14 Sundays gone by without Formula 1 and six more since that October 9 in which Max Verstappen He was crowned champion twice in Japan, with four races still to go out of a 22-day calendar, of which the Dutch won 15.
The 2022 one was a season of great and visible technical changeslike the 18-inch tires and the “ground effect” that caused them to bounce right away Lewis Hamilton and left Mercedes out of competition in the Constructors’ Championship after eight years.
What can be expected in 2023? The budget limit that has been in force for two years means that the cars are an evolution of last year’s ones, therefore Red Bull will likely retain dominance.
In an atypical preseason, where teams previously hid their weapons and didn’t set the best times but are now limited to three days of practice a week before the start of the championship, the RB19 designed by Adrian Newey was the benchmark in terms speed – Sergio Pérez was fastest in the last session, race pace and reliability. Also, Christian Horner’s team was one of the most lapped, with 413 laps.
The only downside for Red Bull may be inside group management. What the Mexican rider said in the Brazilian GP still resonates when he was trying to beat charles leclerc the runner up and said: “If (Verstappen) has two world championships, it’s thanks to me”. A few days after the start in Bahrain, Pérez doubles: “It’s always important to work as a team and if I see that I don’t get support when I need it, I won’t give it either.”
With Daniel Ricciardo as reserve pilot, after McLaren I would rather Oscar Piastri On the continuity of the Australian with a contract until the end of the year, and Verstappen as the leading figure, Checo knows that this year he will have to give even more after a 2022 with two victories and another nine podiums but three retirements. “I’m in Red Bull, it’s the best team in Formula 1 and you can have the rider you want”, Commented the man from Guadalajara on Fox Sports Mexico.
Ricciardo’s movement was not the only one nor in cockpit nor in paddock.
Among the 20 starting drivers of this season there are also n sebastian vettel (retired), Mick Schumacher (He imitated the Aussie and switched from Haas back-up to Mercedes) Neither Nicholas Latifi.
Who entered through them (Piastri at McLaren, nyck devries in Alfa Tauri, Nico Hulkenberg to Haas e Sergeant Logan to Williams) the median age dropped by three yearswent from 29.5 years to 26.5.
There were also castling of pilots. The French Pierre Gasley he went on to form a duo with his compatriot Esteban Ocon in Alpine and occupy the seat vacated by the Spanish Fernando Alonsothe great satisfaction of test pre-season on board an Aston Martin that thrills with the fighting in the central areawith a tame car to drive, showing speed without degradation.
This time the changes also happened in the paddockWhere it has been modified 40% of team leadersa very high and unusual movement in F1.
The most resonant is that of FerrariWhere Matthias Binotto had been designated as the culprit of the performance of a leading team that hasn’t been champion since 2007. The place of Italian is now occupied by French Frederic Vasseurwho has spent the last five seasons in Alfa Romeo.
With the SF-23 lighter and faster on the straights thanks to engine and aerodynamic improvements, the preseason has given the new crew chief something to worry about: severe tire degradation and what can hurt in the race.
Just in case, Binotto cut himself short and clarified: “It’s a car that was designed last year, when I was at Ferrari. But it’s not my car, it’s the Ferrari“. Vasseur, for his part, tried to calm the fans and he dwelled on the fact that “the atmosphere in the team is perfect”.
In Alfa Romeowhere Valtteri Bottas accused a problem with Ferrari’s power unit during testing – Vasseur’s seat went to the ex McLaren Andreas Seidlwhich in the English team was replaced by Andrea Stella.
The other change happened in williams, a team being rebuilt following the departure of Claire Williams and sale to Dorilton Capital group. This year, Jost Understood has been replaced by James Vowlesthe great strategist of Mercedes.
For his part, otmar szafnauer (Alpine), Günther Steiner (Haas) e Mike Crack (Aston Martin) are still in place, as well as historical ones Toto Wolffin Mercedes since 2013, Christian Horner AND Franz Tosto, who will soon be celebrating 20 years at Red Bull and Alpha Tauri respectively. Despite this experience, of the three, only the Englishman enjoyed himself in Bahrain.
Mercedeswho has already anticipated that in April, after the third race, he is preparing an upgrade to the W14, He was one of the preseason underdogs. Although the 2022 rebound did not appear, George Russell had a plumbing problem the second day and Lewis Hamiltondespite finishing with the second fastest time overall, he warned that he had “a mountain to climb” and they have to “keep their heads down”.
In Alpha Tauri, though he added the interesting De Vries to accompany the temperament Yuki Tsunoda and was the team that lapped the most (456 laps), they are believed to have consumed the least fuel and their reality is in the lower part of the standings, where surprisingly they could be McLaren if it doesn’t improve what was shown on the Sakhir circuit, where it did just 312 laps.
“We haven’t stepped back, we just haven’t developed fast enough,” Stella said.
Even this information is not enough to risk a result for this Sunday. Suffice it to say that in 2022, on that same stage, it was Verstappen who dominated the race when the Red Bull engine failed and the victory went to Leclerc, championship leader at the start.
There is a latent curse Also: Since 2016, none of the winners of the first Grand Prix have subsequently taken the title. But that’s another (superstitious) story.
Date 1 Program
Friday
8.30 – 9.30 – first practice
From 12:00 to 13:00 – second practice
Saturday
8.30 – 9.30 – third training session
12.00 – 13.00 – ranking
Sunday
12.00 – Race
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.