by The rubber has settled on the first race weekend, and what a start to the season it was. The race gave plenty of talking points, from the perfect start for Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin’s confirmation of ascendency in the grid, DNFs for McLaren, Alpine and Ferrari, and plenty of debutants on the racetrack.
In this first of two parts, we get into what the first weekend has served up for the frontrunners: Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari. Beyond this, we set sight on the challenges in their pursuit of the constructors’ trophy.
Red Bull Racing – The Team to Beat
Red Bull Racing Team made it a perfect start to their campaign with a 1-2, with Max Verstappen winning the race ahead of teammate Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez. Pre-season testing gave indications of a strong package, which was proven beyond doubt during the race. It is fantastic news for those involved with the team, though the neutral might be wary of a lengthy dominance, much like Mercedes’ Team in recent years.
As for the Driver’s Championship, Checo Perez will undoubtedly hope for more this season. Last year we saw sparks between him and Verstappen, and though the relationship seems rosy in the eyes of the media so far, rest assured that both want to be the champion, come the end of the season. Max Verstappen set a good distance between him and Perez in the first race, but it will be interesting to see things play out should the Mexican close the gap.
It’s Lights Out for The Greens
Aston Martin seems to have gotten their design spot on, and Fernando Alonso’s podium finish confirmed the predictions: the team is there to challenge for a top-three finish. The greens started on the right foot, which is all you hope for at the beginning of the season, bar winning the race.
Though Lance Stroll finished sixth, one must factor in his injury. It is an almighty finish for him considering the grueling conditions the drivers find themselves in during the race. He will be hoping to kick on and match Alonso’s pace, whilst setting sights on some silverware along the way.
It is easy for the team to get ahead of themselves, but team boss Lawrence Stroll made clear his intentions early on when taking over the team. His goal is one: Be the Winning Constructor. We consider the challenges three-fold: maintaining reliability, improving the car to stay ahead, and managing team drama.
Reliability
Some will say that the British team had some luck getting the podium, due to Leclerc’s early retirement. However, those employed in the Reliability departments will not like that one bit, and rightly so. Much is made of the car’s speed, but Red Bull’s dominance last season was heftily aided by Ferrari’s reliability issues. The Italians seem to have not completely sorted those out just yet, and if Aston Martin can keep their car on the grid and close to the scarlet red, it might just be enough to secure some important points.
Improving Performance
The second aspect is of course the car upgrades. The team is currently ahead of the Mercedes Team, but no one doubts that the 8-time winning constructor will be pushing upgrades to get their car up to speed. On the other hand, Lawrence Stroll has been expanding Aston Martin’s facilities and recruiting heavily. It will be interesting to see the teams’ plans to improve the car throughout the season to maintain their place and perhaps even challenge leaders Red Bull.
Team Drama
The final piece in the jigsaw will be the control of drama within the team. The first lap already saw the two Aston Martins touch, and Alonso was quick to get on the radio, albeit not knowing who hit him at the time. The fact that his teammate is the boss’ son is not an ideal scenario, but Alonso will not let that deter him one bit from getting into it. The two-time world champion has a colourful history not just as a race winner but also in controversial relationships with the teams he’s driven for (‘Spygate’ ring a bell?).
On the other hand, Lance Stroll has never been shy to get into a few bust-ups and will not roll over. He would probably not be a very good F1 driver if he did. It will be a tough season for Mike Krack to handle the two, whilst having Lawrence Stroll breathing down his neck, but it is important for the team’s success that he does.
Torments from Last Season Rear Their Heads for Mercedes & Ferrari
The first race showed that two constructor giants have plenty of work to do to get back to the coveted top spot. Charles Leclerc’s early retirement speaks of troubles past not quite being sorted just yet by the Scuderia. It lost them a podium, and though Carlos Sainz did well to retain fourth place, he could not out-drive Fernando Alonso, serving Ferrari a double whammy.
Meanwhile, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and seventh respectively, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll separating the two. Mercedes’ team boss Toto Wolff along with his two drivers were all vocal about the work that needs to be done.
Contrasting Design Decisions
Much has been made of the ‘zero sidepod’ design employed by Mercedes, but the team has made improvements from last year, notably solving the suspension issues to minimise the porpoising (bouncing, explained visually here) of the car. This means that the team has not had to compromise on speed in this regard, but the improvement (which is estimated to be around 0.7 seconds over last year’s performance) has not been enough to overtake their competition, who’ve also made significant gains.
Lewis Hamilton has never been shy to speak on mechanical troubles and has done so again while making rallying calls to motivate the team. Once again Mercedes have their work cut out for them, but with the porpoising issue solved, suggestions are that Red Bull’s dominance lies in tuning the downforce. It is likely that this is one area that the silver arrows will focus on in search of closing the gap to their rivals.
Reliability & Driving Styles
Meanwhile, Ferrari has changed the team principal, but engine failures still haunt the Scuderia. Charles Leclerc’s DNF cost the team a podium place and valuable points. There is perhaps a question as to why Leclerc is the one who often succumbs to engine troubles first.
The driving style may be different from Carlos Sainz, or perhaps the Monegasque is just unlucky. Whatever it is, the drivers will look to new team principal Frederic Vasseur to steady the ship and make sure last year’s troubles are solved, and soon.
Where Do They Go from Here?
Red Bull is yet to be put under pressure, having secured a healthy lead initially over the third-placed Leclerc and later Alonso, in Bahrain. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Mercedes will be pushing their developments as early as possible in the hope of eclipsing Aston Martin in points.
From the neutral perspective, one hopes that all three will improve enough to mount a challenge on Red Bull. A four-way title challenge. Now wouldn’t that be something?
Stay tuned for the second part, in which we look at the tightly packed mid to rear runners of the pack and assess the obstacles that stand in the way of getting into the points.
Photo Credit: Photo by Lowes Takes Photos on Unsplash
