Everything You Need to Know about the 2023 F1 Grand Prix Season
The 2023 F1 Grand Prix season has begun. This season, International Automobile Federation (FIA) is going to host a total of 23 races. Let’s go through the important details starting from the calendar dates, to locations, cars, drivers and tracks for the 2023 F1 Grand Prix season.
2023 Formula 1 Calendar Details
The campaign for Formula 1 – the greatest motorsport in the world opens from Bahrain on March 5 and concludes in Abu Dhabi on November 26. Below, we address the dates, F1 Grand Prix location and venues of the races.
Race Date | Grand Prix | Circuit Venue |
---|---|---|
Race Date February 23-25 | Grand Prix Pre-season testing | Circuit Venue Sakhir |
Race Date March 5 | Grand Prix Bahrain | Circuit Venue Sakhir |
Race Date March 19 | Grand Prix Saudi Arabia | Circuit Venue Jeddah |
Race Date April 2 | Grand Prix Australia | Circuit Venue Melbourne |
Race Date April 30 | Grand Prix Azerbaijan | Circuit Venue Baku |
Race Date May 7 | Grand Prix Miami | Circuit Venue Miami |
Race Date May 21 | Grand Prix Emilia Romagna | Circuit Venue Imola |
Race Date May 28 | Grand Prix Monaco | Circuit Venue Monaco |
Race Date June 4 | Grand Prix Spain | Circuit Venue Barcelona |
Race Date June 18 | Grand Prix Canada | Circuit Venue Montreal |
Race Date July 2 | Grand Prix Austria | Circuit Venue Spielberg |
Race Date July 9 | Grand Prix United Kingdom | Circuit Venue Silverstone |
Race Date July 23 | Grand Prix Hungary | Circuit Venue Budapest |
Race Date July 30 | Grand Prix Belgium | Circuit Venue Spa |
Race Date August 27 | Grand Prix Netherlands | Circuit Venue Zandvoort |
Race Date September 3 | Grand Prix Italy | Circuit Venue Monza |
Race Date September 17 | Grand Prix Singapore | Circuit Venue Singapore |
Race Date September 24 | Grand Prix Japan | Circuit Venue Suzuka |
Race Date October 8 | Grand Prix Qatar | Circuit Venue Lusail |
Race Date October 22 | Grand Prix USA | Circuit Venue Austin |
Race Date October 29 | Grand Prix Mexico | Circuit Venue Mexico City |
Race Date November 5 | Grand Prix Brazil | Circuit Venue Sao Paulo |
Race Date November 18 | Grand Prix Las Vegas | Circuit Venue Las Vegas* |
Race Date November 26 | Grand Prix Abu Dhabi | Circuit Venue Yas Marina |
*Subject to FIA circuit homologation
2023 Formula 1 Teams and Driver Line-up
Team | Driver 1 | Driver 2 |
---|---|---|
Team Red Bull | Driver 1 Max Verstappen | Driver 2 Sergio Perez |
Team Ferrari | Driver 1 Charles Leclerc | Driver 2 Carlos Sainz |
Team Mercedes | Driver 1 Lewis Hamilton | Driver 2 George Russell |
Team Alpine | Driver 1 Esteban Ocon | Driver 2 Pierre Gasly |
Team McLaren | Driver 1 Lando Norris | Driver 2 Oscar Piastri |
Team Alfa Romeo | Driver 1 Valtteri Bottas | Driver 2 Zhou Guanyu |
Team Aston Martin | Driver 1 Lance Stroll | Driver 2 Fernando Alonso |
Team Haas | Driver 1 Kevin Magnussen | Driver 2 Nico Hulkenberg |
Team AlphaTauri | Driver 1 Yuki Tsunoda | Driver 2 Nyck de Vries |
Team Williams | Driver 1 Alex Albon | Driver 2 Logan Sargeant |
2023 F1 New Rules and Regulations and Details on the All-New F1 Car
To keep everything in check and keep the racing more even and competitive a raft of technical rules and regulations are introduced to the 2023 F1 Season. All cars in this season have to be fitted with 1.6l V6 turbocharged hybrid engines from their preferred manufacturer. This is a reduction from the V8 2.6l engines used between 2006-13 and 3l V10s that were used before 2006. This makes the cars less louder than before.
In addition to a new car design, the updated regulations aim to make the motorsport fair for teams from both the technical and financial aspects. Certain rules have been changed after feedback and reactions from prior events.
