The hierarchy of the monoposts seems clear for the top five

After attending the first two Grand Prix of the season, the hierarchy at the top is starting to take shape.

The unstoppable Red Bulls

Max Verstappen will attempt to defend his title this year. It’s safe to say that it’s starting off well for him. After winning in Bahrain for the first race of the season, he was then forced to start 15th on the grid in Jeddah after experiencing a breakdown in Q2, which led to his retirement. However, he managed an impressive comeback and finished second, just behind his teammate Sergio Pérez.

The Mexican driver is also very strong at the start of this season with a second place, a pole position, and a victory to his credit.

The Red Bulls have started off on the same trajectory as last season. Their car is faster than ever, consistently placing their drivers at the top by a wide margin. At the moment, it’s hard to see who could really challenge them in the title race. However, the reigning world champion team has been handed a penalty by the FIA for not complying with the budget cap, which includes a reduction in wind tunnel and CFD testing time. As a result, we can expect performance to converge and tighten as the season progresses.

The Aston Martin surprise

The AMR23 had dazzled observers during pre-season testing and confirmed its performance during the first two Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso securing a place on the podium every time.

The British team is thus the team that has made the most progress this winter, making it very competitive. While it may seem too close to contend for the title, it is not impossible to see them win races. The question remains whether Lawrence Stroll’s team is capable of maintaining this pace.

Mercedes is improving

Mercedes experienced worrisome beginnings. After a season almost devoid of success in 2022, the team counted on its W14 to turn things around. Unfortunately for Brackley, not everything went as planned and Bahrain was a true disappointment for Toto Wolff’s outfit.

The latter had indeed announced, right after the end of the first Grand Prix, that the car would be revised and developed. The road is long before seeing any real improvement, but the small changes made between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia already seem to have paid off, allowing George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to finish 5th and 6th.

Ferrari survives

The Scuderia is far from its goals. Fourth in this hierarchy, Ferrari pays a high price for the wear of its tyres but also for approximate reliability during the first weekend.

Charles Leclerc’s retirement due to an engine failure in Bahrain obviously didn’t allow them to start the year in the best way. As a result, the Monegasque driver was penalized with a ten-place grid penalty in Jeddah.

If he made a good comeback, the tire change to hard ones completely penalized him. The same goes for Carlos Sainz who couldn’t match the pace of the two Mercedes. The Maranello team is aware of this weakness and is already working to improve it.

Alpine still fragile

Alpine had a mixed first Grand Prix. While Pierre Gasly had missed out on qualifying, starting 20th on the grid, he then climbed up to tenth position, allowing the team to score its first points. Esteban Ocon faced more challenges than his new teammate.

Finishing 10th, he then received a penalty for being incorrectly positioned on the starting grid. The penalty was poorly served, resulting in a second one. For this second weekend, the “French team” made up for it, placing both of its drivers in the top 10. A bit lacking to catch up with Ferrari but comfortably ahead of the rest of the grid, Ocon and Gasly finished 8th and 9th respectively, allowing the team to move up to 5th place in the constructors’ championship.

The gap seems to be starting to widen between these five teams and the rest of the grid. See you in Australia from March 31st to see how this hierarchy evolves.