2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir, March 03 - 05

[ForzaFerrari3928]

Slowly but surely ripping all the classical elements of F1 away.

Not a big fan of cramping all of the drivers on one couch and prefer the old setup of drivers sitting behind a desk sipping on that orange colored juice or whatever.

[mkay]

I get the feeling Ferrari and Merc will be closer than they are leading on.

I'm getting this sense as well. The "doom and gloom" narrative being pushed by the media doesn't seem to be shared (at least directly or indirectly) by the teams. If anything, the general consensus I'm seeing from Mercedes, Ferrari, etc. is optimism for the season.

EDIT - Russell's comments in this article only further my thoughts.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merc ... /10438409/

Mercedes has pretty much ruled out being able to contend with Red Bull on pace though.

[DGP123]

Exactly. Wouldn’t surprise me if the teams have been told to shy away from expressing the doom and gloom on the eve of the new season by F1/LM. They are selling the product at the end of the day, for sponsors & fans.

Delusional to believe anything said in these media appearances.

[AR3-GP]

Exactly. Wouldn’t surprise me if the teams have been told to shy away from expressing the doom and gloom on the eve of the new season by F1/LM. They are selling the product at the end of the day, for sponsors & fans.

Delusional to believe anything said in these media appearances.

It's the same thing on the shakedown day. Drivers have to do PR, not reality.

In both years of shakedown, Mercedes drivers were "positive" in the proceeding press events.

It later came to light that Hamilton and the team knew the W13 would be trouble immediately during the shakedown and furthermore Hamilton very recently said he knew the W14 would be a big challenge from the first shakedown.

It's not good press for the team to come off negative. Everyone has to paint a positive picture for the sponsors and fans even if reality is quite different behind closed doors. Zak Brown recently wrote a "letter" to the Mclaren fans trying to do damage control.

[langedweil]

I get the feeling Ferrari and Merc will be closer than they are leading on.

I'm getting this sense as well. The "doom and gloom" narrative being pushed by the media doesn't seem to be shared (at least directly or indirectly) by the teams. If anything, the general consensus I'm seeing from Mercedes, Ferrari, etc. is optimism for the season.

EDIT - Russell's comments in this article only further my thoughts.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merc ... /10438409/

Imho it's nothing but natural that convergence does occur, and that teams will bunch up closer to each other. It would be weird if it wouldn't. 'Problem' in the Merc era was they were really lightyears ahead (especially on the PU side) in 2014 and the token system kinda prevented a quick crawlback.

With the current regulations this appears easier; progress is hindered a bit by the costcap, but still .. true cleverness can bring you a lot, at least a lot more than during a sort-of-pu-dev-freeze (tokens). So in that respect the current rules feel a lot better, or for that matter .. more fair (at least to me).

And yeah, when a team nails it at day 1 after a regulation change, then that advantage will last a while. In 2022 a team like RB could switch way earlier to 2023 than let's say MB. It's the same advantage MB had for years, and gave them room to invent stuff like DAS.

I too think it won't be a walk in the park for RB this year (it even wasn't in 2022, especially until TD39), but logically they should have some advantages carrying over from 2022. Stuff like suspension-travel, or even the DF bleeding theory ..

[Wouter]

Max enjoyed the press conference. .....

[Zynerji]

Going into this weekend, I would like to ask the members to join me in a prayer that Q1 is covered by .5s, and Q3 is covered by .2s.



Amen.

[organic]

Going into this weekend, I would like to ask the members to join me in a prayer that Q1 is covered by .5s, and Q3 is covered by .2s.

[Chuckjr]

Dear racing gods, let there be four teams and eight drivers fighting at the sharp end and Macca leading the rest of the field.
Thank you.
Amen

[Capharol]

Dear racing gods, let there be four teams and eight drivers fighting at the sharp end and Macca leading the rest of the field.
Thank you.
Amen

now you wishing for wonders

[dren]

Don't anger the gods by asking for a feat they cannot deliver.

[Sofa King]

Red Bull must make special batches of their cans for the team that just has water inside because there is no fitness regimen in the world that includes Red Bull

Max enjoyed the press conference. .....

[organic]

Yes they are filled with water. Very normal as they sponsor tons of athletes who would not be able to drink their product. Need to fill it with something & water is very convenient.

[Wouter]

https://www.racefans.net/2023/03/02/str ... ing-crash/
.

Stroll racing with screws in wrist after cycling crash

Lance Stroll will compete in this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix with screws in the wrist he injured in a cycling crash two weeks ago.

Aston Martin confirmed today their driver will return to the car for this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix having missed last week’s three-day test due to his injury.

Stroll has screws in his injured wrist

Stroll had surgery on his right wrist, which sustained the greatest damage when he came off his bike. He said his left wrist was also “banged up” in the crash.
He told media in Bahrain the cast was removed one week ago but still has screws in place to help it heal and it hasn’t yet been decided when they will be taken out. “The doctors said we’ll reassess,” Stroll explained. “They could come out, they could stay in, depends on how [I’m] feeling down the line.”

Aston Martin had put reserve driver Felipe Drugovich on standby to take over Stroll’s car if needed. Speaking in the Bahrain paddock Stroll said it had taken “a big push in the last 12 days since my accident to get me here.”
“It was a day-by-day thing,” he explained. “With these injuries it’s always hard to tell. There is not a really quick answer how long it will take.”

He admitted he was unsure at first whether he would be able to return. “The first few days were rough. It looked like it was going to be tough. But then the last four or five days, it’s really like been improving a lot every day. And I’ve still got 20 hours or something so every hour and minute helps.”

[Wouter]

Driver Press Conference Highlights | 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix
FORMULA 1 ...... 10:33 min.