The F1 is back!
The F1 is back for 2023 and it’s less than a week away! There are brand new driver lineups, rule changes and 2 tracks making their debut this year. We’ve put together some of the biggest news going into this years competition:
Driver Lineups
An F1 legend has retired in Sebastian Vettel which left an open slot at Aston Martin. This has been filled by another icon of the sport, Fernando Alonso. Although not far off retirement age himself, Alonso can be counted on to finish high up the rankings if given a reliable car. The top 3 teams from last year, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes have opted to stick with their lineup from 2022. Logan Sargeant, who impressed in F2 and F3 by winning both championships has replaced Nicholas Latifi at Williams. Another rookie has entered F1 with McLaren taking a chance on Oscar Piastri, who was originally Alpine’s reserve driver. Oscar is a driver who has a lot of potential, if given the time to adjust to the intensity of F1, McLaren could have an incredible driver on their hands.
Alpine have signed Pierre Gasly to partner Esteban Ocon, leaving a gap to fill for AlphaTauri who have added yet another rookie to the grid in Nyck de Vries who had served as Mercedes’ reserve. Mick Schumacher has been let go by Haas who have signed Nico Hulkenberg, Schumacher has made his way to Mercedes as a reserve driver for the 2023 championship. Red Bull have gone with Daniel Ricciardo as their reserve driver, not a bad backup to have!
Rule Changes
The first big rule change has seen the cars’ floor edges raised by 15mm, as well as raising the diffuser throat height and increasing stiffness to the diffuser edge. The roll hoop has also seen a number of modifications made, strengthening the apparatus and requiring it to be rounded, meaning less chance of it being caught on something while out on track and causing crash, similar to the terrifying one that Zhou Guanyu had to go through.
The “Revised Qualifying Format” is also set to make an appearance at two unnannounced races this year. This will see the cars use a different tyre for each qualifying session, hard tyres in session one, medium in session 2 and soft tyres in the final qualifying session. Depending on the success of this trial, it could be made permanent in 2024. There have also been extra sprint races added to the roster for 2023. These are set to take place in Azerbaijan; Austria; Belgium; Qatar; Texas; and Brazil.
New and Returning Tracks
The big story for the 2023 season in terms of circuits is to do with one of the world’s most famous cities. Las Vegas will be hosting the F1 for the first time since the 1980s and will be located right at the heart of the Vegas strip. This makes it three races taking place in the USA with one in COTA and the other in Miami. The Qatar Grand Prix is set to return in 2023. Lusail will take place at night due to the extreme heat during the daytime. Overtakes are a frequent occurence on this track so it is set to be an exciting race. The Spanish Grand Prix has seen an alteration to the end of the circuit with the final chicane being changed to two right-hand corners that will be taken at high-speed. Jeddah and Singapore are set to alter their tracks too. Turns 16 and 19 in Singapore will now be straight and Jeddah has made their track wider to allow for wider entries into turns 14 and 20.Formula 1 2023 Hospitality Packages
We’re offering a number of hospitality packages for the 2023 championship. We have set packages for the British Grand Prix with all other races being on an enquiry basis. Let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll be happy to find an exciting experience that suits your needs.