Welcome back to What Needs Knowing. Pardon the belated delivery this week Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend time with good friends in the mountains and I didn’t get a moment of peace at my computer until late on Friday evening thus the Saturday morning salutations. This volume is a very cool milestone for me. Just under a year ago, I was sitting by the window in my parent’s house recovering from a phone call with my brother. Siblings can be very good at telling the hard truths and after this particular discussion (I wasn’t very excited for the free advice but I clearly needed it), I sat down at my computer and, almost to spite my brother, began writing about the start of the Formula 1 season in a blank word document. The topic seemed both exciting but obscure enough to be worth sharing with the 29 subscribers (that’s putting it kindly, they were forced to sign up) that received the first newsletter. Thus, Volume 1 of What Needs Knowing was born.
This weekend, the 2023 Formula 1 season begins in Bahrain and WNK’s first birthday is only two weeks away. The feelings are flowing, ideas are bouncing around, and I’m sure I will have more to say—and announce—about this passage of time later this month. For now, let’s get a little lost in the anticipation and drama that is Formula 1.
Moments: Time Will Tell
This weekend, F1 is back. The Bahrain Grand Prix is on Sunday at 8am MT on ESPN. It will be one of the most interesting races of the year because there is so much unknown about the teams and the cars at this early stage. During the offseason, teams have the freedom and time to make major upgrades to the car and fully re-engineer design concepts that were not working during the previous season. On Sunday, the new designs will be put to the test and this season’s old favorites and dark horses will become clear. Here are two things I’ll be watching for in Bahrain and my prediction for the race along with some hot takes for the season ahead:
Ferrari is back and appears to be near the top of the timesheets but can they put the major blunders of last season behind them? Following numerous race-ruining strategic errors—many of which were heavily featured in Season 5 of Drive to Survive—Mattia Bonetto was let go and Frédéric Vasseur (ex-Alpha Romeo) has taken over the Team Principal role. I’m anxious to see whether this personnel change is enough to address the team’s demons or if miscommunication runs deeper than we originally thought.
Apart from the three top teams in last year’s Constructors Championship and Alfa Romeo, all remaining teams made a change to their driver lineup during the offseason. Daniel Ricciardo has departed McLaren for the greener pastures of being the reserve driver (and #1 heartthrob) at Red Bull while Pierre Gasly has left the bullpen at Alpha Tauri to try his luck at Alpine. For Aston Martin, the arrival of veteran Fernando Alonso from Alpine (and a pretty speedy car by the looks of testing and practice yesterday) predict good times ahead. U.S. fans can finally root for an American driver in Williams’ Logan Sargeant although I suspect most fans will continue rooting for their other favorite driver until Williams actually starts doing well.
My predicted podium for Sunday’s race: 1st: Max Verstappen, 2nd: Fernando Alonso, 3rd: Sergio Perez.
My bold predictions for the season:
Max Verstappen will win his 3rd Drivers Championship. However, the race will be much closer than last season as Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso will be hot on his heels.
Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin are the dark horses this season. Valtteri Bottas will win a race and the Italian team will ascend to the top of the midfield while Aston Martin’s speed might propel them into the top group of teams fighting for race wins. What a difference a year can make! Of course, all of this hype about how fast Aston Martin has become is entirely speculation following pre-season testing. Being fast during an actual race is what counts.
McLaren is in for a difficult year and I believe Lando Norris will begin wondering if the grass is greener elsewhere at the end of this season. All of his friends from growing up have won races by now: George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, and this kid named Max Verstappen.
See you all on the couch tomorrow morning for the race. I hear F1 pairs well with pancakes!
Thanks for joining me this week. There will not be a WNK volume next Friday. This little writer needs a mini-vacation. Let’s meet back here on Friday March 17th! Talk soon,
-Mackenzie “ate too many jellybeans this week” Timbel