This season in Formula 1, there are three rookie drivers on track, two drivers changing teams, and one veteran driver making the return to the pinnacle of motorsport. The first round of the 2023 F1 season kicks off on March 5th at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Who Is New This Season in F1?
The typical front of the grid hasn’t changed a great deal, with Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes opting to continue with their drivers from 2022.
At McLaren, rookie Australian driver Oscar Piastri is making his Formula 1 race debut tomorrow in Bahrain. The 21-year-old struggled in testing, but overall achieved P9 in the second day of testing and the third free practice session.
There is now a second Dutch driver in F1 as Nick De Vries debuts for AlphaTauri. The 2020-2021 Formula E World Champion has long awaited his chance in F1.
Once again, there is an American driver on the grid in the form of Logan Sargeant. The 22-year-old secured enough super license points in his last race in Formula 2 to qualify for his F1 seat. He will make his race debut with Williams, as he replaced Nicolas Latifi.
Pierre Gasly used to race for AlphaTauri, but now he drives for the French team, Alpine. Alongside his countryman and teammate Esteban Ocon, Gasly will have to work hard for a top ten finish on race day. The Alpine has been running in the midfield from testing through qualifying in Bahrain.
Nico Hulkenberg has returned to F1 and will be racing alongside Kevin Magnussen at Haas. Hulkenberg was out of a full-time seat in 2022, but replaced Mick Schumacher, who had a tough season last year. Schumacher is now the reserve driver for Mercedes.
Aston Martin to the Front
After the 2022 season, it was clear that Aston Martin had a mountain to climb to get to the front over the winter development period. The team made a great aquisition of two time F1 World Champion, Fernando Alonso. A veteran replaced a veteran at Aston Martin as Alonso replaces four time world champion Sebastien Vettel, and will drive alongside Lance Stroll.
Alonso was brought in because of his wealth of expereince in racing. A winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans and the 24 hours of Daytona, Alonso worked hard to develop the team over the winter. It seems that his insights are paying dividends.
Fastest lap of the day. ⏱️
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 3, 2023
Nice work, @alo_oficial! #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/gW5MlpJ2sO
Aston Martin was the standout team throught testing, free practice, and qualifying. Alonso was fastest in FP2 and FP3, and made a run at pole position, that was denied by Red Bull and Ferrari. Alonso was not as competetive this time last year in the Alpine. Fans of the Spaniard will want to see him on the podium this weekend, as he qualified P5.
Not only is Alonso driving fast, but so is his teammate Lance Stroll, who will be racing despite his recent cyclying injury. Son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, Lance qualified P8, above Alpine, McLaren, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo, Williams, and Haas. AMR have a fast race car.
Returning to the track following a wrist injury, Lance Stroll gave it his all in FP2#BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/wdMN9JYbNB
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 3, 2023
Red Bull and Ferrari Continue Where They Left Off
The qualifying results are similar to last seasons opening round with Red Bull and Ferrari at the top. On Sunday it will be Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on the front row. They will be followed into the long braking zone of Turn One by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Last season in Bahrain featured an electric battle between Verstappen and Leclerc, until the Red Bull was forced to retire due to reliability issues. Perez suffered a similar fate in his fight with Sainz.
I’m looking forward to more battles like this on Sunday!#BahrainGP #F1 https://t.co/98on2YUlMO
— Morgan Does Racing (@TheHotLapF1) March 4, 2023
Fortunately for Red Bull, the problems happened early in the season, which allowed them time to fix it. This year, Verstappen is as confident as ever.
The Dutch driver claims that everything about the car is better this year, which is bold considering he won the world championship in it’s predecessor. Red Bull went and locked out the front row because they have the best car at the moment, and it is clear to other teams that they are the benchmark. It will be interesting to see how there battle will shape up on Sunday.
Mercedes Might Not Have a Fast Car
Mercedes seemed confident before testing this season, but Sir. Lewis Hamilton looked worried and discouraged by the performance of the car in Free Practice. In an interview after practice, Hamilton said, “We are where we were last year if not a second behind.” He appeared deeply concerned about the gap between Mercedes and Red Bull, Ferrari, and now Aston Martin.
Mercedes expected to have a faster car this year especially after the W-13 was far from perfect, and not dominant in the way that the W-12 was. The engine manufactuer sells to Aston Martin and Williams, the former is second on pace right now according to Hamilton.
Red Bull made progress, but Mercedes did not. Despite that they will be on the third row for the race, George Russell P5 and Hamilton P6. Russell is known for being quick in a car that isn’t properly balanced, whereas Hamilton is known for winning race after race in a great car. Russell was faster than Hamilton in every session of quali.
Every season there are one or more cars that become the subject of “inspection” and “scrutineering,” as teams try to catch up after they have all shown what they are capable of.
Round One of the F1 Bahrain GP will start tomorrow morning at 7:00 am PT and 10:00 am ET. It should be a great show under the lights as teams fight to set the tone for the season. Everyone will have their eyes on the rookie drivers during their F1 debut. This is the front ten on on the grid for tomorrow’s race:
My name is Morgan Raynal, and I am a writer for Belly Up Racing and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram.
