The 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2023) was the 1st round of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at Bahrain International Circuit on the weekend of March 3 to March 5 2023.
Background[]
Track changes[]
The third DRS activation point was moved farther ahead, being positioned 250 metres (820 ft) after turn 15.[1]
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
FP3[]
Practice Results[]
The full practice results for the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix are outlined below:
| No. | Driver | Team | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Pos | Time | Pos | Time | Pos | ||||||||
| 1 |  Max Verstappen
|
 Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
|
1:33.375 | 3 | 1:31.076 | 2 | 1:32.345 | 2 | |||||
| 2 |  Logan Sargeant
|
 Williams-Mercedes
|
1:35.749 | 18 | 1:32.749 | 20 | 1:33.665 | 18 | |||||
| 4 | Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:34.165 | 4 | 1:31.570 | 9 | 1:33.202 | 13 | |||||
| 10 |  Pierre Gasly
|
Alpine-Renault
|
1:35.455 | 17 | 1:31.475 | 7 | 1:33.064 | 10 | |||||
| 11 |  Sergio Pérez
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
|
1:32.758 | 1 | 1:31.078 | 3 | 1:32.446 | 3 | |||||
| 14 |  Fernando Alonso
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
1:33.196 | 2 | 1:30.907 | 1 | 1:32.340 | 1 | |||||
| 16 |  Charles Leclerc
|
 Ferrari
|
1:34.257 | 5 | 1:31.367 | 4 | 1:32.624 | 5 | |||||
| 18 |  Lance Stroll
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
1:34.298 | 6 | 1:31.450 | 6 | 1:32.919 | 7 | |||||
| 20 |  Kevin Magnussen
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
1:34.402 | 7 | 1:32.110 | 16 | 1:33.391 | 14 | |||||
| 21 | Nyck de Vries
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
|
1:35.402 | 16 | 1:32.605 | 19 | 1:34.082 | 20 | |||||
| 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
|
1:35.015 | 13 | 1:32.525 | 18 | 1:33.475 | 16 | |||||
| 23 |  Alexander Albon
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
1:36.018 | 19 | 1:32.440 | 17 | 1:33.882 | 19 | |||||
| 24 |  Guanyu Zhou
|
 Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:34.575 | 8 | 1:31.586 | 10 | 1:33.180 | 12 | |||||
| 27 |  Nico Hülkenberg
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
1:35.043 | 14 | 1:31.376 | 5 | 1:33.423 | 15 | |||||
| 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Alpine-Renault
|
1:35.105 | 15 | 1:31.608 | 11 | 1:33.116 | 11 | |||||
| 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes
|
1:34.917 | 10 | 1:31.543 | 8 | 1:32.555 | 4 | |||||
| 55 | Carlos Sainz, Jr.
|
Ferrari
|
1:36.072 | 20 | 1:31.956 | 14 | 1:32.945 | 8 | |||||
| 63 | George Russell
|
Mercedes
|
1:34.966 | 11 | 1:31.882 | 13 | 1:32.731 | 6 | |||||
| 77 |  Valtteri Bottas
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:34.689 | 9 | 1:31.793 | 12 | 1:33.629 | 17 | |||||
| 81 |  Oscar Piastri
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:34.997 | 12 | 1:32.024 | 15 | 1:33.045 | 9 | |||||
| Source: [3][4][5] | |||||||||||||
Qualifying[]
Q1[]
Q2[]
Q3[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Time | Time | |||||
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
|
1:31.295 | 1:30.503 | 1:29.708 | 1 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
|
1:31.479 | 1:30.747 | 1:29.846 | 2 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc
|
Ferrari
|
1:31.094 | 1:30.282 | 1:30.000 | 3 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz, Jr.
|
Ferrari
|
1:30.993 | 1:30.515 | 1:30.154 | 4 |
| 5 | 14 | Fernando Alonso
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
1:31.158 | 1:30.645 | 1:30.336 | 5 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell
|
Mercedes
|
1:31.057 | 1:30.507 | 1:30.340 | 6 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes
|
1:31.057 | 1:30.513 | 1:30.384 | 7 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
1:31.184 | 1:31.127 | 1:30.836 | 8 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Alpine-Renault
|
1:31.508 | 1:30.914 | 1:30.984 | 9 |
| 10 | 17 | Nico Hülkenberg
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
1:31.204 | 1:30.809 | No Time | 10 |
| 11 | 4 | Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:31.652 | 1:31.381 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:31.504 | 1:31.443 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 24 | Guanyu Zhou
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:31.615 | 1:31.473 | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
|
1:31.400 | 1:32.510 | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
1:31.461 | No Time | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 2 | Logan Sargeant
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
1:31.652 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
1:31.892 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 81 | Oscar Piastri
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:32.101 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 21 | Nyck de Vries
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
|
1:32.121 | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 10 | Pierre Gasly
|
Alpine-Renault
|
1:32.181 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 107% Time: 1:33.486 | |||||||
| Source:[6] | |||||||
- Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| Verstappen
|
2 | |
| ______________ | Pérez
| |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Leclerc
|
4 | |
| ______________ | Sainz
| |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| Alonso
|
6 | |
| ______________ | Russell
| |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| Hamilton
|
8 | |
| ______________ | Stroll
| |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Ocon
|
10 | |
| ______________ | Hülkenberg
| |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Norris
|
12 | |
| ______________ | Bottas
| |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| Zhou
|
14 | |
| ______________ | Tsunoda
| |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Albon
|
16 | |
| ______________ | Sargeant
| |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Magnussen
|
18 | |
| ______________ | Piastri
| |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| de Vries
|
20 | |
| ______________ | Gasly
|
Race[]
Report[]
Race was held on 5 March 2023 at 18:00 local time (UTC+3).
