We take a quick look back at the most recent race of the season in our post, F1 Review Spain 2023.

The 2023 Spanish Grand Prix promised a fast-paced, exciting race, and it did not disappoint. The track evolved to remove the final chicane, opening up the last corner for drivers to go flat out. This empowered drivers to push their upgraded cars to the limit, realigning the pecking order.

Follow Double Apex on Instagram and Facebook where we share more car content.

Max’s Dominance

Max Verstappen led every single lap of the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. The performance was nothing short of dominant, with not even a sliver of a challenge in sight. While Mercedes did choose a different strategy, the pace of the Red Bull was too much to handle. At the end of the race, Max had a massive 24-second lead. Additionally, the Dutch driver went ahead and snatched the fastest lap of the race.

Mercedes’ Massive Gains

Mercedes had some of the biggest upgrades in the paddock. The team from Brackley brought a ton of new parts to Barcelona with the hopes of pushing the new package to its limit.

Click here to read how much it’ll cost to attend the Monaco F1 GP from SA.

Qualifying was a mixed bag as George Russell couldn’t find his groove and failed to qualify for Q3. Teammates Lewis Hamilton and Russell collided at the end of Q2, with minor damage hindering Hamilton’s Q3 run. Despite starting P4 and P12 on the grid, Mercedes managed to power through the field and claim two podium places.

Hamilton hunted down Sainz with ease while Russell carved his way through Ocon, Alonso, Stroll, and Sainz. Perez did pose a threat at the end of the race, but Russell managed to hold the Mexican off to claim P3. This impressive result moves Mercedes up to second place in the constructor’s championship.

Ferrari Troubles

Even though Charles Leclerc started on pole position last year, the Ferrari failed to get into Q2 this year. Ferrari started on hard tyres, but struggled with high tyre degradation throughout the race. This resulted in Charles Leclerc fighting the likes of Gasly for the final point, a fight that he ultimately lost.

Sainz had a decent start and actually challenged Max Verstappen into turn 1. However, Max was well clear of the Ferrari by the end of the lap. While Sainz enjoyed P2 for a few laps, the pace of the Mercedes posed a massive threat. Hamilton cruised past the Ferrari after the first round of stops, highlighting its poor race pace.

Where Was Aston Martin?

Aston Martin became fan favourites in the first few rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 season. While Alonso made regular appearances on the podium, both cars struggled throughout the race.

Alonso damaged his car during qualifying and started further down than he normally would. However, the two-time world champion has the racecraft and experience to slice his way through the field. Unfortunately, the Aston Martin lacked the speed needed to challenge Ferrari or Mercedes today.

This resulted in Stroll outperforming his teammate for the first time this season with a P6 finish. Alonso came through a few moments later in P7.

Unlucky McLaren

McLaren was the talk of the town after a powerful qualifying performance by both Norris and Piastri. For much of qualifying, Piastri and Norris were consistently topping the times, with Piastri even getting as close as 0,08s to Verstappen at one point.

While qualifying was great, the team failed to capitalise in terms of race pace. Lando Norris made contact with Lewis Hamilton on the first lap as the Mercedes had a mega start and closed the door on his fellow Brit. This caused him to enter the pits for a new wing and destroy his entire race. Piastri stayed out of trouble but had no real pace to compete higher up.

Click here to read a more detailed account of the 2023 Spanish F1 GP.