Welcome to another edition of Formula One talking points, this time with a little more action to keep you entertained!
Added to my regular talking points, I’ll be combining driver and team power rankings in these articles to make it easier for you to digest after every race of the 2023 F1 season.
With that in mind, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was another interesting race where one team continued to dominate, another continued to shine and most others continued to struggle.
So, let’s get to it.
An incredible weekend by Sergio Perez sees him leave Saudi Arabia only one point behind his teammate Max Verstappen in the championship. Right now, he is clearly the only driver who looks capable of challenging the Dutchman for the 2023 crown.
So often Perez is overlooked in the category of elite drivers on the grid and his name is very rarely mentioned in the Championship conversation.
But two rounds into the season he has been in incredible form. A strong yet unassuming drive in Bahrain was backed up by a fairly dominant performance across the board in the desert, once again showcasing just how good he is on street circuits.
He should be leading the Championship, in all fairness, had it not been for a last lap fastest lap by Verstappen, but the Mexican did enough in Jeddah to show his credentials for the remainder of 2023.
There are definitely some shades of 2019 and 2020 Mercedes vibes going on at Red Bull this year, in the fact that one drive is expected to dominate, with their teammate starting off well to really give us hope there will be a season-long intra-team battle.
Let’s just hope there is more Nico Rosberg to Perez this year and less Valtteri Bottas.
While Perez shone in his Red Bull, Max Verstappen still showcased why he is the best driver on the grid and the reigning two-time world champion.
A driveshaft issue on Saturday saw him eliminated in Q2, pushing him back to 15th on the grid and giving his teammate an easy run at pole position. But did anybody actually doubt that we wouldn’t see Verstappen challenging for the win come race day?
Such is the pace of the RB19, Verstappen was always in the hunt for victory, with the Sky F1 commentary team of Martin Brundle and David Croft commenting that the pace of his car versus the others was like watching F1 v F2 on track.
It’s an ominous sight for F1 fans to see such dominance from a team and driver so early on in the season, especially given how used we have been this millennium in seeing a dominant package and driver. Think early 2000s Ferrari, early 2010s Red Bull and mid-to-late 2010s and early 2020s Mercedes.
Dutch fans are of course thrilled, as they continue to marvel at their star driver. For everyone else, it continues to look like a very long season.
Max Verstappen. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
It’s great to still see Aston Martin so strong early in the season, but luck seems to flow on one side of the garage more so than the other.
Fernando Alonso bullied his way off the line to take the lead early, but soon found himself in trouble after incorrectly positioning himself in his starting box.
A five-second penalty was served before the Spaniard kept up his strong pace and secured third place and his 100th career podium.
Initially, it seemed like that wasn’t to be, as similar to Esteban Ocon in Bahrain, Alonso was found to have had his team illegally touching his car during the penalty, with a 10-second penalty post-race relegating him to fourth place.
However, after an appeal by Aston Martin, the podium finish was returned to the team and Alonso.
It was a confusing situation that shows inconsistency by the FIA, but Aston will be smiling all the same.
The luck wasn’t nearly as good in the other Aston Martin garage, with a firing Lance Stroll having his early race pace and form taken away as his car broke down on lap 16, having been in a strong fourth place early.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the team who really do look like the best of the rest after two rounds, and who have been a breath of fresh air in taking it to the established three teams in Formula 1.
Hopefully some luck can return to the Stroll side of the team in Melbourne in two weeks’ time.
Oh, boy.
As an unashamed Ferrari fan, this hurts.
Things were meant to improve in 2023; instead, it’s shades of 2021 all over again.
Ferrari seemingly had no pace on race day. The cars looked terrible on the hard tyres, and there were barely any chances for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to finish higher than their ultimate positions of sixth and seventh.
Based on consistency and reliability, Mercedes have taken a stranglehold on that fight for second in the Championship. With Aston Martin also suffering a bit of bad luck, it could still be a lot worse for the Scuderia.
Albert Park serves as a chance for the team to try and get back some ground on a circuit where they dominated last year. But, based on the first two races, it would be a brave person to expect Ferrari to replicate that same form.
After such a strong qualifying, it was race day disappointment for Aussie Oscar Piastri.
Suffering front-wing damage after a collision with the Alpine of Pierre Gasly on the opening lap, Piastri struggled to make any ground as he and McLaren teammate Lando Norris languished at the back.
