Formula One - 2023

[BOF]

Link to 2022 thread

Another bumper thread last season on VT for F1 which was fantastic. Not quite the same amount of jeopardy over who would win the title, granted, but hopefully this season will be tighter. Merc looked like they were coming back into it, and Ferrari definitely have a fast car.  Heading into season 2 of the new aero rules you'd think all the teams have a better handle on what they can and cannot get away with this season.  So let's get into what's in store for us next season.

LAUNCH DATES
1. Haas          - 31/01 - Online (Link)
2. Red Bull      - 03/02 - New York (Link)
3. Williams      - 06/02 - Online (Link)
4. Alfa Romeo    - 07/02 - Zürich (Link)
5. AlphaTauri    - 11/02 - New York (Link)
6. Aston Martin  - 13/02 - Silverstone (Link)
7. McLaren       - 13/02 - McLaren Tech Centre (Link)
8. Ferrari       - 14/02 - TBC (Link)
9. Mercedes      - 15/02 - Silverstone (Link)
10. Alpine       - 16/02 - London (Link)

TEAM CHANGES
Not much change here. Haas have a new title sponsor in MoneyGram which is reflected in their entrant name "MoneyGram Haas F1 Team".  Also, Honda are back officially powering the Red Bull and the AlphaTauri, so the 'Red Bull Powertrains' is now a 'Honda RBPT'.

DRIVER CHANGES
Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull & Alfa Romeo remain unchanged going into 2023. Four drivers have left the grid. Daniel Ricciardo leaves his position at McLaren and moves to Red Bull as reserve driver. Sebastian Vettel leaves the sport after 16 years. Nicholas Latifi leaves his Williams race seat and Mick Schumacher leaves Haas and joins Mercedes as a reserve driver. Replacing those 4 on the grid are 3 rookies and a returnee. Oscar Piastri takes Ricciardo's seat at McLaren alongside Lando Norris. Dutchman Nyck De Vries goes in alongside Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri, taking the seat of Pierre Gasly. Gasly moves to Alpine alongside Esteban Ocon to take over from Fernando Alonso who moves to Aston Martin to take Vettel's seat. 21 year old American racer Logan Sargeant moves up from F2 and takes the 2nd seat at Williams alongside Alex Albon. Finally, the evergreen Nico Hülkenberg gets a fulltime drive back in F1 alongside one-time 'enemy' Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

TEAM         ENGINE      CHASSIS   DRIVERS
Red Bull     Honda RBPT  RB19      Max Verstappen    Sergio Pérez
Ferrari      Ferrari     SF-23     Charles Leclerc   Carlos Sainz
Mercedes     Mercedes    W14       Lewis Hamilton    George Russell
Alpine       Renault     A523      Esteban Ocon      Pierre Gasly
McLaren      Mercedes    MCL60     Lando Norris      Oscar Piastri
Alfa Romeo   Ferrari     C43       Valtteri Bottas   Guanyu Zhou
Aston Martin Mercedes    AMR23     Fernando Alonso   Lance Stroll
Haas         Ferrari     VF-23     Kevin Magnussen   Nico Hülkenberg
AlphaTauri   Honda RBPT  AT04      Yuki Tsunoda      Nyck De Vries
Williams     Mercedes    FW45      Alex Albon        Logan Sargeant

CALENDAR
Qatar returns to the calendar this year after missing 2022. Las Vegas makes its return (1982) with a Saturday night Grand Prix (that's 6am Sunday morning to you Brits). France is currently not on the calendar and China's continuing COVID difficulties mean they miss out too. There was a possibility the Chinese slot would be filled with another race but this is no longer the case. There will be 6 sprint races this season.

1   Bahrain       Sakhir        05/03/2023
2   Saudi Arabia  Jeddah        19/03/2023
3   Australia     Melbourne     02/04/2023
4   Azerbaijan    Baku          30/04/2023 (s)
5   USA           Miami         07/05/2023
6   Italy         Imola         21/05/2023
7   Monaco        Monte Carlo   28/05/2023
8   Spain         Barcelona     04/06/2023
9   Canada        Montreal      18/06/2023
10  Austria       Red Bull Ring 02/07/2023 (s)
11  Great Britain Silverstone   09/07/2023
12  Hungary       Budapest      23/07/2023
13  Belgium       Spa-Francorchamps 30/07/2023 (s)
14  Netherlands   Zandvoort     27/08/2023
15  Italy         Monza         03/09/2023
16  Singapore     Marina Bay    17/09/2023
17  Japan         Suzuka        24/09/2023
18  Qatar         Losail        08/10/2023 (s)
19  USA           Las Vegas     22/10/2023 (s)
20  Mexico        Mexico City   29/10/2023
21  Brazil        Interlagos    05/11/2023 (s)
22  USA           Las Vegas     18/11/2023
23  Abu Dhabi     Yas Marina    26/11/2023

