Formula 1: drivers, circuits, regulations... All you need to know for the 2023 season

Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin 8:00 p.m., February 22, 2023

The 2023 Formula 1 season kicks off on Thursday with Grand Prix testing at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain.

The 20 drivers lined up by the ten teams entered this season will be able to try out their new cars.

A first life-size test in view of the Grand Prix which will take place on Sunday March 5 from 4 p.m.

Transfers of drivers and team bosses... Major changes are to be noted for this new F1 season.

Of the ten teams registered this season, only four teams have chosen to keep the same pair of drivers.

Among them are Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo.

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100% French duo

As for the other teams, Alpine, Aston Martin, Haas, McLaren, AlphaTauri, and Williams are getting a facelift among their drivers.

Transfers between the teams have been made, such as that of Frenchman Pierre Gasly who goes from Alpha Tauri to Alpine, where he will team up with another Frenchman, Esteban Ocon.

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is moving from the Alpine team to Aston Martin.

Iconic F1 drivers will not be present this year.

This is the case of Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher or Daniel Ricciardo.

To replace them, new faces are appearing.

Three "rookies" will be on the starting grids for this season's Grands Prix: Oscar Piastri, Formula 2 world champion in 2021, Logan Sargeant, fourth in Formula 2 in 2022, and Nyck de Vries will be the new faces of this season of Formula 1.

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Pattern Changes

New changes are also to be noted at the level of the management of certain stables.

Nearly 40% of Formula 1 teams entered this season change bosses.

At Ferrari, Frédéric Vasseur takes the place of Mattia Binotto.

This appointment comes 15 years after the departure of another Frenchman at the head of the Italian team, that of Jean Todt.

Frederic Vasseur had resigned from Alfa Romeo after last season, leading to a game of musical chairs among F1 teams.

It is Andreas Seidl, formerly of MacLaren, who will take over his post.

On the side of Williams, the manager Jost Capito leaves the team, and the name of his replacement has been revealed: it is the Briton James Vowles.

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The tours

The 2023 Formula 1 season will be punctuated by 23 Grands Prix, a record in the history of the discipline.

Among the circuits visited, two old circuits are making a comeback: that of Las Vegas in the United States as well as that of Losail in Qatar.

After a long suspense, the Chinese Grand Prix, which was canceled last December during the 2022 season due to restrictions linked to Covid-19, will not finally be replaced.

The French Grand Prix is ​​also ousted from the F1 calendar.

Returning to the calendar in 2018, ten years after the last edition at Magny-Cours, the French GP was not unanimous among the leaders of the competition.

Finally, the meeting in Russia, canceled last year due to the war in Ukraine, will also be absent this season.

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New rules

The single-seaters will also experience some changes for this 2023 season. The edges of the floor of each car will be raised by one and a half centimeters.

A measure to avoid aerodynamic phenomena putting pilots in danger. 

The weight of the single-seaters will also have to change.

This will decrease slightly compared to last season: it will now be set at 796 kg, compared to 798 kg in 2022. Finally, the sporting regulations have also been revised, particularly with regard to engine penalties, the use of DRS (the Drag Reduction System, a mobile device mounted on the rear wing of a single-seater to reduce aerodynamic drag to the detriment of grip on the ground) and the testing of a new qualification format.

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Ecology

Formula 1 also adapts to climatic measures.

The FIA, which runs Formula 1, has decided to better regulate the fuel temperature of single-seaters.

While in 2022 the fuel must not be at a temperature lower than 20 degrees, from 2023 the temperature must not be more than 10 degrees lower than the ambient temperature.

In the event of cold weather on a circuit, an overall minimum temperature of 10 degrees will apply.

The ambient temperature will be recorded one hour before a practice session or three hours before the race by a meteorological service designated by the FIA.

As a reminder, the teams have been using a new fuel since 2022, E10.

The latter contains 10% renewable ethanol.

An ecological measure while waiting for the new fuel specific to F1 and which should be released within three seasons.

This fuel will be unique and created in the laboratory.