Verstappen dominates the opening stage of F1 2023

Red Bull's Dutch driver, with a pole advantage, nearly led the convoy throughout the race. He quickly created a safe distance in the early stages, before focusing on keeping the tire for the rest of the game. Winning the 36th stage of Verstappen's F1 career helps him continue to be the leading candidate for the 2023 championship.

Verstappen said of the race: "The starting range was very good, when I created a safe distance. Then I just had to take care of the tires. You never know what will happen. in the race. We have to try to make sure we have the right tires and work in good condition."

The defending champion is also proud that Red Bull had a good race. Verstappen said: "We can certainly compete with this car, and I would also like to give a big thank you to the team. They have worked all winter to give Red Bull a strong race car." .

Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, was fiercely competed by Charles Leclerc from the very first seconds. Thanks to the advantage of newer tires due to only running 1 turn in the 3rd qualifying round, the Monaco driver surpassed Perez in the first corner.

Although soon taking second place, Leclerc had the opportunity to attack Verstappen. But Verstappen took the lead by more than a second after the first lap, dropped four seconds after the fifth lap, then widened the gap to 7 seconds when the team reached lap 10. At this point, the Ferrari driver understood that there was no chance to attack. attack an opponent, unless Verstappen has an accident or major mistake. During the race, there were only a few times when the Dutch driver complained about the RB19 when shifting slowly.

Therefore, Leclerc only focused on defending second place, before the remaining driver of Red Bull. Unable to pass on the track, Perez continued to use soft tires at the first tire change, while Ferrari chose hard tires for Leclerc. This choice gives Perez the opportunity to overcome the SF23 to regain second place in round 26 and quickly break away from the opponent.

At this point, Leclerc looks to be in third place, even faster than teammate Carlos Sainz by 10 seconds. However, by lap 41, an electrical problem on the SF23 caused the Monaco driver to give up. "We are far behind Red Bull," Leclerc said after the race. "The first phase went as expected, after our choice of tires. Ferrari sometimes took second place, but couldn't get the car to the finish line and that's the most important thing."

Contrary to the boring look in the first group, the attraction in the race was created by Fernando Alonso - the old man dropped from fifth to seventh starting position after two Mercedes drivers - Lewis Hamilton and George Russell - right in the lap. head. But the Spaniard fought to finish in third place.

Alonso overtook Russell before the first tire change, then caught up and passed Hamilton after the second tire change to close Sainz. Alonso's overtakes against Hamilton and Sainz all show the superior level of the Spaniard.

Alonso and Hamilton competed fiercely with many passing passes. But in the end, Alonso won with a slip on Turn 10 - a very difficult point to pass. When clashing with junior Sainz, the two clashed as Alonso tried to pass at Turn 4. Sainz then wisely counter-attacked on Turn 10, but Alonso cornered better the next and passed. when the two cars reach Turn 11.

Alonso said: "Finishing the first race of the year on podium is a great result. What Aston Martin has been doing all winter to get the second best car in this stage is an unbelievable result. didn't have the best start and had to work hard against opponents on the track - that made the game more interesting but I enjoyed it."