The Formula 1 season will begin with pre-season testing (23rd-25th Feb). The first Grand Prix weekend will start in Bahrain on the 3rd of March.
F1 2023 promises to be an exciting season, with promising rookies, seasoned champions and even closer racing. Here is everything (yes, everything! ) that you need to know for the 2023 season.
Teams & Drivers
RED BULL RACING: Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez + Christian Horner
The victors from last year, clinching both the constructor and driver titles, RBR will be coming to 2023 with an ever-larger hunger. Dual champion Max Verstappen will be looking to stay dominant and win his third title. His teammate, Sergio Perez will be looking to challenge Verstappen more this year after a submissive end to '22; however, his pace in the early part of the season was impressive - if the car is more to his liking (however much unlikely), we could see a more competitive Checo. With possible tensions after Brazil, this currently sweet relationship could sour very quickly if they are on a similar pace, similar to Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel's relationship over a decade ago.
Launch date: 3rd February
FERRARI: Carlos Sainz & Charles Leclerc + Frederic Vasseur
With new team principal Frederic Vasseur replacing Mattia Binnotto, expectations are high for Ferrari. The Ferrari 675 is reportedly "at least 1 second faster" in the simulator; they will be looking to decrease the gap to RBR, in order to challenge regularly for race wins (not just meaning more performance, but simply a competent strategy team), and even to bring home the first Ferrari title since Kimi Raikkonen's in 2007. Carlos Sainz will be wanting to be closer in performance to homeboy hero Charles Leclerc, after a dismal start to the season; in fairness, by the end of the season, he was regularly as fast or even faster than Leclerc. The way Vasseur develops his driver's relationship will be interesting: will he be establishing a firm No1 and No2 driver stand, similar to RBR, or a more fair pairing?
Launch date: 14th February
MERCEDES: Lewis Hamilton & George Russel + Toto Wolff
After a disappointing 2022 season, Mercedes will be looking to be more competitive this year. There is much expectation that they will be much more on the pace looking forwards into 2023, however many hope it won't be dominant like 2014-20 era. Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to beat George Russel this year, however if the car is more competitive, the paring could quickly become sour, similar to Hamilton vs Rosberg in 2016. They will be continuing to develop their 'minimalist sidepod' concept, which they believe to be the best design.
Launch date: 15th February
ALPINE: Esteban Ocon & Pierre Gasly + Otmar Szafnauer
Last year was semi-successful for Alpine in terms of overall pace, although off-track politics have meant many fans have begun to dislike the Enstone-based team; the way they handled the Piastri drama last year was unprofessional to say the least. With Pierre Gasly joining the team for the 2023 season and beyond, pressure will be on Esteban Ocon to perform, and to assert his role as apparent team leader. Ocon is infamous for racing his teammates hard (to say the least ), and so their relationship may sour quickly. Pierre is also only 1 penalty point from a race ban, and with Ocon's 'unforgiving' race craft, we could see the Frenchman missing a grand prix weekend come a few races into the season.
Launch date: 16th February
MCLAREN: Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri + Andrea Stella
Last year was a weird season for McLaren. With a 14th and 15th, the papaya outfit looked like they were back to 2014-18 form, yet they were the only midfield team to grab a podium, with Norris taking a 3rd place at Imola just a few races later. They replaced the Honey Badger with promising rookie Oscar Piastri in the summer of last year, buying Riccardo out of his contract for a measly $20,000,000. The way Piastri made his way to Formula 1, already in a scandal, means there will be huge pressure for him to perform this season. Lando will be looking to establish his dominance over Piastri from day 1; it could ruin his career being beaten by a rookie in what is effectively Lando's team. Wait, didn't we see this on a lesser scale in 2007?! This will be one of the most exciting driver pairing on the grid to watch...
Launch date: 13th February
ALFA ROMEO: Zhou Guanyu & Valtteri Bottas + Alessandro Alumni Bravi
At the season opener, Alfa Romeo looked like the best of the midfield, even beating out Mercedes with a P5 curtesy of the mullet man himself, Valtteri Bottas. However, as the season progressed, Alfa's pace fell quicker than a rock off out of a plane. They managed to finish the championship in P6, a whisker ahead of AMR in P7. Sauber will be looking to improve more with more regular point finishes. Zhou Guanyu had a solid year, and will be looking to challenge Bottas more this year. With a new team principal (well, what we understand as a team principal; Alfa call his position 'team representative' ) in the shape of Alessandro Alumni Bravi, Alfa will be looking to move forwards. Ex-McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl will also bring his expertise to the outfit. This will be the last year Alfa Romeo are on the car; next year, it will be just Sauber F1, until 2026 when Audi becomes the title sponsor.
