After a hiatus of just over three months, the Formula One circus has settled in Bahrain ahead of Sunday’s start of the first leg of a schedule that will feature a record 23 stops this year.
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A threatened domination
If Max Verstappen is trying to become just the fifth driver in history to win three consecutive world championships, after Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher and Juan-Manuel Fangio, he could face more serious opponents in 2023.
Will the Red Bull team still be alone on their planet? The answer belongs to Mercedes and Ferrari, the only two teams on the board capable of responding to the Austrian team.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are the most impressive duo in Formula 1. The Mercedes team, which has adapted poorly to the new 2022 rules, says it has done its homework in the off-season.
As for the Scuderia, the arrival of a new director, Frédéric Vasseur, is perhaps the shock this organization needed. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz want that. As a reminder, Kimi Raikkonen was the last driver to win the title at the wheel of a Ferrari in 2007.
Both Mercedes and Ferrari want to use this sanction imposed on their competitor to close the gap. Red Bull has reduced its aerotest allotment by 10% this year after exceeding the budget cap in 2021.
Like good wine
The Aston Martin team, led by Montrealer Lawrence Stroll, made a good step by recruiting Fernando Alonso, who despite his 41 years is still considered one of the most talented drivers on the grid.
The Spaniard proved competitive in his new car during last week’s winter testing, although he acknowledges the opening events of the season will be difficult.
At his side, Lance Stroll (after Sebastian Vettel last year) will once again be able to count on the presence of a world champion. The Quebecer, who is already in his seventh season in Formula 1, has not yet managed to wipe out this “paying” driver label that has accompanied him since the beginning of his career. The fact of missing the preparatory tests is a handicap for those whose presence at the first Grand Prix of the season is still uncertain.
A beginner to watch
Of the three drivers starting their careers in Formula 1, Oscar Piastri is particularly notable, whose rise to the premier class comes as no surprise. The 21-year-old Australian has competed successfully in F3 and F2 and he would have all the talent to become world champion one day.
The Dutchman Nyck de Vries, hired by the AlphaTauri team, and the American Logan Sargeant, who replaces the Canadian Nicholas Latifi at Williams, will probably remain limited to a figurative role.
Long live Vegas!
Despite another cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, the calendar will feature 23 stages that have never been seen before. Qatar will retake its place in 2023 and F1 will return to Las Vegas on an urban route that will take the famous “Strip”. For the first time in 40 years, three Grands Prix will be held in the United States in the same season.
Six sprint races
F1 will double the presentation of sprint races replacing the traditional Saturday qualifying session.
They take place in Azerbaijan, Qatar, Austria, the United States (Austin), Belgium and Brazil. These events are 100km long and their final result determines the order of the drivers on the grid for the next day’s feature race.
3 world champions
The Formula 1 plateau will only have three world champions left in 2023 after Sebastian Vettel retires at the end of 2022. Max Verstappen will aim to become the 11th driver in history to sign at least three F1 titles. As for Lewis Hamilton, he is yet to claim an eighth championship after a disappointing 2022 season. Fernando Alonso is the third driver in this select group with two titles earned in 2005 and 2006 while wearing the colors of French team Renault.
LEWIS HAMILTON
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
- 7 titles
- 310 departures
- 103 victories
- 191 podiums
- 103 head positions
MAX VERSTAPPEN
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
- 2 titles
- 163 departures
- 35 victories
- 77 podiums
- 20 head positions
Fernando Alonso
- 2 titles
- 356 departures
- 32 victories
- 98 podiums
- 22 head positions
registrants
RED BULL
- Max Verstappen
- Sergio Perez
FERRARI
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlo Sainz
MERCEDES
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
ALPINE
- Esteban Ocon
- Pierre Gasli
MCLAREN
- Lando Norris
- Oskar Piastri
ALFA ROMEO
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
ASTON MARTIN
- lance walk
- Fernando Alonso
HAAS
- Kevin Magussen
- Nico Hulkenberg
ALPHA TAURI
- Nyck de Vries
- Yuki Tsunoda
WILLIAMS
- Alexander Alban
- Logan Sargeant
You change teams
After two unsuccessful seasons in which he only finished on the podium once (3rd in Qatar in 2021), Fernando Alonso left the Alpine team to join Aston Martin, led by Montreal billionaire Lawrence Stroll. The Spaniard, who certainly looks more motivated than his predecessor Sebastian Vettel, is not only the oldest on the board (41 years old) but also the most experienced with 356 starts, a high point in F1 history. Alpine has called as a replacement for Alonso Pierre Gasli (photo), who will live with his compatriot Esteban Ocon. The question now is how this team will fare with this duo of French riders whose on-track debates in the lower categories were once tumultuous.
they arrive
Unlike last year, when China’s Zhou Guanyu was the only rookie on the grid, three of them will start their careers as a starter at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
The Australian Oscar Piastri, ousting compatriot Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren has certainly earned a regular place in F1, he being crowned champion of Formula 3 (2020) and Formula 2 (2021) before being promoted to reserve driver at Alpine l last year. He is only 21 years old.
Photo courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
If some of the drivers used in Formula Electric were defectors from F1, Nick de Vries (photo) chose the opposite route instead. After winning the FE title with Mercedes in 2021, he got his first chance in F1 at the late age of 28 thanks to the AlphaTauri team who hired him to replace the departure of Pierre Gasly. The Dutchman was also crowned F2 champion in 2019 and got to know F1 as a reserve driver at Mercedes from 2020 to 2022. logan sargeant, The 22-year-old will also have his F1 baptism in Bahrain on Sunday. Whoever replaces Canadian Nicholas Latifi in the Williams team will become the first American driver to start a Grand Prix since Alexander Rossi in 2015.
He comes back
After losing his steering wheel at Renault in late 2019, Nico Hulkenberg (photo) returns to his role as a full-time driver in 2023 to succeed Mick Schumacher on American team Haas. However, he was able to keep his hand when he was called up to replace sick drivers at four events, two in 2020 (Racing Point) and two more in 2022 (Aston Martin). The German, who holds the unenviable record of most starts (181) without a podium presence, will be team-mates with Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen, with whom he has had tough talks in the past, one of which was memorable at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2017, where he called his rival an asshole.
they went
The 2023 entry list will only feature one Canadian driver (Lance Stroll) as, unsurprisingly, the Williams team has not renewed their agreement with Nicholas Latifi (photo), whose journey has proved complicated and sometimes controversial. If his chances of reconnecting with F1 one day are nil, it wouldn’t be the case Daniel Ricciardo And Michael sSchumacher, which were released by McLaren and Haas respectively. Both remain directly involved in the world of Formula 1 with hopes of returning to full-time work next year. The Australian has accepted a reserve driver role at Red Bull, while Schumacher, who has not made a name for himself since moving to F1 in 2021, will fill the same role at both Mercedes and McLaren. Finally, Sebastian Vettel ended a brilliant career with four world titles, 53 wins and, above all, 122 podiums at the end of the 2022 season.