Here are the details:
Weight of the 2023 F1 Car
In the 2023 season, the regulations have been adjusted to make the car lighter than last year. The car weight this year, has been reduced by 2 kgs from 798 to 796 kg. Car designers have sourced across their machinery and shed the unnecessary weight.
The weight of 796 kg does not include fuel allocation. If the car fuel tank is full the car weight can go up to 900 kg.
Over the years, with advancements in technology F1 cars have become more lightweight yet stronger. Most of the bodywork is made of carbon fibre. The material is extremely strong yet light.
Height and Width of F1 Car
For 2023, F1 cars are not supposed to be longer than 200cm wide and 95cm tall. Though, theoretically speaking there is no maximum length, various rules set indirect limits on the dimensions. This means each Formula One car looks similar.
As for ride height, in 2022 the cars were about 30-35mm off the ground. The F1 car was developed by F1’s in-house Motorsports team in collaboration with FIA focusing massively on ‘ground effect’ – an aerodynamic phenomenon.
With ground effects an aerodynamic grip was created resulting in drivers on the track following each other closely with a reduced turbulent air coming from the leading cars.
That said, the cars were purposing in the last seasons. This means the F1 cars were bouncing up and down on long straight paths, hampering the car’s performance and reliability. To make the drive smoother, for 2023, the floor edges for cars have been raised by 15mm. Moreover, the diffuser throat height and edge stiffness has also been raised.
According to the 2023 Technical Regulations, a rounded top is required on the roll hoop. This will decrease the chances of the car digging into the ground during an accident and ensure a minimum height for the point of application of the homologation test.
Revised Mirrors for Better Visibility
The reflective surface width of the rear view mirror has been increased by 50mm from 150mm to 200mm to increase driver visibility this season.
More sustainable fuel in F1 cars
To achieve F1’s aim to reduce the carbon footprint by 2023, the fuel type has been changed to an environmentally friendly type of sustainable fuel known as E10.
What You Need to Know About Formula 1 Cars
In this section, we address the details of F1 Grand Prix cars in detail.
Formula 1 Car Design
Formula One Grand Prix cars have streamlined bodies and aerodynamic designs to pass through the air resistance and attain higher speeds. This feature not only helps in attaining great speed but also helps consume less fuel and offers a better grip on the tarmac.
On average, a formula one car makes 5G of downforce. This means that 5 times the weight of the car is pressing down on the track. This is what gives traction to tyres and prevents the race car from skidding on bends and sharp corners.
Formula 1 Engine
All Formula 1 cars have 1.6L, V6 turbocharged engines since 2014. The requirement for F1 cars is to weigh a minimum of 796kgs (this is without the driver and fuel in the car). Engineers and team members including drivers optimise the horsepower, torque and fuel efficiency suiting their requirements. That is the reason why the engines for F1 cars are fine-tuned for every F1 circuit.
For 2023, the cars have to be fitted with 1.6L V6 turbocharged hybrid engines from their preferred manufacturer.
Formula 1 Tyres
Pirelli is the official tyre supplier by FIA for Formula One. Unlike regular car tyres, Formula One car tyres are built to last between 60 to 120 kilometres.
Since one set of tyres is not going to last the distance of any F1 race, drivers make pit stops and replace tyres to complete the races. Formula One car tyres have a rating from C1 to C5 (C1 being the hardest tyres and C5 the softest).
Till the end of the 2021 season, F1 cars used 13-inch tyres, however, from 2022 18 inch-tyres are being used as part of new technical regulations.
Formula 1 Ticket Prices
Tickets to any of the international races can be purchased through online platforms. For example, you can buy tickets for the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix Championship 2023 from the Yas Marina Circuit Website.
Formula 1 2023 Championship Winner
Formula 1 racer, Max Verstappen from the Red Bull team won the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 championship and was crowned in a huge celebration at the end of the Abu Dhabi Formula Race on Sunday, November 20, scoring the championship for the brilliant Red Bull team. This was the season’s 18th victory.
Moreover, racer Charles Leclerc from the Ferrari team came in second place, completing 58 laps at the Yas Marina Circuit, and Sergio Perez, also from the Red Bull team secured third place proving the strength of his team and its leadership this year.
That is everything you need to know about the F1 Grand Prix 2023 Season. If you’re into fast cars, check out this list of used cars for sale in the UAE. From Lamborghini to Ferrari, you will find a myriad of fast cars here. Here are the details of Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 for those interested.
Stay tuned to your favourite cars blog for more on the annual F1 Grand Prix seasons.