Doom and Gloom?
Maybe Red Bull won't be as dominant as the race in Bahrain has shown
The 75th Formula One season kicked off last weekend and straight on it looks like a copypasta of its predecessor. Just like last year the Red Bulls were the class of the field, comfortably finishing one two and “ominous” became the word of the weekend. A of now it looks like the old Spanish sage had been right and Mohammed Ben Sulayem can already start writing a congratulatory speech for Max Verstappen for winning the championship, which he will deliver at the FIA gala at the end of the year.
Even though the Dutchman scored his 5th grand slam – pole position, fastest lap and leading every lap and the RB20, the newest brainchild of Adrian Newey, Pierre Waché and others, looks like it may challenge the records set by its almighty predecessor, there is some hope. Carlos Sainz who stood at the last step of the podium, had finished only 25 seconds behind the winner. Well “only” compared to last year’s race at the same circuit, in which the gap of Fernando Alonso to Verstappen had been 38 seconds. And it could have been even closer if not for the brake and cooling issues Charles Leclerc and George Russell had to deal with. Of course the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix could have also been closer if the Monegasque Ferrari driver hadn’t retired at the 40 lap. Still Leclerc last year was 24 seconds behind Verstappen with 17 laps to go, so the gap probably would have been bigger at the finish line.
There is also McLaren. They had a good race in Bahrain and Lando Norris looks forward to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with optimism. Justified optimism. Last year the team from Woking was second only to Red Bull at tracks dominated by high speed corners. And such is the nature of Jeddah, where the 2nd race of the season will be held. So there is a bit of hope that Red Bull won’t have it as easy as last year.
To state the obvious, seasons in which one car is head and shoulders above others are not viewer friendly, especially when they happen back to back. But it looks like we’re heading towards such a situation. Realistically what we can hope for is a season similar to 2019. After 5 races everybody knew who is going to finish 1st in the drivers and constructor standings, but the season had some great races like Austria, Britain, Italy or Brazil and of course one exceptional: the German Grand Prix. Funny thing is that one of the heroes of 2019, fighting dominant Mercedes, was no other than Max Verstappen. Enter the “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain” quote. And the main villain of 2019, Lewis Hamilton, is one of the drivers that may cause Vertappen some trouble. Others being his teammate, the Ferrari duo and Lando Norris. Or maybe Piastri will take his maiden win this year, maybe we will have a crazy race a la Hungary in 2021? There is still hope, even if it’s hopium.
The problem with Red Bull’s dominance is that the team doesn’t seem to have weak points. (Of course I know there is a huge drama and a power struggle centered around Christian Horner, but I’ll refrain from commenting about it. I frankly don’t know what to think about it.) They have the best driver, the best designing team, the best mechanics – or at least equally best with the ones working for McLaren and the best strategists. They’re the most optimized team on the grid.
Even Mercedes during their heyday were not as efficient. The drivers, the strategists sometimes made costly mistakes or high altitude did not suit the Mercedes engine – Austria and Brazil in 2019, so their rivals had more opportunities to snatch a win. The same cannot be said about Red Bull. Last year they had to be really bad to lose. Like in Singapore.
But again, the rivals seem to be closer to Red Bull, so theoretically they should have more opportunities to win than the year before. I know one race is a tiny sample size, but it’s all we have at the moment.