Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso have their say on how Formula 1's four weeks away from the track could impact the world championship; Red Bull have made a flying start to 2023, but will the break enable the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari to make ground?
Monday 17 April 2023 13:28, UK
Despite the 2023 Formula 1 season being the longest in the sport's history, the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix means there is a four-week break after just three races - but what impact will the pause have?
There are 20 different stories up and down the grid after three fly-away races to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, with 165 laps of racing completed and crucial world championship points already snapped up.
Now there is a pause for breath before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on April 30, by virtue of the cancellation of the Chinese GP due to the country's continued Covid-19 restrictions.
While the wait to return to the Shanghai International Circuit goes on, the gap in the schedule does provide a rare extended early-season break for teams and drivers.
The gap could prove even more pivotal given that, unlike during the sport's summer break when there is a compulsory shutdown period, teams will be working flat out to make gains on their rivals.
During the final race before the break, the Australian Grand Prix, we asked the drivers for their thoughts on the break, how it may impact them and how they are planning to use the time.
As the championship leader who has only dropped eight points, the natural thinking would be that Max Verstappen would like nothing more than to keep the momentum going as he hunts for his third straight drivers' title, but that is not the case.
After suffering from an illness ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that made him feel like he was "missing a lung" while driving in Jeddah, the Dutchman admitted he has been "struggling" since the illness.
"It's a bit weird to have three weeks off, especially that early in the season," said Verstappen.
"A couple of weeks ago I would say that I was not looking forward to it but then I got really ill, and I've been struggling a bit since that time.
"So, for me now, these three weeks is just getting back to full fitness, getting a full programme in.
"In a way, it's probably nice now. Normally, if you just feel well, I think I would also prefer to keep racing."
While Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez had a horrible weekend in Australia, crashing out of the first part of qualifying, the dominance of the Red Bull car seemed to suggest it would be an inter-team duel that would decide this year's drivers' championship.
So, perhaps the break will allow Verstappen to 'find his other lung', while his team-mate must face four weeks thinking about a wretched weekend in Melbourne, unable to do anything to put it behind him - psychologically, that might benefit the reigning world champion.
But what if this championship is not just about the two Red Bulls?
The month without travel gives engineers time at the factory, focusing on one thing - getting faster, and if there is one team that have made clear their intentions of doing so, it is Mercedes.
After a positive weekend in Australia, which saw Lewis Hamilton take second behind Verstappen as Mercedes outperformed Aston Martin and Ferrari, they will be hoping they can use their extra wind-tunnel time over Red Bull to move another step closer to the reigning constructors' champions.
Hamilton is the lead Mercedes driver in the championship, but has had a turbulent start to the season, coming to the realisation he had uncompetitive machinery, splitting with long-time trainer Angela Cullen and being out-qualified by team-mate George Russell at all three races.
In spite of the challenges, Hamilton said he does not personally need some time off, and he is unsure of how he will use it.
"Honestly, I don't think I need a mental break at the moment - I feel pretty good," the seven-time world champion said.
"Particularly around August is that time where you can have downtime."
August is the traditional summer break, which, this season, will take place between the Belgian Grand Prix on July 30 and the Dutch Grand Prix on August 27.
"I think it's good for the team to really sit down and focus on bringing upgrades to the car," Hamilton continued.
"I wish we were racing personally but I'll try and make the best use of it - I haven't figured out what I'm going to do throughout the whole time.
"But, it'll mostly be training and keeping busy."
Hamilton is probably F1's busiest driver, so a break is clearly alien to him, but after a positive weekend in Australia, he and the team will be motivated to search for more gains as they continue to work on their highly-anticipated package of upgrades expected for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix from May 19-21.
A position ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' standings, having finished third at all three races, is Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.
The 41-year-old, now with his fifth team in Formula 1, looks to have finally made a good career move, with Aston Martin transformed from the outfit that finished seventh last season.
After such a good start, the Spaniard, who lives almost every day of every year on wheels of some sort, unsurprisingly wishes he could continue his good run.
