As far as title defences go, Red Bull couldn't have hoped for a much more dominant start to 2023 than their one-two finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
However, Damon Hill has predicted Formula 1's incumbent kings will be pushed closer to their limit in Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The track layout in particular could give Ferrari a fine chance of capitalising on any speed advantages in the straights, having been unable to match Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the opener.
“It’s going to be different [to Bahrain]," said the 1996 F1 world champion during a recent appearance on the F1 Nation podcast. “We’re going to realise Ferrari have got pace, they have got the ability to race and they’ll be all over the back of the Red Bulls with the DRS zones and everything. It’s going to be great."
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As if Red Bull hadn't made things difficult enough in Bahrain, Ferrari's season-opener was complicated further when leading man Charles Leclerc was stopped after 40 laps. The Monegasque suffered a mechanical failure while in third, his fourth retirement in a little more than one year.
Team-mate Carlos Sainz went on to finish fourth and 10 seconds behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who secured his first podium placement since the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix (also third). However, the 27-second gap between Red Bull and the rest of the field is an almighty gulf in need of bridging.
Hill continued: “It is going to give a pointer as to whether there’s any chink in the armour for Red Bull, whether it actually is track specific; the performance of maybe Ferrari will be much more competitive and a circuit with less tyre [degradation], certainly in race conditions, and also their horsepower as well."
Verstappen overcame a catastrophic start in Bahrain last year to emerge atop the pile in Jeddah, while Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021. Leclerc lost out by just half a second in the latest edition of the race, hoping this is the year to usurp Verstappen's throne.
They're not the only teams in contention, either, after Aston Martin lived up to their pre-season billing in Bahrain. Alonso also has high expectations after he powered to a third-place finish at Sakhir, while partner Lance Stroll snatched sixth despite driving with a broken wrist and toe.
It's too early to suggest the British manufacturer will be disrupting the title chase anytime soon, but the challenge now turns to attaining consistency as well as high performance. “Aston Martin have now kind of created an expectation that they’re going to be brilliant at every event," added Hill. "So they are going to find out that you’ve got to keep it up if you’re going to do well.”
