JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (PSF) — After an entertaining Saturday qualifying that saw defending champion Max Verstappen start in 15th, rookie McLaren driver Oscar Piastri start in eighth, and the front row comprising of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso in first and second respectively, the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix showed promise that maybe the Red Bull team (as well as Verstappen) is mortal after all and that there could be an unpredictable exciting finish. However, this was not exactly the case. Verstappen recovered all the way from 15th to bring home a second place podium finish, Piastri and the McLaren team imploded again as the young Aussie finished out the points having to pit early after damage from an incident with Esteban Ocon, and Sergio Perez captured the win from pole position with the third place driver being Fernando Alonso. Let’s look at some things we can extract from the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

We Can Easily Rank The Top Teams

I said it the afterthoughts of the Bahrain Grand Prix and I’ll say it again: the Aston Martins are legit. I knew that they would have great pace, but this leap from last year is beyond significant. Fernando Alonso is rejuvenated and if Lance Stroll can gain some consistency, his podium moment will come sooner rather than later this season. Aside from Aston Martin, you got a really good feel of the pecking order so far this season. In order from the car with best performance to least of the contenders it is Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari. The order is so distinct that the Red Bulls went 1-2, Alonso was the sole representative for Aston Martin in P3 after Lance Stroll’s car failure, Mercedes went 4-5, and Ferrari finished 6-7. The battles among these teams were not competitive as Verstappen passed the Ferraris, Mercedes, and Aston Martin drivers to capture P2 from 15th, and each overtake of the other rival teams were nothing special and were just as easy and casual as Verstappen’s. We can only hope as fans that one team can bridge the gap to the others soon.

The FIA Needs A Major Face-lift

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, otherwise known more commonly as the FIA, have been under fire for their on and off-track rulings for what feels like an eternity. From the controversial call give Max Verstappen the best chance to capture the 2021 Drivers’ World Championship when it probably should have ended on a safety car giving Lewis Hamilton the win, to letting the drivers compete in dangerous conditions in Japan last season, there is always some ruling from the FIA that makes the collective F1 community scratch their heads. The confusion this week came with crowning the P3 podium sitter. After Fernando Alonso lined up on the grid incorrectly from P2, he was given a 5-second timed penalty for this infraction and it was to be served in the pit lanes. After his teammate Lance Stroll retired from the Grand Prix prompting a safety car (which it shouldn’t have; Stroll parked up in a very safe spot) Alonso dove into the pits to serve his penalty as he had to sit in his pit box for five seconds without his car being worked on. Alonso did this and went on to continue his race. However, the Mercedes team were telling the then fourth place driver George Russell that Alonso may receive another penalty for incorrectly serving his penalty. Aston Martin were telling Alonso the opposite, stating that they think they are okay and won’t be penalized further. Alonso went on to finish in P3 and received his trophy and popped his champagne alongside Perez and Verstappen. Shortly after it was announced that Alonso received a 10-second time penalty that would demote him to P4 and promote George Russell up to P3. Mercedes’ posted on their social media platforms George Russell receiving his trophy and celebrating with his team. However, Aston Martin appealed this decision from the FIA showing multiple examples of other teams serving their penalty the same way that they did with these teams not receiving more timed penalties, and the team in green was actually successful in their appeal, thus giving Alonso his P3 and trophy back and leaving Russell empty handed yet again. Everything about this situation just did not feel right. I have so many questions. How was this not decided on-track? Why was there confusion in how Aston Martin served the penalty? How can you take a trophy away from two people in one night? This reminded me of how as a waiter, you can not put food on someone’s table and then take it back to the kitchen. Once it is on the table, it is theirs.

McLaren Is Pain

Another weekend of disappointment came for McLaren in Jeddah. It was a promising start for rookie Oscar Piastri who out-qualified his teammate Lando Norris, starting in eighth place while the senior McLaren member started all the way down in 19th. It went down hill from lap one for Piastri as he made contact with Esteban Ocon breaking part of his front wing that forced him replace his front wing. By lap two, it was McLaren in 19th and 20th. What was even worse was that the debris caused from the Piastri-Ocon collision hit Norris’ car causing him to pit early. The two races of the McLaren drivers were over before it seemed to have even started. Although it is a long race, the car struggled to find pace even against the backmarkers of the AlphaTauris and Williams cars. For fans of McLaren I can’t even imagine what it must be like to support this team or either one of the two drivers without ripping your hair out. It is only Round 2 on the Formula One calendar and although it may not look like it now, there still should be some hope for the team to improve. A Q3 appearance from a rookie driver for a team that looked lost in Round 1 was promising, and whenever you have a talent like Lando Norris on your team you can expect a surprise high finish from him at any given time. But for now, all McLaren know is pain.