Bahrain Grand Prix 2023: Race predictions
For almost the entirety of the turbo-hybrid era, it was only one team who dominated the sport. Yes, Ferrari tried a few times with Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull managed to take one title away, but it is clear and by a long distance that Mercedes were the top team between 2014 and 2021. Eight consecutive World Constructors’ Championships and seven consecutive World Drivers’ titles meant Mercedes were the benchmark team of the turbo-hybrid era.
But with new regulations kicking in from the 2022 season, and if the previous season was a precursor for things to come, Mercedes will well and truly have a proper title fight on their hands, with not just one but multiple teams vying for the championships. Red Bull already proved their worth in the 2021 season, and defending champions Max Verstappen set the fastest time in pre-season testing, which would definitely hold the Austrian team in good stead.
Along with Red Bull, another team that will be fighting for not only podiums but wins should be the Scuderia. After being horribly off the pace in 2020, Ferrari made a commendable comeback in 2021 to regularly be in the hunt for podiums and even took two poles in 2021 through Charles Leclerc. They have been promising in the winter and pre-season testing, and with the Italian team having stopped their development work on the 2021 car mid-way through last season to focus on the new regulations, only a daft man would write off Ferrari. The Scuderia belong right at the top of the grid, and after going two seasons without a win (Sebastian Vettel’s Singapore Grand Prix win in 2019 is their last win till date), the Maranello-based team are definitely favourites for not only podiums but wins.
The final team of the three in the mix for victory are Mercedes. Eight back-to-back championships don’t just happen without a reason. For the last eight years, the Silver Arrows have been performing on a level different to the rest of the grid. Led by Lewis Hamilton, even though it’s a new season with new regulations, Mercedes remain hot favourites to start the season with a win. Now, pre-season testing in Bahrain wasn’t ideal for the team and neither of their drivers was pleased with the results. While Hamilton stated that the team would not fight for wins at the moment, George Russell said that there was work to be done. Now, if any other team on the grid had a similar view going into the opening race with the performance Mercedes had during the pre-season tests, you would think it’s true. But this is Mercedes, and we are used to it by now. Hamilton and the Brackley-based team have been downplaying their stance before the season-opener and speaking highly about the rest of the teams for almost five seasons now. It almost feels inevitable that Mercedes will downplay their speed and then go on to blow everyone away. Now, with the new regulations and given the advancements of Red Bull and Ferrari, the German team may actually be caught out, but you’d still be making a big call if you didn’t put Mercedes down as one of the favourites for not only the season-opener but the entire season.
