Thread by @JunaidSamodien_

Auto Motor Und Sport: The Bahrain GP gave us our first real look at the balance of power. Red Bull just got better. Aston Martin has a good starting point. Ferrari and Mercedes have to find performance. What plans do the teams have with new parts for the early part of the season?

Red Bull was in a league of its own in Bahrain, as it was in 2022. According to Mercedes, Verstappen was eight to nine tenths per lap faster than the best Ferrari in the race. A second quicker than the best Aston Martin. And 1.2 seconds faster than their own W14 racers.

#AMuS

It was only the first track of the year, but there really isn't anyone in the paddock who expects big shifts in Saudi Arabia or Melbourne. The Red Bull is too good and too balanced. Verstappen is too good for teammate Sergio Perez. And Red Bull too good for the pursuers.

#AMuS

Ferrari kept up at least one qualifying lap because the extra grip of the soft tires compensates for certain deficits. In the race, the red cars lose their tires much earlier. The Scuderia Ferrari drags itself into the new year with the old problems.

#AMuS

Mercedes may have gotten a little better in qualifying, but the lack of downforce is noticeable over the distance. The black silver arrows slide around too much, especially in the fast corners. This drives up tire wear, forcing the Mercedes into a vicious circle.

#AMuS

The tires get even hotter, the cars slide even more. Aston Martin has a much more balanced package. Fast on a lap, gentle on the tires in the race, like the Red Bull, just one class below.

#AMuS

The pursuers no longer even cling to the small hope that Red Bull will have to hit the development handicap at some point. The world champion team is only allowed to use the wind tunnel for 70 percent of the nominal time.

#AMuS

Another seven percent will be deducted by the penalty for violating the 2021 budget cap. Despite this, Red Bull has moved further away from its immediate opponents Ferrari and Mercedes.

#AMuS

Red Bull was so superior in 2022 that a large part of the development work for the RB19 was probably completed before the prison sentence.

#AMuS

The world champions started from a high plinth. You didn't have to invest development time to solve problems, you could concentrate fully on getting more performance out of it. Red Bull knows exactly where to start to make the car even better.

#AMuS

Aston Martin has also found its way, only you come from far behind. Mercedes is puzzled as to what to do. Ferrari partly hopes that the dramatic defeat can also be attributed to the character of the racetrack. But the departure of head of development David Sanchez bodes ill.

Red Bull is good everywhere. In all corners, on the straights, on a lap, over the distance. The efficiency masters go full throttle. It is said that Red Bull wants to add new parts for the first time in the third race of the season (Australia).

#AMuS

For the Azerbaijan GP at the end of April there should be the first major upgrade. It affects the sub-floor. As you can hear, Red Bull is hoping for a significant step.

#AMuS

Always on the condition that what the data in the factory spit out arrives on the route. But that was always the case with the world champions with the ground effect cars.

#AMuS

It's not good news for the competition that Red Bull is upping the ante so early. Ferrari reveals little about its plans. Only this much: The SF-23 should first be gradually improved. The wing with a stilt should be repaired as soon as possible.

#AmUS

A little more can be expected for the fourth race in Baku. Ferrari needs to step up in the slow and mid-speed corners compared to Red Bull.

#AMuS

A little more can be expected for the fourth race in Baku. Ferrari needs to step up in the slow and mid-speed corners compared to Red Bull.

#AMuS

The gaps early in the season are good for those who need to catch up, even if they couldn't anticipate the problems ahead of testing and the start of the season.

#AMuS

Even if you think about it from the other side: If you had more races, you would probably lose more points against Red Bull.

#AMuS

Mercedes was one of the badly beaten in the first race of the season. A quick reaction is needed. The current concept does not live up to expectations. Wolff has already knocked it into the bin. But what is now coming to the car has been in the development loop for a long time.

In Jeddah, for example, there are a few new parts. "Conventional updates that bring a few points of downforce won't get us any further against Red Bull. We need big steps because we're far away," says Wolff.

#AMuS

In the week after Bahrain, the decision was made as to which direction to march in – in the medium and long term. The Engineering Council met on Tuesday (March 7). He worked out a plan on how to catch up. A time for the first big Mercedes serve is Imola.

#AMuS

This package has been in the development loop since the winter break. But it cannot be assumed that a single expansion stage will be enough to catch up with Red Bull. This is a longer endeavor.

#AMuS

Mercedes measured the gap in the Bahrain race at 1.2 seconds per lap. The first step towards Red Bull should succeed with the Imola update. But there is much more to come after that. Mercedes has to get to the basic structure.

#AMuS

Red Bull and Aston Martin can drive their cars low and bounce hard, which is made possible by the underbody edges that are bent up by 15 millimeters compared to last year. In theory. In practice, the two teams discovered the recipe exclusively for themselves.

#AMuS

The low-flyers take bumps like an S-Class and don't fall into aerodynamic bouncing. The others scratch their heads as to how this is possible.

#AMuS

Red Bull is by far the best place to understand how to make ground effect cars really fast. How to adjust ride height to produce lots of downforce but not annoying bouncing. How to create a neutral to slightly oversteer handling in the race. How to protect the tyres.

#AMuS

Ferrari was once on the right track here - in the first half of the 2022 season. Since then you have been looking for him in vain.

#AMuS

Aston Martin has detached itself from the midfield. The Silverstone team has a good platform. Although there should be one or the other innovation in the coming races, the focus is on optimizing the package first and squeezing it out on different racetracks.

#AMuS

At the factory, Aston Martin is pursuing an aggressive development strategy. This should then be visible for the first time in Imola in the form of upgrades.

#AMuS

AMR has two advantages over Mercedes and Ferrari and one over Red Bull. Mercedes has to find noticeable downforce, Ferrari has to solve its tire problem. Aston Martin has the most wind tunnel time compared to the top three teams.

#AMuS

37 percent more than Red Bull, 25 more than Ferrari and 20 percent more than Mercedes. But in Silverstone one tries to restraint.

#AMuS

"We have a good base. But we have to keep our feet on the ground. The gap to Red Bull was substantial. We also don't know how much they controlled the race from the front," says team boss Mike Krack.

auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/f1-up…