The Bahrain Grand Prix 2023 was the 1st round of the 2023 F1 season, and took place at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, during the weekend of the 3rd to the 5th of March.
Max Verstappen won the race from the pole, followed by Sergio Pérez, and Fernando Alonso completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 50 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 9-15: 19 stops
- Laps 25-27: 6 stops
- Laps 29-34: 12 stops
- Laps 40-40: 6 stops
The fastest pit stop was Carlos Sainz's, stopping the clock at 24.227 seconds during his pit stop on lap 31, while the slowest one was was Esteban Ocon's, who stopped the clock at 44.518 seconds, 20.291 seconds slower than Sainz, during his pit stop on lap 32.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
The race was not obvious in terms of pit stop strategy, with different teams and different drivers choosing to make anywhere from 2 to 6 stops.
The race winner, Max Verstappen, was on a 2 stops strategy.
2 stops
-
4Valtteri Bottas
-
5Nyck de Vries
-
2Lewis Hamilton
-
-Carlos Sainz
-
16Charles Leclerc
-
1George Russell
-
2Fernando Alonso
-
-Max Verstappen
-
2Lance Stroll
-
-Sergio Pérez
3 stops
-
11Pierre Gasly
-
3Yuki Tsunoda
-
5Nico Hülkenberg
-
5Alexander Albon
-
9Esteban Ocon
-
3Guanyu Zhou
-
4Logan Sargeant
-
4Kevin Magnussen
6 stops
-
6Lando Norris
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 2 stops strategy gained 1.56 positions on average, the ones on a 3 stops strategy gained 2.71 positions on average, while those on a 6 stops strategy lost an average of 6 positions.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 3 stops strategy was the best option, even if Max Verstappen managed to win the race making 2 stops.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Bahrain International Circuit, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
There race went on mostly with no incidents. Only 3 divers were involved in circumstances that were severe enough to prevented them from finishing the race.
These included, Esteban Ocon, who suffered from an unidentified mechanical problem on lap 41, Charles Leclerc, who suffered an engine malfunction on lap 39, and Oscar Piastri, who suffered from electrical problems on lap 13.
Mechanical
-
Esteban OconLap 41
Engine
-
Charles LeclercLap 39
Electrical
-
Oscar PiastriLap 13
Qualifying
Max Verstappen managed to get the pole position by 0.138 seconds and a final lipe time of 1:29.708. Sergio Pérez was right behind him, helping Red Bull score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.
The second line fo the grid was dominated by Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc in third position, and Carlos Sainz in fourth.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and 13 out of the 14 drivers that took place in Q2 were able to improve their times.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. It therefore comes as no surprise that 8 out of the 9 drivers that took place in Q3 were able to improve their times.