Jedda 2023 started off with the promise of a cracker race. With Max and Charles starting out of position and Alonso in P2. This excitement filtered through the first few laps with Leclerc making a magnificent start gaining 3 positions in the first lap. Using the soft compound tire, he was making good ground before the benefit of tire delta wore off. This is where car 16 dreams came to a halt. Once he traded down to the hard tires, he lost all performance as the Ferrari failed to switch on the hards. Sainz and Leclerc drifted off into limbo.
The Mercs on the other hand, had put Ham on mediums after safety car. This gave Lewis a great advantage as he began to cut through the field, until he landed behind his teammate Russel. It is here that he remained as he did not have the edge to overtake him. As the laps fell away so too did his performance.
As for the Red Bulls, they were once again in a league of their own. Perez had a shocker start as the mighty Alonso made another one of his legendary starts. However, the performance of the Red Bull was too much for him and soon he had to forfeit the lead to Checo. Max did as we predicted and charged his way through the field. The safety car help hm fast track to second. Honestly even without the safety car this was inevitable. The DRS advantage of the Red Bull gave them 17miles (approx. 27km/h) extra on the straight. That is a scary advantage…
The FIA Fiasco
The FIA have been hard this year, just ask Ocon who is still serving his penalty from Bahrain. This time around it was Aston Martin who touched the car before the penalty serving time ended. There is no doubt they broke the rules. Even Aston Martin didn’t protest that portion. What they dd protest to re-instate was that the penalty could have and should have been issued during the race. This would have allowed Alonso to open a gap big enough to cover that. His pace was proof that it could have been achieved.
Having a position especially a podium position stripped after a race is poor judgement from the FIA, more so once the driver has already celebrated it. Rules are rules, and Aston Marin broke them but taking that long for a straightforward decision is just silly. Seems like it was done purely to great drama from a race that turned into a bore fest.
Ferrari Fails Again
The Ferrari showed some real promise in qualifying, with Leclerc only a tenth or two from Perez. This confirmed they were sandbagging the during the practice sessions, or so it seemed. However, once again during the race they fell off badly. Tire management seems to be their greatest issue now. Either they degrade fast or just can’t switch them on. Either way the Italian outfit needs to do something quick, or they will get owned by Aston and based on the last race the Silver Arrows as well.
Australia does have some different characteristics compared to the last two races, and hopefully the boys can do something in the next two weeks to get on top of their gremlins to return to at least number 2 on the pecking order.
Sainz also had an unusual complaint of dirty air from the car in front affecting tires. The new regs was designed to eliminate this, and if it is returning then we may return to the days of one team dominance. As an F1 fan I hope this is just a driver excuse and not fact.
