Which team has improved the most in F1 2023? Look away Ferrari fans...
Who has made the most progress since last season? We take a look at the numbers from qualifying at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix compared with 12 months ago…
1) Aston Martin -2.441s
It is no real surprise to see Aston Martin at the top of the charts as F1’s most improved team. The Silverstone-based outfit have shaved a whopping 2.4s off their best lap in Bahrain last year, paving the way for Fernando Alonso to take their much-improved AMR23 to the podium. What an incredible turnaround it has been.
2) Williams -1.203s
Second place goes to Williams. Despite looking like the slowest team in pre-season testing, the British squad led by James Vowles have actually made very encouraging gains over the winter. Alex Albon made Q2 and followed that up with a point to give Williams a really positive start to the new campaign. Not bad to say Williams don’t currently have a permanent technical director!
3) Red Bull -0.973s
Red Bull have impressively built on the foundations of their dominant RB18 with their new RB19, which once again looks the class of the field in 2023. Some clever work over the winter has enabled Red Bull to not only maintain their advantage, but increase it further.
4) Mercedes -0.708s
Although the Bahrain GP was a big disappointment for Mercedes, the team have still made some eye-catching gains in terms of lap time. The figures back up Toto Wolff’s claim that Mercedes hit their targets over the winter. Unfortunately for them, their rivals have improved too.
5) Alpine -0.637s
Alpine were confident heading into the new campaign and aside from Aston Martin, the Anglo-French outfit have made the biggest gains compared to their direct midfield rivals.
6) Haas -0.652s
Haas can also be happy with their work over the winter as they look to take another step forward in 2023.
7) McLaren -0.627s
2022’s fifth-placed team look to have fallen back in the pecking order after a difficult winter in which McLaren admitted they missed some of their key aerodynamic targets. They will be counting on upcoming developments to push further up the grid.
8) Ferrari -0.558s
Alarmingly, Ferrari have made the least progress out of F1’s big three teams. That is reflected in their qualifying deficit to Red Bull at a track they took pole position at last year.
9) AlphaTauri -0.235s
Like McLaren, AlphaTauri seem to be heading backwards rather than forwards in 2023, despite making some minor lap time gains.
10) Alfa Romeo -0.117s
Alfa Romeo sit bottom of the list after only improving by just over a tenth.
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