"I prefer to keep racing," was the short answer from the two-time world champion.
However, by virtue of the sliding scale of wind-tunnel time, teams with lower finishing positions last season are allowed more time to improve their car.
Aston Martin can do 355 more wind-tunnel runs than Red Bull and 192 more than Mercedes throughout the season, and Alonso will be at the Silverstone factory, rallying his troops.
"I guess [I will be at the factory a lot]," he said.
"You will use [the break] to prepare for the next race in a better way and review the first three races.
"In my case, it's a new team so there are a couple of things we want to revisit - it's okay but it's better to do it on a racetrack."
So, it sounds like Alonso still has some areas where he feels he can help improve his new team after an already scintillating start.
Charles Leclerc will probably be sighing with relief as he gets the chance to escape what has been a disastrous start to the season.
The Ferrari driver described the first three races of his 2023 campaign as the "worst start to a season ever" after being forced into his second retirement in three races following a first-lap collision in Melbourne.
Leclerc broke down in Bahrain, which led to him suffering a grid penalty in Saudi Arabia, before a poor qualifying saw him caught up in a lap-one shunt that will have made the considerable journey back to Europe feel even longer.
Ferrari as a team have not fared much better, losing out in the battle for best of the rest with Mercedes and Aston Martin and falling to fourth in the championship.
Leclerc called on his team to use the break to progress "as quickly as possible".
"In the situation we are in as a team, we take this as an opportunity to work as much as possible during this break in order to get upgrades as quickly as possible and be as competitive as we want the sooner in this season," Leclerc said.
"It's still a very, very long season.
"We are fully motivated to get back on track, and we'll try to use these weeks in the best way possible."
For Leclerc, then, this offers him and his team the chance to start their season again, and with the car having showed flashes of pace and potential, the iconic prancing horse is not yet down and out.
Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu is the driver most upset by the month's break - China's first Formula 1 driver is still yet to have a home Grand Prix.
"I don't want to have that break, because you know which race was missing from that break," Zhou said.
However, the Alfa Romeo driver, who is in his second F1 season, admitted he would enjoy some time off.
"But I think with such a busy calendar we're going to [enjoy the time off]," he said. "It's not just about going to different race weekends, it's also going to a lot of activities with the team, sponsorships.
"I think it's always nice to have some period off, for most of the drivers to reset and try to prepare for the forthcoming [races] and work on the weaknesses."
A driver who did manage to have his first home Grand Prix was McLaren's Australian rookie Oscar Piastri.
The Formula 2 and Formula 3 champion is used to performing in a season with big breaks after winning in the junior categories during the coronavirus pandemic, and says he sees the break as a chance to reflect and learn.
"For me it's a nice opportunity to look back at the first three races of my F1 career and digest what went well, what went not so well," said Piastri.
"It's a bit of a reset for the rest of the year, so I think it'll be nice for everyone.
"Obviously, you want to keep that momentum if you're going well but it's a good chance to reset if you're not, so I think we'll use it to our advantage."
That suggests what had been plain to see - McLaren endured a tricky two races with a mixture of reliability issues and on-track incidents keeping both cars out of the points until Melbourne.
After their difficult start, McLaren and Piastri will hope the reset gives them a chance to catch the pack of cars ahead of them, including fellow Mercedes engine customers Aston Martin.
The month at home will also provide significant structural changes in management - following the dismissal of technical director James Key - to take shape, so perhaps McLaren can mount a comeback, starting with Baku.
While Verstappen and Red Bull may be leading the way, this break undoubtedly gives the teams a chance to ait down and figure out how to catch them.
However, the fear for the rest of the field is that Red Bull also have the potential to improve, while Verstappen himself will undoubtedly seek to return in peak condition as he seeks a third successive drivers' crown.
The Formula 1 season resumes with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from April 28-30, with the first Sprint weekend of 2023 shown in full live on Sky Sports F1. Watch Saturday's Sprint at 2:30pm and Sunday's race at 12pm. Get Sky Sports
