Press Release

Power Rankings - MRC Bahrain GP

22.06.2023 - The first race of the season is done! Let’s have a look at who I think did very well in the season opener. Comment below if you disagree or agree.

1. Luka Jerman - What more can be said? The 32-year-old Slovenian former IndyCar champion started his season in the best possible way with pole followed by a win ahead of teammate Gregory Moore. A fantastic weekend for the Porsche driver.
Rating : 9.6/10

2. Gregory Moore - Jerman’s Porsche teammate, Moore, also did extremely well. Off the back of a rather disappointing qualifying by both his and the car’s standards, the Canadian came back in the race, taking second place for Porsche’s 1-2 in the Grand Prix. A lap record in Q2 only added to Moore’s glory.
Rating : 9.3/10

3. Alex Cooper - With a return home to his favourite team, McLaren, Cooper did not have an enjoyable qualifying session, with only P13 on the grid. It was a different story in the race, though, with the Briton making up 8 positions on his way to P5, ahead of teammate Tadej Ozbolt. A fastest lap was welcome too. An error on Lap 45 on severely worn mediums, however, means it was another case of ‘What if?’. Overall, a fantastic recovery from the former world drivers champion.
Rating : 8.6/19

4. Mauricio Cruz - Aston Martin seemed very, very off the pace in qualifying, with both drivers knocked out in Q2. Worrying signs after a solid Season 51, which saw the team get some good results. Come raceday, however, the duo in green impressed, with both making up three positions in the Grand Prix, and Cruz scoring a valuable 2 points for the Portuguese outfit.
Rating : 8.4/10

5. Tony Hoffman II - With Lotus sporting a brand-new yellow livery, it was a fresh start for the team. With fellow Brazilian and teammate Pedro Dallara taking P11 in qualifying, Hoffman screwed up in Q1 with three costly blunders in Sector 1, meaning the Lotus qualified P22. A stunning race saw Hoffman make up 9 (NINE) positions to P13, the most of the entire grid. A brilliant Grand Prix overall.
Rating : 8.1/10

=6. Tadej Ozbolt - The season opener was a successful race for both Slovenians on the grid, with IndyCar champion Ozbolt outqualifying his teammate Cooper with P9. He impressed in the Grand Prix, but like Cooper, it could have been even better, with his former world champion teammate passing him on the very last lap.
Rating : 7.7/10

=6. Vali Asen - Asen looked off the pace in Q1, with a lap time good enough for only P16, despite not making my mistakes while teammate Doucet was P3. Q2 was completely different though. P7 was far from ideal, but OK whilst Doucet was P9. Q3 was magnificent as Asen outperformed the car to take P3 on the grid, behind Corinne de Saint-Germain, a driver whom he overtook on his way to a fantastic podium. Very good race, seeing the car performance, but a challenge for the win was almost certainly within reach.
Rating : 7.7/10

8. Vladimir Romadov - Mercedes are one of the underdogs, there is absolutely no doubt of that. Yet P23 was not bad for a side in only their 2nd year in F1. Romadov, on his debut, shined out, and despite not taking a points finish, P18 is not too shabby at all! The Russian made a small number of errors, none of which were costly, and did well to push the car to a very good position. Outqualifying and outracing teammate Beales, who is 6 years older was a tremendous result for the Russian, and a deserved one too.
Rating : 7.3/10

9. Iuri Carneiro - Another debutant who had a solid race weekend, Carneiro looked amazing in Q1, placing 6th, ahead some of the top dogs. It came apart in Q2 though, where a mistake in Sector 1 meant he was just under 7 tenths off Gregory Moore’s record-breaking lap time, and he qualified P19. A nicely-driven race saw him climb to P16, a good achievement on his first F1 start.
Rating : 7.0/10

10. Jyrki Jarvilehto Lehto Jr. - A disastrous qualifying for Finn Jyrki Jarvilehto Lehto Jr. at his new team Chevy saw him in last place to start. It was a good start, gaining three places in 11 laps. A massive error on Lap 12 sent him tumbling back down to P30 again, before he recovered valiantly to P23. It was perhaps the best he could have done, seeing teammate Braedyn Blake only secured P22, a place ahead. Nevertheless, it could have been better…
Rating : 6.8/10

Just Missing Out
Sixtosz Xalonna is a driver I have been watching for a long time. His championship victory in 911 Supercup was fantastic to watch and he is a fantastic driver. Aged 29, he is the youngest on the grid, but that did not stop him signing for one of the top teams, Toyota Gazoo Racing. A brilliant qualifying saw him take P8, ahead of many other brilliant drivers, including Jimmy Doucet, Alex Cooper, Mauricio Cruz, etc. His debut was going so well, with the young Greek being in P9 before his first ever Grand Prix was cut short by a cruel engine failure.
Rating : 6.3/10

My thoughts
With the first race over, Porsche look invincible. Is this finally the year that Red Bull are defeated, or are the Bulls going to charge back? It was, after all, a disappointing outcome for Red Bull, a step down from last year. And are the backmarkers like Mercedes, Chevy and Ford going to start improving? All eyes are on Jeddah…