Red Flags From Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

Now the dust has settled, the first two races of the season have given us a lot to think about. Here are all the red flags we picked up from the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!

REG FLAGS - In Formula 1, red flags are used to alert drivers when a session is suspended (or in this case, when we think they've got serious problems)!

Our first red flag is fittingly waved for Ferrari. Despite a new team principal in Fred Vassuer, it seems the historic team were still plagued by their old nemesis reliability in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc suffered an engine failure, costing him what seemed a guaranteed podium. Last season's opener, which saw a Ferrari 1-2, now seems a distant memory. Even though it was only the first race (RedBull suffered a double DNF last year in Bahrain but still went on to win), it didn't bode well for Saudi Arabia. It only added to the increasing frustration and reopened old wounds from last year for the Tifosi, who saw their dreams of winning slip away through countless strategy errors. This raises even more questions about Charles Leclerc's future - how many chances is he willing to give to Ferrari? With his current contract ending in 2024, is this the best time for him to consider a move? @FanaticsFerrari on twitter reported that after the race, a disgruntled Leclerc met with Ferrari President John Elkann, discussing the events of the race and seeking reassurance about his future.

Things did't improve much for the Scuderia in Saudi Arabia. Despite it only being the second race of the season, Leclerc was forced to take a ten place grid penalty after his DNF in the previous race. This meant the Monegasque started twelfth on the grid and he would go on to struggle to cut through field. Both Sainz and Leclerc drove fairly quiet (dare we say forgettable?) races and ended the race in P6 and P7 respectably - not terrible, but a long way off from the front. Both cars struggled for pace, Charles Leclerc not helped by late strategy calls from his engineer Xavier Marcos Padros, who failed to let him to know to push whilst Hamilton pitted.

So after only two races and already a DNF, a grid penalty and signs of strategy errors creeping in, it's not hard to believe a difficult season lies ahead for Ferrari...

McLaren

Oh dear. Things aren't looking too good for McLaren after the first two races of the 2023 season. Bahrain was a disastrous season opener for the team, who ended the first race with a double DNF. Their star rookie Oscar Piastri lasted 11 laps before being forced to retire with an electrical issue, whilst an aerodynamics issue meant Lando Norris had to pit six times before his eventual retirement. Perhaps one to forget for the Woking-based team.

Even worse, Saudi Arabia didn't seem to be much of an improvement, with Piastri finishing in P15 and Norris P17. Oscar had a fantastic qualifying and managed to start P8 on the grid, but unfortunately came together with Pierre Gasly on the opening lap forcing him to pit straight away. An uncharacteristic mistake from Lando meant he was out in Q1 and only qualified P19 (effectively last, as Sargent (P20) wasn't able to set a representative time). His bad luck continued into the race as he sustained damage from debris off Oscar's car, forcing him to also pit early.

Two pointless weekends are a disaster for the team's morale as they are currently last in the constructors standings. However, McLaren recently announced a huge structural change which saw James Key (executive technical director) leave and a new three-person team created reporting directly to Andrea Stella. The new team consists of David Sanchez, who returns after working at Ferrari for the past decade, Peter Prodromou, who will head aerodynamics, and Neil Houldey who has been promoted from within to director of engineering and design. McLaren have also recently taken to social media to reveal all about their new wind tunnel - which fans will be desperately hoping will solve the team's problems.

Both Oscar and Lando toured the new facilities and seemed positive about McLaren's future. But will the wind tunnel be enough to make up the growing deficit to the front?

FIA

This final red flag is awarded to F1's governing body itself, after its chaotic attempts penalise Fernando Alonso and their subsequent U-turn.

Saudi Arabia was another successful race for Aston Martin as despite Stroll's DNF, Alonso was able to secure his second successive podium for the team - or so he thought. At the start of the race, Alonso acquired a five-second penalty for starting in an incorrect grid position. When he came into the pit to serve his penalty however, one of the mechanics appeared to touch his car with a jack before the five-second penalty was over. This resulted in a new, ten-second penalty for failing to serve the first one correctly.

The controversy came however, as the penalty was not awarded until after the race and the podium celebrations had ended. The ten second penalty resulted in Alonso losing his 100th career podium and dropping behind George Russell to P4. Many took to social media to express their anger at the fact the penalty had been issued after the race, which did not allow Alonso the chance to create a ten second gap during it. The Aston Martin team met with the stewards to argue their case over the ambiguity of the regulations. They explained that because the rules did not explicitly state anything about the use of the jack and because no actual work was started on the car, they should not have been penalised. Eventually, some few hours after the race had ended, the FIA announced the reversal of penalty and reinstated Fernando back to P3.

Alonso seemed relatively unaffected by the whole affair, going on to post on Instagram about his 100th podium before the FIA had even officially reinstated him. Maybe he knew something we didn't , or was he just teasing the stewards for their mistake? Either way, the FIA have come out red faced - and with one of our red flags.

What stood out to you as a red flag in the first two races on the season? Let us know!

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