2023 Formula 1 at Bahrain: How to watch, stream, preview, TV info, start time for the Bahrain Grand Prix

After the usual layoffs and hirings, new names crowding out more recognizable and familiar faces in new places, the 2023 Formula 1 season is due to start on Sunday at Bahrain International Circuit. Having just completed three days of pre-season testing, Sahir is sure to offer more than a few corners – beyond the usual ones at the 15-turn circuit – as unexpected technical gremlins are bound to show up and wipe out even the best of them. teams, which happened to Red Bull Racing at the start of the 2022 season.

Red Bull bounced back quite well from this when Max Verstappen won his second F1 title and set a pace in three days of testing that made every team notice they were still a team to beat and not going to be caught.

“I think we got a good handle on our car,” said Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez. told formula1.com. “We did a lot of analysis of the settings, tires, so I think we did the best we could… I think it’s only next weekend that we will know where we really are… It will be great to start the season a lot stronger.” than last year.”

The new team principal at Ferrari, Frédéric Wasser, said he was pleased with the lineup of drivers for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. and stated that it was a great honor for me to be at Ferrari.

“[But] we will have to deliver Vasser said formula1.com. “I don’t want to be very happy because I’m in a Ferrari. The most important thing is to win. We have a challenge ahead of us.”

In front of Ferrari, according to the data collected by F1 during the test, is Red Bull Racing, which showed the best simulated qualifying pace and the best simulation pace. Ferrari were second in race pace but only slightly behind Mercedes in qualifying pace, according to the simulation data, so it could be a much better start this season than last season for Sir Lewis Hamilton and his teammate George Russell.

Well, not so fast, Hamilton warned.

“We’re not quite where we’d like to be, but it’s a good platform to start with.” Hamilton said formula1.com. “It’s still not perfect and we still can’t match Red Bulls at the moment or maybe Ferrari. But like I said, it’s better.”

How to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Bahrain

• Date of: Sunday, March 5
• Location: 3.36 miles (5.412 km) 15-turn Bahrain International Highway, Sakhir, Bahrain
• Time: 9:55 am ET
• TV: ESPN2
• Broadcast: fuboTV (try for free)

What about the rest?

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, ranked fourth fastest teams in both qualifying and race pace according to simulation data, seem to have caught the attention of Mercedes as Silver Star driver Russell admitted he and Hamilton expect to see a lot of Aston Martins in the your class. mirrors, and cunning will keep them there.

But as pleased as Alonso was with the pre-season results, he was frustrated that Stroll was unable to participate due to a bicycle accident during practice. He’s in doubt at the start of the season and Aston Martin has Felipe Drugovic on standby if the Canadian can’t reach Sahir. For now, Stroll has run simulation runs and appears to be ready to go.

“I think we miss him because some of my comments and feelings about the car, we never know if it was just me on a new team and in a new car or [it] just maybe an Aston Martin thing that Lance might notice. Alonso explained formula1.com. “I hope he can come [back] very soon.”

Alpine: With riders Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, calm confidence reigns, and it is interesting to note that the French team did not use soft compounds during the three days of testing, but still showed some speed.

Alfa Romeo: If Aston is going to challenge Mercedes, it’s entirely possible that Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guangyu will find themselves right on the wheels of Alonso and Stroll.

McLaren: Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri completed just 312 laps as problems kept the team in the garage and off the track, so no one could guess how their Sunday would go.

“It’s hard to know [where we are] until we go” McLaren team boss Zach Brown warned. “We have set development goals for ourselves that we haven’t achieved.”

Williams: American rookie Logan Sergeant and teammate Alex Albon ran 439 laps in three days, second only to AlphaTauri, and those laps passed with relatively few problems. Their time was much faster than their 2022 testing time, and it looks like they’ll be able to make some noise and be right in the middle of the crowd.

Haas: Nico Hulkenberg settled in well and his teammate Kevin Magnussen completed him. As with the Alpine, there’s a certainty that while they’re not the fastest, they’re certainly not the slowest.

“I can’t [say for] any of the seven teams behind the big three, who is ahead and who is not,” Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner told Formula1.com.

Alpha Tauri: Yuki Tsunoda and rookie teammate Nick de Vries drove the most laps of all with 456, while de Vries drove the most of all rookies with 246. Tsunoda drove one flying lap with a time of 1:31.261, the fastest in the three-day session. , but whispers along the pit wall suggest that the team used very little fuel for three days, so their true speed is unknown and will be known Sunday at Sakhir. But if the goal was to boost morale and instill confidence in drivers, then mission accomplished.

Choice

Until proven otherwise, it’s unwise to claim three podium places other than a Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and Mercedes driver. The trick is to try and put these six drivers in the top three as Red Bull has never been shy about offering Pérez a strategy other than Ferrari to cover all corners. In fact, as terrible as Mattia Binotto was in Ferrari strategy last season, he managed to use it against the Bulls a few times. Of course, Binotto doesn’t work for Ferrari, but it certainly didn’t go unnoticed at the Scuderia.

As for surprises, this race will bring a lot. As many laps as the cars have done and all the simulations, the tires really match the road on Sunday. No one will hold their breath, but considering this is the first race, you can be sure there will be a technical problem or three will jump out and bite someone. Or several people.

Alonso and Aston Martin certainly draw attention and look like they could break into the top three, but Alpine is intriguing. Not doing any tests on soft tires is like not looking at hole cards until the flop comes face up. Can they be so sure that they can extrapolate their speeds to the softs just by seeing that everyone else has won on the softs?

I think we’ll find out soon enough.

For now, boxing with the usual suspects Vettel, Pérez and Leclerc looks strong in that order, and a four-for-three boxing by adding Sainz or maybe even Alonso seems reasonable too.