[Official] Rate the Grand Prix: Bahrain Grand Prix 2023

[Born Racer]

What score do you give it?

[S griffin]

I can't wait, should be a very interesting race

[TCT]

I have been geoblocked from watching this race.
Whatever happens, it deserves the lowest score I can give it.

[Greem]

8 from me. Strategy, challengers, problems, small bits of contact and stone truly brilliant racing through the field.

[bjohnsonsmith]

9, one of the best season openers I've seen in a while. Things bode well for the rest of the season.

[chillibowl]

7 but what a great start to the season. Racing was fun and in terms of production quality it was top notch. Race leaves me even more excited for the season to come!

[BTCC frog]

Imagine this race without Red Bull.

Initially looks quite dull at the front with Charles Leclerc pulling away from Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso gets stuck behind the Mercedes. But at least there is an interesting scrap for the podium and Alonso gets past Russell and chases down Hamilton.

Then, in the closing laps, everything changes. Dominant leader Charles Leclerc retires, Carlos Sainz appears to struggle with tyres and world champions Hamilton and Alonso close him down. There are now three drivers from three different teams scrapping for victory and Alonso forces his way past Hamilton with a brilliant move after they have already swapped positions twice. He then passes Sainz for an unexpected and brilliant victory. Sainz second and Hamilton third, while the seemingly fastest driver starts the season with zero points and looks to be playing catch up. The race gets a solid 8-9.

But instead, all that was just for third, and Red Bull completely dominated up front, so I gave it a 5. I think the battle for third this season will be tremendously exciting, but it is just not quite the same when it is not for first.

Fantastic to see Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin back.

[seanyb505]

You've described formula 1.5, it's a thing lol.

I don't think I can completely divorce this race from being first of the season with the anticipation of seeing who truly has what. After a week of testing where every talking point had to be qualified with, "it's only testing" it felt nice to see proper attempts for points.

As such I'd rate it a high 7, low 8. If this race happened much further in the season it would be closer to a 3.

[GT6]

A 7 from me this week

[Richard C]

7 for me. better than average given interesting drives and racing from Alonso. But overall, a bit boring.

Richard

[TrapezeArtist]

Thrilling qually. A race that was a mix of exciting and ordinary. I just resisted an 8 and settled for 7.

[morninggents]

5. Only mildly interesting. Good to see Fred, and a different make on the podium. Sad for Leclerc. He deserved better.

[Neil22]

7 for me, not bad for an opener.

[Alan52]

6
Alonso hugely entertaining.
Marked down because Red Bull were playing with the field.Seems like a year of Mercedes level domination coming up.

[steve_r]

6.
Great battles lower down. Bodes well for the season in that respect. Unfortunately not for the lead.

[Aysedasi]

5, pretty dull really - aside from Alonso who bumped it up to a 6 for me (on the highlights only). The RBR dominance in the first race of the season is just a little depressing....

[GORDON STREETER]

Unfortunately for me it's started off just like the WSB this year where the same team is making the others look like also rans, apart from Ferrari and an on form Alonso I found it boring. It's fine for dedicated fans of Red Bull and Verstappen and the same for Ducati and Bautista who are worlds apart, just like last year !
I gave it a 5 but hope it "might" improve

[AndreasDavour]

Did I watch the same race as everyone else?
Apart from Alonso's racing, it was just a procession, wasn't it?
I give it a 3.

[seanyb505]

In a vacuum I'd give it a 3 too. But some elements for me personally were material to the race weekend. First race of the season would have to be super dull with no on track passes for me to actually rate it low.

[AndreasDavour]

Yeah, maybe I was a bit harsh, but I sat long stretches and waited for something to happen, so it surely wasn't that action packed.



To be sure, being a McLaren man, it was something of a downer...

[brands]

Just as well Alonso lost positions at the start to provide some action.
3.