Verstappen led comfortably from the start, only losing the lead during the first round of pitstops. Pérez was slow away at the start and lost second place to a fast starting Charles Leclerc. Alonso and Hamilton battled on the run down to turn 4, however Alonso was hit by his teammate Stroll, causing both Aston Martins to lose positions. Alonso came out on top in a wheel-to-wheel battle with George Russell on lap 13, however both drivers lost out in the pitstops to Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo.[7]
Oscar Piastri retired 13 laps into his F1 debut with an electrical failure. Meanwhile, his teammate Norris also had engine issues, but this time with the hydraulics, requiring 5 pitstops to manage the problem. Esteban Ocon had a nightmare start to his season, picking up a 5-second penalty for lining up in his grid spot incorrectly. However he did not serve the full 5 seconds in the pits, and was given a subsequent 10 second penalty, and then a further 5 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane.[7]
Perez made it past Leclerc on lap 26, with the Red Bull’s the only front running team to use the soft tyre for both the first two tyre stints. After the second round of pitstops, Stroll, who was racing with a broken wrist and toe, overtook Russell as the latter came out of the pits on cold tyres, with Stroll having pitted a lap earlier. Alonso and Hamilton engaged in a battle for 5th place, Alonso overtook Hamilton into turn 4 on lap 37 but a snap of oversteer on the corner exit for Alonso allowed Hamilton back passed. One lap later Alonso pulled off an unlikely overtake at turn 10. [7]
Leclerc's race came to an end on lap 39, his car suffering a mechanical failure, bringing out the first virtual safety car of the season. Alonso overtook Sainz using DRS on the run down to turn 11 on lap 45. Meanwhile Gasly overtook Albon for 9th place, having started from last.
Zhou Guanyu pitted on the penultimate lap for soft tyres, and set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. Making it the second fastest lap of Zhou Guanyu's F1 career.
Verstappen took the chequered flag, winning by almost 12 seconds from his teammate Perez. It was Verstappen's second win in succession, and Perez's highest finish since the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. Alonso took the final podium spot, his first podium since the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix[8], and Aston Martin's first podium since Sebastian Vettel finished 2nd at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix[9]. Logan Sargeant was the highest finisher of the rookie drivers, finishing 12th.[7]
The race marked Red Bull's first win in Bahrain since 2013, and Verstappen's first win at the track. It was also Red Bull's first win at a season opener since the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.
Results[]
The full results for the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
|
57 | 1:33:56.736 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
|
57 | +11.987 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
57 | +38.637 | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr.
|
Ferrari
|
57 | +48.052 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes
|
57 | +50.977 | 7 | 10 |
| 6 | 18 | Lance Stroll
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
57 | +54.502 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell
|
Mercedes
|
57 | +55.873 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
57 | +1:12.647 | 12 | 4 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly
|
Alpine-Renault
|
57 | +1:13.753 | 20 | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
57 | +1:29.774 | 15 | 1 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
|
56 | +1:30.870 | 14 | |
| 12 | 2 | Logan Sargeant
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
56 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
56 | +1 lap | 17 | |
| 14 | 21 | Nyck de Vries
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
|
56 | +1 lap | 19 | |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
56 | +1 lap [10] | 10 | |
| 16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
56 | +1 lap | 13 | |
| 17 | 4 | Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
55 | +2 laps | 11 | |
| Ret | 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Alpine-Renault
|
41 | Mechanical | 9 | |
| Ret | 16 | Charles Leclerc
|
Ferrari
|
39 | Engine | 3 | |
| Ret | 81 | Oscar Piastri
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
13 | Electrical | 18 | |
| Source:[11] | |||||||
Milestones[]
- Début race of Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant
- First race of Nyck de Vries, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg as an AlphaTauri, Aston Martin, Alpine and Haas driver respectively.
- This would be the first race that Fernando Alonso drives a Mercedes-powered car since the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix
- This would be the first time that Nyck de Vries, Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg drives a Honda RBPT, Renault and Ferrari-powered car respectively.
- 99th podium finish in Fernando Alonso’s career.
- Maiden podium of Fernando Alonso as an Aston Martin driver.
Standings[]
Note: Only point-scoring drivers are shown |
Note: Only point-scoring constructors are shown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Also[]
|
|
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ "Event Notes - Circuit Map | 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix" (in English) (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2023%20Bahrain%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Event%20Notes%20-%20Circuit%20Map.pdf. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ↑ 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - Final Qualifying Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "2023 Bahrain Grand Prix race report and highlights: Verstappen leads 1-2 in Bahrain season opener as Leclerc retires and Alonso takes final podium place in style | Formula 1®" (in en). https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappen-leads-1-2-in-bahrain-season-opener-as-leclerc-retires-and-alonso.40788dU0VkiLz0gxRPo7n1.html. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ↑ "Standings" (in en). https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ↑ "Standings" (in en). https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ↑ Nico Hülkenberg received a 15-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. His final position was not affected by the penalty.
- ↑ 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - Final Race Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
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