Dutch maximum verstappen and your team Red Bull restarts as favorites to win championships of the 2023 Formula 1 World Cup, which is a year Fernando Alonso took back the illusion He hopes to be at the level of Mercedes and Ferrari, where there should be options to break the monopoly of the Austrian team. Carlos Sainz ready to step.
The World Cup, which started this Friday at the Bahrain International Circuit, looks set to continue as it did last year. A very authoritative ‘Mad Max’ on paper. The two-time world champion dominated the first day of official pre-season testing at Sakhir with his RB23, while on the second and final day of testing he came very close to a surprising Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo).
Verstappen is willing to turn the ‘Great Circus’ into his ‘garden’ without offering the rest of the options from the start. In 2022, he raised his same season win record to 15 and beat Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) by 146 points. And his prowess, combined with the support of his trusted aide Sergio Pérez, has allowed energy drink enthusiasts to break Mercedes’ dominance in the Builders’ World Championship they’ve won over the past eight years.
Asturian driver Fernando Alonso starts this World Cup on the right foot and sneaks into the top positions during free practice this Friday, where he finished second between the two Red Bulls. Things turned for the better for the fastest finisher in the afternoon. Carlos Sainz, who started the race from 14th place, could not get the same chance.
Bahrain GP schedule
Saturday, March 4
Free practice 3: 12:30 – 13:30
Classification: 16:00