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Imagine this race without Red Bull.
Initially looks quite dull at the front with Charles Leclerc pulling away from Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso gets stuck behind the Mercedes. But at least there is an interesting scrap for the podium and Alonso gets past Russell and chases down Hamilton.
Then, in the closing laps, everything changes. Dominant leader Charles Leclerc retires, Carlos Sainz appears to struggle with tyres and world champions Hamilton and Alonso close him down. There are now three drivers from three different teams scrapping for victory and Alonso forces his way past Hamilton with a brilliant move after they have already swapped positions twice. He then passes Sainz for an unexpected and brilliant victory. Sainz second and Hamilton third, while the seemingly fastest driver starts the season with zero points and looks to be playing catch up. The race gets a solid 8-9.
But instead, all that was just for third, and Red Bull completely dominated up front, so I gave it a 5. I think the battle for third this season will be tremendously exciting, but it is just not quite the same when it is not for first.
Fantastic to see Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin back.
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