2023 pecking order predictions

[TNTHead]

I guess we need a definitive confirmation this afternoon and tomorrow.... but it definitely looks close.

[Artur Craft]

So, race pace wise, we got:
RB >>> Leclerc >>Sainz~=Alonso >Mercedes

[organic]

So, race pace wise, we got:
RB >>> Leclerc >>Sainz~=Alonso >Mercedes

What? Alonso was miles quicker than sainz but spent 2 stints in essentially traffic.

[fourmula1]

We could get a real close three way fight for 2nd-4th this year. Fingers crossed.

[AMG.Tzan]

We could get a real close three way fight for 2nd-4th this year. Fingers crossed.

Who cares about 2nd-4th???

The season is a write off already! Red Bull caught cheating in 2022 and still open the gap! I told you this penalty won’t even touch them…

This is embarrassing for Formula 1 and their new rules that would have brought the field closer…

[fourmula1]

We could get a real close three way fight for 2nd-4th this year. Fingers crossed.

Who cares about 2nd-4th???

The season is a write off already! Red Bull caught cheating in 2022 and still open the gap! I told you this penalty won’t even touch them…

This is embarrassing for Formula 1 and their new rules that would have brought the field closer…

I care because that is all I have to look forward to this season

We wont get a championship battle, so I hope I can enjoy good racing between the next best.

[chrisc90]

Caught cheating in 2022? Sure it was 2021 there was a minor overspend. Didnt have any affect on the 2022 car.

[Artur Craft]

So, race pace wise, we got:
RB >>> Leclerc >>Sainz~=Alonso >Mercedes

What? Alonso was miles quicker than sainz but spent 2 stints in essentially traffic.

Maybe that´s right but I´m not fully convinced because Alonso had a hard time passing Mercedes. Towards the end, yes, he was quite quicker than Carlos but I don´t know if that would have happened the whole race. But Sainz was like 0.5s/lap slower than Shal. By lap 22, I noticed the difference between them was around 13s!

[Mosin123]

Caught cheating in 2022? Sure it was 2021 there was a minor overspend. Didnt have any affect on the 2022 car.

Did they not work on the 22 car during the 21 season then like all the other teams? i am sure i have heard Horner him self say they have started working on the 22 car during the 21 season....

[Tiny73]

Caught cheating in 2022? Sure it was 2021 there was a minor overspend. Didnt have any affect on the 2022 car.

Of course it did and to think otherwise is delusional. If it didn’t have an effect on the car they wouldn’t have overspent would they?

[AR3-GP]

So, race pace wise, we got:
RB >>> Leclerc >>Sainz~=Alonso >Mercedes

What? Alonso was miles quicker than sainz but spent 2 stints in essentially traffic.

Maybe that´s right but I´m not fully convinced because Alonso had a hard time passing Mercedes. Towards the end, yes, he was quite quicker than Carlos but I don´t know if that would have happened the whole race. But Sainz was like 0.5s/lap slower than Shal. By lap 22, I noticed the difference between them was around 13s!

He had a hard time passing because the Aston Martin has a ton of downforce, but it's not as efficient as the RB. The Mercedes and Ferrari were very fast down the straights, but they have no downforce and destroyed their tires after 5 laps.

Look at the race runs for AM from FP2 and pre-season. They translated to the race. Alonso could have challenged Leclerc and imo (I know some won't agree), he would have beaten Leclerc on pace (but perhaps struggled to overtake due to the Ferrari 325km/h top speed and PU).

[mendis]

What? Alonso was miles quicker than sainz but spent 2 stints in essentially traffic.

Maybe that´s right but I´m not fully convinced because Alonso had a hard time passing Mercedes. Towards the end, yes, he was quite quicker than Carlos but I don´t know if that would have happened the whole race. But Sainz was like 0.5s/lap slower than Shal. By lap 22, I noticed the difference between them was around 13s!

He had a hard time passing because the Aston Martin has a ton of downforce, but it's not as efficient as the RB. The Mercedes and Ferrari were very fast down the straights, but they have no downforce and destroyed their tires after 5 laps.

Look at the race runs for AM from FP2 and pre-season. They translated to the race. Alonso could have challenged Leclerc and imo (I know some won't agree), he would have beaten Leclerc on pace (but perhaps struggled to overtake due to the Ferrari 325km/h top speed and PU).

May be Aston can think of trimming down some rear wing and see how that helps on top speed vs impact on downforce/tyre life. Hopefully, their development path also has elements that reduce some more overall drag that can also help.

[JAA17]

Bahrain = Alonso = Man of the Match.

I spent the morning cleaning the fizzy pop spills where I was constantly out of my seat cheering.

This is going to be a great year. OK, there might be a snooze in P1 and P2, but wow, we are going to see some action from the best of the rest. And Alonso is the cream of the crop.

[Sevach]

So, race pace wise, we got:
RB >>> Leclerc >>Sainz~=Alonso >Mercedes

What? Alonso was miles quicker than sainz but spent 2 stints in essentially traffic.

Sainz never got away from Hamilton either, the distance between them never went beyond 4s even with Hamilton in heavy administration mode, most of the time around 3s.
Hamilton probably could've gone quicker and got to the back of Carlos earlier, but he would probably fry his tires doing that (Russel being the example), their pace was essentially the same.

I'd say the Ferrari car is better because Hamilton with all his skills in administrating tires still couldn't get by Carlos who is just bad when the car isn't easy to drive, Charles who can handle some instability and difficult cars was much further up the road.

Fernando vs Charles TBD.

[mendis]

Redbull till 2026 will win the WCC and WDC.

AM would be surprise for next season 2023

Give this man a medal.

Who would be the next President of USA?