(s) - sprint race

Pre-season testing
1   Bahrain       Sakhir        23-25/02

Technical changes
Floor edges will raise by 15mm and the throat of the diffuser will be raised in an attempt to improve/remove porpoising. Diffuser edge stiffness will increase and sensors will be added to monitor the level of porpoising. Lateral floor deflection tests will be more stringent.
Roll hoops will now have a rounded top in response to Zhou Guanyu's crash at Silverstone. Homologation testing will be adjusted to test this more stringently.
Wording of some of the aero rules will change to close a front-wing loophole exploited by Mercedes.
Wing mirror size will increase to aid visibility.

Sporting changes
Budget cap will reduce from $142.4m to $135m
F1 will trial a reduction of 13 sets of tyres down to 11 sets in 2 GPs this season. In these 2 races, qualifying will be mandated as Q1=hard, Q2=medium, Q3=soft (assuming dry weather).
Pirelli will introduce a compound that sits between C1 & C2 after criticism of the drop-off between those 2. This new compound will hopefully make tyre strategy more varied/flexible.
Pre-season testing will reduce from 6 days to 3.

As of today, Bahrain is in 80 days

[Hobsons Choice]

Logan Sargeant is the most American name in history.

[BOF]

9 minutes ago, HKP90 said:

Logan Sargeant is the most American name in history.

Scott Speed has entered the chat.

[Hobsons Choice]

11 minutes ago, BOF said:

Scott Speed has entered the chat.

Haha. Are we absolutely sure that these are not AIs made up by the FIA, represented by virtual avatars, like those weird K-Pop bands?

[BOF]

FIA bans drivers from making ‘political statements’ without permission

Edited as it 'seems' this was already the case.

Quote

FIA bans drivers from making ‘political statements’ without permission

Formula 1 drivers and other participants in FIA events have been banned from making “political statements” without the permission of the governing body.

The clampdown has been defined in an update to the International Sporting Code, the rules which govern all series run by the FIA.

The FIA has banned “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its Statutes, unless previously approved in writing by the FIA for International Competitions, or by the relevant ASN for National Competitions within their jurisdiction.”

Competitors are also advised that “failure to comply with the instructions of the FIA regarding the appointment and participation of persons during official ceremonies at any Competition counting towards a FIA Championship” will now be considered a breach of the regulations.

The FIA has previously taken steps to prevent F1 drivers from using the attention races attract to highlight causes which concern them. Drivers were prevented from wearing T-shirts during the podium ceremony after Lewis Hamilton displayed one bearing the message “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” after winning the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix.

 

Other drivers have made political statements using their race wear. Sebastian Vettel was criticised by Canadian politicians when he wore a helmet featuring the messages “Stop mining tar sands” and “Canada’s climate crime” at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this year. He did not wear the design for the grand prix.

Earlier this year FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who replaced Jean Todt in the role 12 months ago, contrasted Hamilton and Vettel’s outspoken stance on social issues with that of past drivers. Ben Sulayem held up likes of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, who he said “only cared about driving” as examples.

“Now, Vettel drives a rainbow bicycle, Lewis [Hamilton] is passionate about human rights and [Lando] Norris addresses mental health,” said Ben Sulayem. “Everybody has the right to think. To me, it is about deciding whether we should impose our believes [sic] in something over the sport all the time.” He later issued a statement stressing his commitment to diversity and inclusion.

 

More in link

 

[BOF]

T-60

[OutByEaster?]

7 hours ago, BOF said:

T-60

Surely it lacks straight line speed?

[BOF]

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

Surely it lacks straight line speed?

Is that the leaked Williams?

[BOF]

Andretti and Cadillac joining forces in a bid to join F1.

Interesting that Ben Sulayem has publically welcomed the bid so early on. You'd think he's in favour of it then ...

Quote

Andretti Global and General Motors’ Cadillac brand have teamed up in their pursuit to join Formula One in the coming years.

Earlier this week, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed that he had a discussion with the governing body about starting the process of allowing new teams to join the Formula One grid. Soon after, Andretti Global confirmed their collaboration with General Motors’ Cadillac in their bid to bring an “all-American” team to the premier series. The ‘Andretti Cadillac’ team is planning to submit an official Expression of Interest when the FIA opens up the formal process. 

 

 

[BOF]

And this from Gary Anderson as a warning.

Quote

What worries Gary Anderson about Cadillac’s F1 plan

I have been around Formula 1, and motorsport in general, for over 50 years and during that time I have seen many teams come and go. Some have been successful, but unfortunately a high percentage fail.

