 | 2 |
6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +54.502 | 2 |
7 | George Russell | Mercedes | +55.873 | 2 |
8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1:12.647 | 2 |
9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1:13.753 | 3 |
10 | Alex Albon | Williams | +1:29.774 | 3 |
11 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1:30.870 | 3 |
12 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1 Lap | 3 |
13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1 Lap | 3 |
14 | Nyck De Vries | Alpha | +1 Lap | 2 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1 Lap | 3 |
16 | Zhou Guanyu | AlphaTauri | +1 Lap | 3 |
17 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 2 Laps | 6 |
DNFs:
Oscar Piastri
Charles Leclerc
Esteban Ocon
Driver of the Day - Fernando Alonso
Any Other News
05/03/23 - Leclerc had some issues with his battery and has had to have that replaced before the race.
Championship Standings
World Driver Championship -
Position | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | 25 | ​ |
2 | Sergio Perez | 18 | 7 |
3 | Fernando Alonso | 15 | 3 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | 12 | 3 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | 10 | 2 |
6 | Lance Stroll | 8 | 2 |
7 | George Russell | 6 | 2 |
8 | Valtteri Bottas | 4 | 2 |
9 | Pierre Gasly | 2 | 2 |
10 | Alex Albon | 1 | 1 |
11 | Yuki Tsunoda | 0 | 1 |
12 | Logan Sargeant | 0 | 1 |
13 | Kevin Magnussen | 0 | 1 |
14 | Nyck De Vries | 0 | 1 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | 0 | 1 |
16 | Zhou Guanyu | 0 | 1 |
17 | Lando Norris | 0 | 1 |
18 | Charles Leclerc | 0 | 1 |
19 | Esteban Ocon | 0 | 1 |
20 | Oscar Piastri | 0 | 1 |
World Constructor Championship -
Position | Team | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Red Bull | 43 | ​ |
2 | Aston Martin | 23 | 20 |
3 | Mercedes | 16 | 7 |
4 | Ferrari | 12 | 4 |
5 | Alfa Romeo | 4 | 8 |
6 | Alpine | 2 | 2 |
7 | Williams | 1 | 1 |
8 | AlphaTauri | 0 | 1 |
9 | Haas | 0 | 1 |
10 | McLaren | 0 | 1 |