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The 2023 F1 season is officially on. Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix, jumping to an early lead in his quest for a third consecutive title.
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Saudi Arabia added some intrigue to the championship. Max Verstappen ran into a driveshaft issue in qualifying that relegated him to 15th on the grid. Sergio Perez scored a dominant pole, and went on to secure the win after briefly losing the lead to Fernando Alonso at the start. Verstappen pulled off an impressive recovery drive, moving to second place. And, in a last-gasp effort, the Dutchman set the fastest lap to retain the championship lead by one point.
Alonso finished third, his second podium in as many races for Aston Martin. Mercedes’ duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth respectively, followed by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in another disappointing weekend for Ferrari. Alpine duo Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly crossed the line eighth and ninth respectively, scoring the French team’s first double-points finish of the season. With a late overtake on Yuki Tsunoda, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen secured his and the team’s first point in F1 2023.
F1 Standings: 2023 Season Grand Prix Winners:
Grand Prix | Winner |
Bahrain Grand Prix | Max Verstappen |
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Sergio Perez |
Australian Grand Prix | TBD |
Azerbaijan Grand Prix | TBD |
Miami Grand Prix | TBD |
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix | TBD |
Monaco Grand Prix | TBD |
Spanish Grand Prix | TBD |
Canadian Grand Prix | TBD |
Austrian Grand Prix | TBD |
British Grand Prix | TBD |
Hungarian Grand Prix | TBD |
Belgian Grand Prix | TBD |
Dutch Grand Prix | TBD |
Italian Grand Prix | TBD |
Singapore Grand Prix | TBD |
Japanese Grand Prix | TBD |
Qatar Grand Prix | TBD |
US Grand Prix | TBD |
Mexico City Grand Prix | TBD |
Sao Paulo Grand Prix | TBD |
Las Vegas Grand Prix | TBD |
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | TBD |
With Verstappen and Perez separated by a single point, Formula One heads over to Australia next week.
F1 Standings: Drivers’ Championship
This is what the Drivers’ Championship standings look like after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix:
Position | Driver | Team | Points |
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 44 |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 43 |
3 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 30 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 20 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 20 |
6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 18 |
7 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 8 |
8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 6 |
9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 4 |
10 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 4 |
11 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 4 |
12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1 |
13 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1 |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 0 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 0 |
16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 0 |
17 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
18 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | 0 |
19 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 0 |
20 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 0 |
F1 Standings: Constructors’ Championship
Below is how the Constructors’ Championship is looking just after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix:
Position | Team | Points |
1 | Red Bull Racing RBPT | 87 |
2 | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 38 |
3 | Mercedes | 38 |
4 | Ferrari | 26 |
5 | Alpine Renault | 8 |
6 | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 4 |
7 | Haas Ferrari | 1 |
8 | Williams Mercedes | 1 |
9 | AlphaTauri RBPT | 0 |
10 | McLaren Mercedes | 0 |
F1 Standings: Fastest Lap Awards
In every Grand Prix, there’s a driver who sets the fastest time for whizzing around the track. And it’s not always the race winner…
With the ‘DHL Fastest Lap Award’, DHL has set a new standard for speed since 2007.
In each race, one driver sets the fastest lap, and the award goes to the driver who sets the most laps throughout the season.
And if the winner of the fastest lap finishes in the Top 10, he will be awarded 1 point towards the Championship!
Below is how the 2023 fastest lap awards look like after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
2023 Fastest Lap Awards
Grand Prix | Driver | Fastest Lap Time |
Bahrain Grand Prix | Zhou Guanyu | 1:33.996 |
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Max Verstappen | 1:31.906 |
Australian Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Azerbaijan Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Miami Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Monaco Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Spanish Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Canadian Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Austrian Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
British Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Hungarian Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Belgian Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Dutch Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Italian Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Singapore Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Japanese Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Qatar Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
US Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Mexico City Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Sao Paulo Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Las Vegas Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | TBD | TBD |
The DHL Fastest Lap Award proved decisive in Saudi Arabia. With a last-lap attempt, Verstappen took the solitary point away from Perez to retain his championship lead heading into Melbourne.
F1 2023 Predictions
After a dominant showing in Bahrain, Red Bull heads over to Jeddah leading the constructors’ and drivers’ championships, scoring 43 of the 44 points available. Verstappen’s quest for number 3 is off to the best possible start, and even though it’s still early days, the Dutchman already looks unstoppable.
Can Aston Martin continue its run as the second-best team? Or will Ferrari bounce back from its disappointing first race?