Andretti and the General Motors/Cadillac project is the latest to throw its hat into the ring.

In terms of expectations, works teams are probably the worst. I classify a works team as an automotive manufacturer that produces its own engine, or as we should now call it power unit, and chassis. The most consistent example during my time in F1 is Ferrari – it has been there throughout, always making its own car and engines. Still it battles on.

My most direct involvement in a works team was Jaguar, which was then owned by Ford Motor Company, which also owned our engine supplier Cosworth. The benefit of being a fully-fledged works team is that you can work together to integrate the engine with the chassis, but this didn’t really work with Cosworth. We were still treated like a customer team, getting what it gave us and having to make do. Cosworth was 100% backed by Ford in this.

Why Jaguar was a masterclass in how to get F1 wrong

Read more

 

Anything Cosworth did was magic, whereas anything we did as a chassis manufacturer was inadequate. When you can’t even say that one engine is a little down on power compared to another and that’s why the top speed of the cars is different, it makes things very difficult.

Ford’s management was also very confident in its own engineering abilities. One of its top brass came into one of our engineering meetings and his first comment was “if you don’t do it the Ford way, we will find someone else that will”. How’s that for motivation?

As far as it was concerned, we should integrate as much as possible with its engineering prowess. Any time we did this, it took months instead of days to get any information and when it came it was the size of a phone book. The philosophy was that ‘x’ time of research equalled ‘x’ weight of report. I didn’t have time to digest what we’d get sent, I just needed a one-page overview to give us information.

Much more in the linkypoo.

 

[OutByEaster?]

Can team Cadillac please be pink?

[BOF]

Some launch dates and chassis names added to FP.

[Farlz]

This whole Andretti thing becoming a bit of a sham. F1 politics can't be topped. 

[BOF]

Red Bull did a showrun on the North Quays of the Liffey over the weekend so I went along. It was good fun. Bloody cold though so once David Coulthard was done ruining my ears I was happy to be home.

[BOF]

Chinese GP will not be replaced. The calendar will have 23 races this season.

[BOF]

Ooh juicy *rubs hands*

Clickety linkings

Quote

F1’s severe response means Ben Sulayem has crossed a line

Tensions between Formula 1 and the FIA have escalated in a severe and slightly absurd manner with an extraordinary letter sent to the governing body, after remarks made by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Twitter.

On Monday, Ben Sulayem shared a multi-part statement on the social media platform in which he appeared to respond to a news report claiming Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had considered trying to buy F1 for around $20billion.

The article was not responded to by F1, its owner Liberty Media or the PIF, its accuracy has been questioned by senior figures in the championship, and it is understood that Ben Sulayem did not query it with anyone at F1 himself.

New-look FIA’s ‘year zero’ and what must improve in F1 2023

However, the FIA president wanted to address it having been asked about the matter at the Monte Carlo Rally the previous day. In the tweets, he referred to an “alleged inflated price tag” and “advised” any potential bidder for F1 to do so with “a clear, sustainable plan – not just a lot of money”.

That has been met with surprise, confusion and a degree of anger in F1. Stakeholders believe that Ben Sulayem crossed a line, which sparked the extremely unusual action of a letter to the FIA Executive and the World Motor Sport Council – signed by Sacha Woodward Hill and Renee Wilm, the chief legal officers of F1 and its owner Liberty Media respectively.

The contents of the letter, revealed by Sky and the BBC and verified by The Race, include a reference to the president’s comments interfering with F1’s commercial rights holder “in an unacceptable manner” and warn that if they damage the value of F1: “The FIA may be liable as a result.”

 

It is the latest, strangest and most serious development in a behind-the-scenes battle between F1 and its governing body, which has some roots before Ben Sulayem assumed the presidency but has escalated in the 12 months since he took up the position.

The fact F1 felt the need to intervene so formally, in direct response to the FIA president’s remarks, and warning that it is hoped “it will not be necessary to address this issue again”, is significant.

Ben Sulayem has raised more than a few eyebrows in F1 with his use of Twitter. Recent examples include announcing he wants to open the process to assess new teams, then taking to social media a few days later to publicly complain about an adverse reaction to the Andretti Cadillac project, which Ben Sulayem has talked positively about but teams had responded to negatively in private.

More in the link above...

 

[foreveryoung]

2 hours ago, BOF said:

Ooh juicy *rubs hands*

Clickety linkings

 

20 billion, with no real return on investment?? There is just no limit to the amount of paper these Arabs have is there. 

[BOF]

Launch dates completed, including locations. Haas launch only 4 days away now.

[BOF]

First 2023 Formula 1 launch today

Haas at 2pm GMT

 

[BOF]