Horner: Good to see "Old Red Bull" car also on podium

Red Bull were all dominant in Bahrain on Sunday, with Max Verstappen taking the win 12s ahead of teammate Sergio Perez who came home second, while Fernando Alonso came third some 22s behind the Mexican.

The Aston Martin AMR23 has been the revelation of the 2023 Formula 1 season so far as Alonso, despite having a troubled start to his race on Sunday, managed to climb back up the grid beating the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, as well as compatriot Carlos Sainz who was struggling in the Ferrari.

Alonso got some help from Charles Leclerc's SF-23 that decided to call it a day in lap 41 of the 57-lap-race with power unit troubles, but regardless, the season opener showed us that Aston Martin have got their sums right with the AMR23.

Needless to mention, the AMR23 is the first car from Aston Martin that was conceived under the watch of Dan Fallows, the team's new technical director and the former chief aerodynamicist of Red Bull.

Aston Martin gave a hint to their future plans as back in 2022, the unleashed an upgrade package on their AMR22 at the time for Barcelona which was dubbed the "Green Bull" by many.

Speaking to the media, Christian Horner insisted to jokingly refer to the great resemblance between the AMR23 and Red Bull's dominant RB18 from 2022; he said: "Good to see old Red Bull car also on podium."

Quizzed whether Red Bull regret letting Fallows go; Horner responded: "No because we have a wonderful team.

"Everything has to evolve, nothing stands still, I think it is flattering to see the resemblance of that car to ours so it was great to see the three of them on the podium," he insisted.

Horner even went as far as admitting Aston Martin are Red Bull's closest rivals in terms of race pace; he said: "Based on the result of one race you would have to say they were the second-strongest team here.

"They looked very strong in the race today," he went on. "It was enjoyable to see Fernando up there and it gives the 40-somethings hope that there is life in the old boy yet, and he raced very well, he is still so competitive and the Aston looks a good car."

Red Bull are competing in 2023 under the burden of the cost cap penalty they were handed down in 2022 for breaching the 2021 F1 cost cap, meaning the have to make do with 10% less wind tunnel time.

Horner weighed in on this penalty, crediting his team for delivering the mighty RB19; he said: "I think for the first race of the race, to bring them home as we did with the handicap of the wind tunnel time and everything else I think the team has done an amazing job to have this as a starting point.

"Of course we’ve now got to be efficient in our development moving forward and every circuit will have its different challenges but it is a great start for the team," he pointed out.

But Horner is realistic Red Bull's rivals will not be resting until they catch up with them, cautiously waiting a few more races before the final gaps in the pecking order are clear.

"You never know," he replied when asked about the gaps. "I think the problem is we’ve only got one data set which is at this track so we are not taking anything for granted so let’s see.

"Jeddah in two weeks, Melbourne after that, once we’ve got two or three circuits under our belt we will get a much better picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our car and our opposition. But certainly a very healthy start and a very well executed race to bring in the most points.

"23 races is a marathon," he added, "and it is about being consistent over the campaign. Today was a great start, both drivers, Checo lost out at the start on the dirty side of the grid that benefitted the brand new tyre off the start for Charles.

"But again the strategy and the pace we had enabled Checo to pass him and then it was a question of managing the race to the finish. But we fully expect our rivals to come back hard in the future races," Horner warned.

Regardless of how safe Horner wants to play it, the signs from Bahrain are ominous that Red Bull are on the verge of another dominant campaign, with Mercedes losing their way again, and Ferrari not convincing that they are serious contenders yet.

(Additional reporting by Agnes Carlier)