The cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix - originally meant to take p൲lace this weekend on April 16 - has resulted in F1’s longest-ever season being broken up by a h♏ighly unusual four-week gap. 

We’ve considered what the unintended pause could mean for the class of 2023 ahead of a relentless run of races to the summer when F1 resumes with the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30. 

A chance for Mercedes to catch up? 

After a lacklustre start to the season, Mercedes enjoyed a notable jump in performance last ti🧔me out in Australia which provided the team with a much-needed boost heading into the break. 

Mercedes are buoyed about the potential of upgrades they have in the pipeline, though they aren’t set to arrive until the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix i♌n late May.&nཧbsp;

Unlike the traditional ‘summer break’ in August, teams do not have to observe a mandatory factory shutdown period, meaning they are free to continue their respective development 🌌pushes. That gives Mercedes a clear run to focus on improving their W14 car without the distraction🦄 of having to go racing for most of April. 

"I think it's good for the team to really sit down and focus on bringing upgrades to the car,” said seven-time world champion168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Lewis Hamilton. 

"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 who💦le time.

"But, it'll mostly be training and keeping busy.”

And168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Fernando Alonso, whos💧e Aston Martin team have been the surprise package of 2023 thanks to a sensational transformation from midfield also-rans ꦺto front-runners, is wary about a rival fightback as F1’s development war hots up. 

“After a few events from now on, I think the cars will change a lot, in a few𒉰 areas and a few developments,” Alonso said in Melbourne.

“We have to wait and see. I think very soon, from Baku or Imola, we will see the t🍰eams changing a few parts in the cars. And maybe that changes, also, how 🌺competitive you feel.”

Can Ferrari iron out their issues? 

Like Mercedes, Ferrari are also playing catch up following their 168ဣ澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:worst start to an F1 season sinc🀅e 2009. 

An awful start to the new campaign has left Ferrari a distant fourth in the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:championship standings, 🎃almost 100 points adrift of leaders Red Bull. 

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Charles Leclerc has already suffered a hammer blow to his title hopes after failing to finish two of the first three races, leaving him with just six points. Meanwhile, teammate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Carlos Sainz is yet to better his P4 from the Bahrain season-opene🧸r. 

Can ♐Ferrari take advantage of the break to make progress and address their weaknesses, including engine unreliability and tyre degradation issues?

“I think iꦿn the situation we a😼re 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 sooner in this season,” said Leclerc.

“It’s still a very, very long season. We are fully motivated to get back on top and we’ll try 🗹to use these weeks [before Azerbaijan] in the best way possible.”

Will it hinder Verstappen’s momentum? 

The break could be seen as coming at a bad time for 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen, given his supreme form💖 in the openinဣg three races.

Verstappen has been unstoppable - reliability gremlin in Jeddah qualifying aside - anꦅd looks well on his way to taking a third c🐠onsecutive world title after a pair of peerless victories in Bahrain and Australia. 

Could the four-wee💧k break hinder the Dutchman’s purple streak of momentum? 

It may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise, giving Verstappen the chance to regain full fitness after illness ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix left him feeling like he was 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:“missing a lung”. 

"It's a bit weird to have three weeks ofཧf, especially t🅘hat early in the season," the two-time world champion said. 

"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 are just [about] getting 🥂back to full fitness, getting a full programme in.

"In a way, it's probably nice now. Normally, if y꧟ou just feel well, I think I would also prefer to 💜keep racing.”

Red Bull will be mindful about the impact their punishment for breaking the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:F1 cost cap will have on their develop🉐ment꧟ plans in the coming months.

What about F1’s rookie trio?

For F1’s r꧙ookies, the break will provide a rare chanc๊e to take stock and reflect on the starts they have made to their respective careers. 

Despite McLaren’s challenging start to the year, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Oscar Piastri was able to💫 score his first F1 points on home soil l💖ast time out in Albert Park. 

Although he does not have the most competitive machinery at his disposal, the young Australian is already living up to the hype and looks more of a match for teammate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lando Norris than 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Daniel Ricciardo ever was. 

Things have been a little tougher for Williams’ 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Logan Sargeant and AlphaTauri’s 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Nyck de Vries, who are the only dri💦vers yet to score points thi൩s season. 

Sargeant has shown flashes of promise but also demonstrated that he is fallible, while de Vries has lagged behind teammate168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Yuki Tsunoda as he struggles to adapt to t🔯he difficult-to-drive AlphaTauri. 

Both wi🤪ll be g🍷lad to have an opportunity to digest and reset.