However, it was the team order from McLaren that came later in the race that raised a few eyebrows.
The team ordered Norris to let Piastri through by “not making it difficult” for the Australian should he be close enough to overtake; a move that paid off, with Piastri eventually making it past the Williams of Logan Sargeant, while Norris finished behind the American.
Yes, it’s very early days and the drivers were fighting for 15th. And yes, Piastri was clearly faster. But it definitely wouldn’t make Norris happy having that happen two races into their relationship at Woking.
Given the next race is Piastri’s home GP, all eyes will remain on McLaren as the intra-team rivalry between the pair continues to grow.
A quick disclaimer before we get into these. As always with any power rankings, these are subjective and based purely on opinion mixed with results.
Are these 100 per cent accurate? Inside my mind, yes! Outside of it, no. But it’s a nice way to spark some discussion, showcase some form and allow a conversation that brings F1 fans closer together – and maybe also further apart at the same time.
Fun, right? Always!
5. Alpine (+2)
A solid weekend by the French team. Both drivers qualified in the top 10 and both finished there, too. Can’t ask for more than that can you?
4. Ferrari (-1)
What on earth happened here? After Charles Leclerc narrowly missed out on taking pole position, the team had absolutely no pace on race day and languished in sixth and seventh place.
The good news is that both cars finished. The bad news is they are fourth in the Championship, 61 points behind Red Bull. It’s shaping to be another long season for the Scuderia.
3. Mercedes (+1)
They were never a threat for anything all weekend, but consistency is the key at Mercedes.
George Russell finished fourth, while Lewis Hamilton had a quiet run by his standards, finishing in fifth. The team might not be challenging for wins anytime soon, but as long as they can keep scoring points and a sneaky podium or two, second place for them in the Championship might not be super unrealistic.
2. Aston Martin (-)
Another strong weekend – but it could have been even better if not for a bit of bad luck.
Alonso led early and although he wasn’t able to steal the win, he finished in third for his 100th career podium after the bizarre penalty back-and-forth.
Lance Stroll wasn’t able to capitalise more points for the team, with his great start shooting him to an early fourth before technical issues brought him to a halt.
A potential 3-4 finish for the team wasn’t to be; instead, they will be counting the points lost rather than gained. Given where they were 12 months ago, though, that’s a good issue to have.
1. Red Bull (-)
An incredibly dominant weekend once again for Red Bull. Nobody even came close to challenging them for anything in Saudi Arabia, and they head into Albert Park not only as the team to beat, but the team that nobody really can come remotely close to.
Get those flags ready to wave in Melbourne, Red Bull fans; your arm might end up sore from all the celebrating.
5. Lance Stroll (-1)
Drops a place due to the fact he was barely in the race after his technical issue. Before that, had another great weekend and looked likely for a top-five finish based on his early pace and form.
Can we just mention he is doing this with two broken wrists still? Amazing.
4. George Russell (new)
A very strong and solid drive by Russell saw him very nearly inherit a lucky podium before settling for a solid fourth. It wasn’t exactly a flashy weekend by him, but he was consistent and did the job. That’s the best Mercedes can hope for in 2023, and right now it’s working as they are second in the Championship.
A win and more podiums are definitely possible for Russell, should he remain this way for the rest of the season.
3. Fernando Alonso (-1)
Drops a place mainly due to the stronger form of Perez. Alonso scored consecutive podiums for the first time in a decade, and you expect more to come from the resurgent Spaniard.
It’s one of the best stories of the season by far, and one that only seems to be getting better.
2. Sergio Perez (+1)
Two very strong weekends in a row for Perez sees him leave Saudi Arabia as the man best placed to challenge his teammate for the world championship.
Will feel a bit robbed not having the lead, but he should be very satisfied going into another street circuit in two weeks’ time in Melbourne.
1. Max Verstappen (-)
Easy number one. The Dutchman continues to dominate.
Even feeling sick coming into the weekend and some car issues can’t stop him. Sure, he finished second, but that sneaky fastest lap at the end to make sure he remains at the top of the Championship? That’s classic Max.
Still the driver to stop in 2023.
Do you agree with the positions? Has anybody been left out of the top five for either teams or drivers? And after two rounds, how do you think the rest of the season is shaping up?
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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