"Red Bull has got this championship sewn up, I don't think anyone is going to be fighting with them this year. I expect they should win every single race this season. That is my bet." Those were the words of Mercedes' George Russell after the very first race of the season back in March, and so far, not many would argue with that prediction.
Max Verstappen won his fifth - and Red Bull's seventh - race of the season so far in Barcelona, cruising home to victory with a margin of 24 seconds to 2nd placed Lewis Hamilton.
But behind the championship leader, the 19 other drivers put on an entertaining race on a circuit that can often be difficult to overtake on. So what did we learn from the 2023 edition? Let's take a look.
One dominant Dutchman
11.987s, 0.179s, 5.384s, 27.921s, 24.090s. Those are the winning margins of Verstappen's five wins to date in the 2023 season. Ruling out the Australian Grand Prix (which finished under a Safety Car), three of his four wins this season have been by a margin of over 11 seconds, with two over 20.
The Spanish Grand Prix was no different, as, after the first-turn challenge from home favourite Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari, Verstappen came home unchallenged to lead every lap before winning the race - the third race in a row that a Red Bull has led every lap before winning.
For the neutrals watching, this season is not shaping up to be one for the ages. Verstappen's team-mate and only real championship challenger, Sergio Perez, is now sitting 53 points behind him - the equivalent gap of more than two race wins with the fastest lap bonus point for each. After his 40th career race win, the Dutchman appears to be cruising to his third world championship.
Scrapping the no-sidepod philosophy a saviour for Mercedes
Mercedes recorded their first double podium of the season so far, and only their second podium of the season after Hamilton's second-placed finish in a hectic Australian Grand Prix, with Hamilton finishing P2 ahead of his British team-mate Russell in P3.
After mild improvement on the streets of Monaco, finishing fourth and fifth, just seven days ago, the boys from Brixton really got to witness what effect the much-anticipated upgrades have had on the Silver Arrows. After finally ditching the no-sidepod philosophy that haunted the team throughout the 2022 season and early on in 2023, Mercedes look much stronger and full of downforce in what is effectively the 'W14B'.
Despite Aston Martin bringing upgrades of their own to the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks, the eight-time constructor's champions will be hoping their newfound form can keep them ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari in the battle for second.
No luck for Lando
If 4 is Lando Norris' lucky number, then 17 is most certainly his unlucky number. The young Brit finished 17th in Catalunya and has finished in that very position in four of the opening seven races in 2023, with three points finishes in the others.
After securing a fantastic third in Saturday's hectic qualifying session, Norris collided with Hamilton at turn two, damaging his front wing and forcing himself to pit, before dropping down to last and recking his afternoon.
Despite being just 23-years-old, Norris is already in his fifth season in F1 and with McLaren. However, how much longer will the Brit's patience last with the team in Papaya? He penned a new deal just last year, keeping at the team until the end of the 2025 season, but McLaren are showing a worrying lack of improvement after failing to get to grips with the new rules bought in at the beginning of last season. A man with talent such as Norris should be at the front and fighting for race wins, not for 17th.
Ferrari failings continue
After a crazy qualifying session on Saturday, Ferrari team-mates Sainz and Charles Leclerc couldn't be much further apart, with the former putting his car in second for Sunday whereas the latter finished an abysmal 19th, facing a pit-lane start for Sunday.
After a promising start to the race for Sainz, going into turn one side-by-side with race leader Verstappen, that was about all the Scuderia had to cheer for on Sunday. Sainz slowly moved down the order from that point onwards, only managing to come home in fifth in front of his home fans, 45 seconds behind the race-winning Red Bull.
Coming into the race with major upgrades to the SF-23, Leclerc complaining of "something [being] off" with his car all weekend was not what his team would have wanted to hear. The Monegasque started the race on hard tyres, hoping to go long, but ended up pitting early, just one lap later than some of the medium runners. Even on soft tyres Leclerc struggled and could not keep pace with most of the field, finishing 11th, his third weekend of the campaign finishing outside the points, leaving him seventh in the drivers' standings after seven races.