Bahrain: pre-qualifying 2023


And so to the first race, with Stroll recovered enough to drive but having missed the solitary pre-season test.


In first practice we had Perez top dog, four-tenths up on Alonso and six-tenths ahead of his Dutch team mate. Norris was surprisingly 4th in the McLaren, which looked a dog in the test and may indicate just how little attention we should pay to practice (or a very quick turnaround), with Leclerc and Stroll following. Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu, Bottas, and Hamilton rounded out the top 10 (Russell was 11th).

Second practice had Alonso go one better and top the session, a tenth and a half ahead of Verstappen (who was just two-thousandths up on Perez). Leclerc and Hulkenberg were both three-tenths down the road, followed closely by Stroll and Gasly. Hamilton, Norris, and Zhou Guanyu followed.

The Aston Martin is undoubtedly tasty and a huge improvement on last year. But the question remains as to whether this is a midfield king or has made the step up into the race (or even title) contender group at the sharp end of the grid.


No tip (unless one counts the early 3.8 on Alonso for a podium). Unsure if I’ll be around after third practice to post anything then.

Qualifying and the race are at 3pm.


Morris Dancer


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