The longest season in Formula 1 history begins

The 2023 Formula 1 World Championship will be the longest season in the organization’s history since 1950, with 23 races.

The second year of fundamental changes to the technical rules begins, which were implemented to make the following car less affected by turbulence caused by the car in front and to increase the number of passes in races.

The number of races in 2023, which kicks off the season with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5, has risen to 23, the record in F1 history. This year, Qatar will return to the calendar, while the American city of Las Vegas will host Formula 1 for the first time since 1982.

While this year’s calendar was planned with 24 races, this number was reduced to 23 after the Chinese Grand Prix was canceled due to organizational difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

THE NUMBER OF SPRINT RACES WILL INCREASE

The number of sprint races held for the first time in the 2021 season will increase from 3 to 6 this year. At the Azerbaijan, Austrian, Belgian, Qatari, US and Brazilian Grands Prix, the qualifying rounds will take place on the first day of the weekend and the sprint race will take place on the second day. In these 6 speed races, tests will also be carried out on the use of DRS (Driction Reduction System) on the rear wings of the vehicles.

The DRS, which can normally be activated 2 laps after the start or after the safety car leaves the track, will be able to be used one lap later in sprint races in 2023. The new rule will apply to all races from 2024 unless it causes chaos or accidents.

Additionally, the revised qualifying format will be tested at both races. Consequently, the drivers will have to use hard tires in the first session of the qualifying laps, medium tires in the second session and soft rubber tires in the third session. In the two races where the revised qualifying format will be implemented, drivers will be assigned 11 sets of dry-road tires instead of 13.

CHANGES TO THE FLIP ISSUE

Formula 1 management focused on the “porpoise” problem posed by ground effect technology, in which downforce is derived from the vehicle’s ground. The problem that makes the cars look like boats moving through rough water is due to the sudden disappearance of the downforce gained by the bottom air channels after a certain point.

As you accelerate, the bottom of the vehicle gets closer and closer to the ground due to increased downforce. A sudden loss of downforce is experienced as a result of the airflow being cut off at one point. With the suspension going up suddenly, the vehicle moves as if it were bouncing on the road. This cycle repeats itself constantly.

For this reason, the distance between the lower edges of the 2023 F1 cars and the ground has been increased by 1.5 centimetres. Diffuser throat ground clearance and diffuser rim stiffness have been increased. The size of the rear view mirrors has been increased from 15 x 5 to 20 x 6 centimeters to increase visibility for drivers. In addition, the somersault bar was reinforced after Zhou Guanyu, the Alfa Romeo team driver, crashed at the Silverstone circuit last season.

REDUCED SPENDING LIMIT

Under the spending cap introduced in 2021 to increase competition, the teams’ R&D and production budget in 2023 will not exceed $135 million. The cap was $145 million in 2021 and $140 million last season. The additional spending entitlement granted to teams if the schedule exceeds 21 races has been increased from $1.2 million to $1.8 million per race due to rising inflation.

The allowance assigned per team for each sprint weekend has also been increased from $150,000 to $300,000.

DRIVE STAFF RENEWED INTO 6 TEAMS

Red Bull (Max Verstappen-Sergio Pérez), who won the drivers’ championship in 2021 and the drivers’ and constructors’ championships last year, as well as Ferrari (Charles Leclerc-Carlos Sainz), Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton-George Russell) and Alfa Romeo (Valtteri Bottas-Zhou Guanyu) will fight against the same pilots in 2023.

In the other 6 teams, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin team), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lando Norris (McLaren), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Alex Albon (Williams) kept their seats.

Aston Martin filled the vacancy of Sebastian Vettel, who had 4 championships in the organization but decided to retire, with Fernando Alonso, who raced in Alpine last season and won 2 Formula 1 championships. The Alpine team transferred Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri.

Haas replaced Mick Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg, who has not been a full-time driver since 2019. In the new season, 3 drivers will appear in F1 for the first time. Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo, whose contract McLaren has not extended. Nyck de Vries will take the position vacated by Gasly at AlphaTauri. Logan Sargeant will drive Williams, who breaks free of Nicholas Latifi.

Ricciardo, who was unable to find a team on his own, will serve as reserve driver for Red Bull and Schumacher for Mercedes.

RED BULL SHOWED ITSELF IN THE TEST

The pre-season test, limited to 3 days this year, was held from February 23-25 ​​at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain, which will host the opening race. It was a matter of curiosity if the Red Bull team, which was fined $7 million in the 2021 season for violating the budget, and the time spent in the wind tunnel for car development was cut by 10 percent. , would be affected by the sanctions. But Red Bull’s new car, RB19, looked strong in both one lap and race pace.

According to what they say in the paddock, the RB19 does not have a problem with undulation, although its sole is adjusted to be closer to the track than its competitors. The car, which suffered no major breakdowns for 3 days, achieved the fastest lap of the test with a time of 1:30.305, which Pérez achieved on C4 tyres.

Although it did not reveal a clear picture due to variables such as lap times in testing, track temperature, the cars’ fuel load and engine capacity, Red Bull’s performance was enough to make it the favorite for the first race. .

ASTON MARTIN GETS FERRARI AND MERCEDES

Drivers since 2007, Ferrari, the most successful team in history that could not win the championship in the team classification since 2008, and Mercedes, which took first place in the constructors’ championship after 8 years, retained the concepts of the last season in 2023 vehicles.

Ferrari, where Frederic Vasseur was named team principal in place of Mattia Binotto, who stepped down at the end of last season, completed 416 laps in its new SF-23 car, becoming the longest-staying team after AlphaTauri. (456) and Williams (439).

Ferrari, which prioritizes durability between seasons as its drivers are sidelined many times due to engine failure in 2022, hopes to run the power unit in more aggressive settings in 2023.

The SF-23, which the Italian press claimed to have run with a fuller tank than its competitors during testing, is estimated to be the closest car to Red Bull when getting the settings right, though it does have fluctuation and tire wear issues. tires.

Although the Mercedes W14, which has a black color scheme made up of mostly unpainted carbon fiber due to weight savings, appears to have survived the fluctuation it suffered in 2022, Hamilton and Russell are said to have been unable to strike the balance. what they wanted

On the other hand, Aston Martin, 7th in the team classification last year, became the most talked about team in the event with its new AMR23 vehicle, which brought together the designs of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Consistent lap times in Alonso’s sim race in the afternoon session on the final day of testing led to comments that the AMR23, which is kind to its tyres, will lead the middle group and could even challenge Ferrari and Mercedes. (AA)