The pre-season testing is done and dusted, and we now look ahead to the inaugural race in the 2023 Formula 1 season. A lot of running was done by all the teams throughout the weekend of testing, taking advantage of the time afforded to the drivers to get acquainted with their new and improved machines. Changes to the cars aren’t drastic, but one can pinpoint which cars look steady and competitive from the outset.
Join us as we give an overview of what happened this weekend and what we can expect for the upcoming race in Bahrain. Make sure to read the LV BET Sports Blog for all the best betting tips and previews on your favorite sport.
Pre-season testing review
The entirety of the grid is faster than pre-season testing a year ago; some of the teams have gone faster by two seconds on the time of last year. The overview will be on our thoughts on proceedings, and it’s not a definitive way to look at the teams’ performance.
Red Bull
Red Bull had an amazing time in Bahrain. Max Verstappen did all the running in the first two days, leaving Checo Perez to do the running on day three, which is known to yield the best times. The car looked brilliant throughout the session, and we barely saw any corrections from the drivers. The team is stable with no changes to the driver line up or management, so we can expect a very similar outcome when the lights go out on Sunday. Red Bull are priced at 7/10 (1.70) to win the Contructor Championship again.
Mercedes
Not an ideal couple of days of testing that the Silver Arrows would have wanted, but they looked much better than last year. On day one, the car looked a bit on edge, with both English drivers fighting the car more than their counterparts on the grid. On day two, they had an issue with front-end downforce, which had somewhat deserted them. The running on day two was curtailed by a hydraulic issue and on day three, it was smooth sailing for the drivers. Will the upgrades and development over Winter from Mercedes close the gap to both Ferrari and Red Bull? The team is priced at 3/1 (4.00) to win the constructor Championship.
Ferrari
Runners-up Ferrari picked up from where it left off in terms of car design; they stuck to their guns, and it looks very quick indeed. Charles Leclerc really hustled the car around the track with great confidence, which is expected after a year of getting used to the new era of Formula 1 cars. Carlos looked at it as well; the big thing for the Spaniard is if he could start of the season the way he ended it last year. The other thing for Ferrari is the wringly power unit, which huffed and puffed lots of smoke in races last year. Is reliability going to be an issue again? Will Fred Vasseur be the missing piece of the jigsaw and steer the Prancing Horse to victory? We are pricing Ferrari to win the Constructor Championship at 11/4 (3.75).
AlphaTauri
A mixed bag for Red Bull’s sister team. At the end, Yuki Tsunoda blitzed the timing charts when he put on the soft compound tires. A huge contrast between day one and two, when the car looked lazy and not complying with what the drivers wanted to do. Nyck de Vries complained a lot about understeer, which hampered his lap times throughout the weekend. Compared to the other midfield runners, it might not stand out, especially with Pierre Gasly moving away from the team. We anticipate that AlphaTauri will struggle to reach the heights that they enjoyed last season. We are pricing Nyck de Vries to outscore Yiku Tsunoda in his first full season at 5/7 (1.72).
Alfa Romeo
Guanyu Zhou managed to top the charts, and Valtteri Bottas as well on day three. Taking a similar approach to Ferrari in terms of developments and side-pods proved to be a key element in the success of last season. The pair of drivers are consistent enough to extract the best out of the car at any given time, the only change will be that Fred Vesseur won’t be around. The car looked solid, and the drivers leaned on it which grants confidence that the car could handle it. It will be a question of reliability and developing the car throughout the year that will make or break Alfa Romeo’s season.
McLaren
Yet another pre-season testing period hampered with faults; last year it was the brakes, this time around it was the wheels. Both drivers did not look happy with what the car was able to do over the weekend. Reports circulated that Lando Norris took his frustrations out on a wall, whilst Oscar Piastri managed to send his McLaren for a spin. Zak Brown admitted that the team are behind schedule and lack the efficiency that one might expect at the start of the season. This could be a very tricky season for McLaren in which they need to realise some of the potentials that the car has showed during the 2021 season. Playing catch-up before the running even starts is not the place you want to be in.
Aston Martin
A brilliant showing from Aston Martin in testing, they were buoyant in the launch season and they have big aims as well as a brand new big name driver in Fernando Alonso. The two-time champion did more of his fair share of running with Lance Stroll sidelined after he got into a bicycle incident. Question marks around if Felipe Drugovich races next weekend, but he took his time to get acquainted with the car. The Aston Martin looked hooked, and with Alonso as a driver, you expect the car to be tested to its full potential. The car looked to have a sharp front end and a settled rear end which will give drivers great confidence and not worry about the back end stepping out when attacking the corners.
Alpine
The French-based team managed to clock the second least amount of laps around Bahrain International Circuit but still managed to get a haul, much to the testament of all the others teams upping their game in terms of reliability. The car looked stiff and rigid which was hard work for the French pair composed of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. From what we saw, it might not suit street circuits that much, where you need more compliance but it could be a major strength in other circuits. The team is ambitious as they aim to get a considerable upgrade package on for next weekend. They will surely be a force to be reckoned with in the coming weeks and months. In the race for who will score the most points for Alpine, Esteban Ocon is priced at 3/5 (1.60), whilst Pierre Gasly is at 6/5 (2.20)
Haas
Haas is a happy team nowadays. Both drivers are upbeat and eager to show what they are capable of, and by the looks of it, the car is decent enough for them to score regular points. Nico Hulkenberg settled in quickly and looked extremely fast for someone who hasn’t been in a season for a couple of years. This year, Gunther Steiner and his team will look to replicate the first half of the season from last year, and hopefully, keep on adding to the strengths of the car throughout the whole season.
Williams
A very good weekend for Williams, ramping up the mileage which will serve Logan Sargant well to make himself comfortable ahead of his first race as an F1 driver. The American completed three race distances throughout the weekend, which is astonishing in terms of reliability. The car looked steady and reasonable for what the team is capable of producing, the low fuel running was done when the temperature was a little bit higher so there will be more to extract come qualifying as they temperature drops. The drivers looked happy in their seats; the long distance running was one of their weak spots when compared to the other cars, maybe that was down to extra weight added by fuel. We will see how Williams perform next weekend, although we expect them to be somewhat at the back of the grid.
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*Odds subject to change. Odds correct at time of publishing