Launch date: 7th February
ASTON MARTIN: Fernando Alonso & Lance Stroll + Mike Krack
With the retirement of Sebastian Vettel last season, Aston Martin found a replacement in the shape of 2 time champion Fernando Alonso. He will partner Lance Stroll in the AMR24. There is a general feeling that Aston Martin are going to be slowly moving up the finishing order over the coming seasons. Krack seems to have engineered a team that can bring the AMR24 forwards in terms of performance. If anyone can get the most out out of a sub-par car, it's Alonso; he will be one to watch as the season progresses.
Launch date: 13th February
HAAS: Kevin Magnussen & Nico Hulkenberg + Gunther Steiner
After devoting the entirety of the 2021 season to development of the '22 car, Haas did make some steps forward. They scored the most points since 2018, and Magnussen even scored their first pole in the sensational Brazilian sprint qualifying. They have brought Nico Hulkenberg out of retirement after dropping Mick Schumacher, with fans having mixed reactions on the move. Many suspect that Haas will drop to the back again, although their uprated Ferrari PU may negate this. They have a new title sponsor 'MoneyGram', which will hopefully give them enough sponsor money to simply reach the cost cap - right now they are operating around 20mil. euros underneath.
Launch date: 31st January
ALPHATAURI: Yuki Tsunoda & Nyck de Vries + Franz Tost
2022 was a season to forget for AlphaTauri. They had the biggest fall off in performance from 2021-'22, and so will be looking to improve dramatically this season. They have hired the services of 2022 Monza points-scoring rookie Nyck de Vries, partnering Yuki Tsunoda, after the departure of Pierre Gasly to Alpine. They have swapped title sponsors with Alfa Romeo Sauber, so are now AlphaTauri Orlen F1.
Launch date: 11th February
WILLIAMS: Logan Sargent & Alex Albon + James Vowles
Williams also had a rocky year last year. Sadly, they moved even further down the order, scoring just 8 points over the entire season. Nicholas 'Goatifi' Latifi was dropped in favour of another North American: US F2 driver Logan Sargent. This hopefully shows that Williams are not in need of investment anymore; at the end of the day, Latifi was only there for the sponsors he brought. Logan will be partnering Alex Albon, and fans predict Albon will outshine Sargent as the season progresses. With a new team principal, James Vowles (ex-Mercedes Chief Strategist), they will be looking to improve. At the end of the day, the only way is up!
Launch date: 6th February
2023 Season Calendar
February 23-25: Pre-Season testing (Bahrain)
March 3-5: Bahrain (Sakhir)
March 17-19: Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
April 31-2: Australia (Melbourne)
April 28-30: Azerbaijan (Baku) - SPRINT
May 5-7:Miami (Miami)
May 19-21: Emilia Romagna (Imola)
May 26-28: Monaco (Monaco)
June 2-4:Spain (Barcelona)
June 16-18: Canada (Montreal)
July 30-2: Austria (Spielberg) - SPRINT
July 7-9: Great Britain (Silverstone)
July 21-23: Hungary (Budapest)
July 28-30: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps) - SPRINT
August 25-27: Netherlands (Zandvoort)
September 1-3: Italy (Monza)
September 15-17:Singapore (Marina Bay)
September 22-24: Japan (Suzuka)
October 6-8: Qatar (Losail) - SPRINT
October 20-22: USA (Austin) - SPRINT
October 27-29: Mexico (Mexico City)
November 3-5: Brazil (Sao Paulo) - SPRINT
November 16-18: Las Vegas
November 24-26: Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
(download google calendar here)
FIA Rule Changes (confirmed 28/01/23)
Although there is no major rules overhaul like 2022, there are still a fair amount of both major and minor changes. Here are some of the most important technical changes.
The reference plane on the chassis has been raised by 15mm. This will raise the overall ride height, with the aim to reduce porpoising. It is estimated to increase lap times at circuits by 2 to 4 tenths. An increase of 25mm was originally suggested by 3 teams, but 15mm was instantly accepted instead as much of the porpoising effect had been negated.
The floors have been stiffened. the lateral edge can now only flex by a max of 5mm under 250N of applied force, as opposed to 8mm in 2022.
The min weight has been reduced for the 2023 season, back to 796kg. The FIA believes this lighter target can be reached after a year's development following the 2kg increase at the start of 2022. The weight of the PUs has also increased by 1kg.
'Dirty air wing endplates' outlawed. Wings that deliberately created dirty air, as used by Mercedes and Aston Martin in 2022 have been banned. The idea goes against the FIA's minimising dirty air philosophy that allows closer racing.
Roll hoops have been revised for 2023. Following rookie Zhou Guanyu's monster crash at Silverstone, more stress tests have been introduced. As well as the already existing 3, roll hoops now have to have a force of 49kN applied in the opposite direction for 10 seconds. They have also been moved 20mm forwards and heightened by 50mm.
Wing mirrors have increased in size. They are much bulkier and the mirrored section is now 150mmx50mm, compared to '22's 60mmx20mm. Spot the difference here.
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