The talking ends in Bahrain: F1's first GP of 2023 in Sakhir

Sakhir, Bahrain, March 3-5

Bahrain hosting the season opener is becoming the norm with the Middle Eastern country now kicking off the season for a third consecutive year. Since its induction to the calendar in 2004, the Bahrain Grand Prix has created memorable moments and last year it commenced a new era for the sport because of the regulation changes.

Ferrari finished 1-2 that Sunday while disaster struck for Red Bull in the form of a late double retirement. However, 2022 was nothing like that. Red Bull won 17 races while Ferrari stood on the top step just three more times. Now, the Scuderia will arrive in Bahrain with a new team boss as Mattia Binotto makes way for Frédéric Vasseur.

Following a crazy winter, the Italian outfit are one of four teams going into Bahrain with a new boss. Andrea Stella has been promoted at McLaren as Andreas Seidl left to become the CEO of Sauber, while Jost Capito has departed Williams.

But where does Mercedes fit into this? The eight-time world champions also had a disappointing campaign but they’ve opted for stability and George Russell told Motor Sport they are ready to compete for the 2023 title. Perhaps Bahrain will be the perfect place to showcase this given that Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most wins in Sakhir (five).

It’s also hotting up in the midfield with Alpine now boasting an all-French line-up as Pierre Gasly partners Esteban Ocon. However, it’s well known the two have a long-standing rivalry so how they fare as team-mates will be interesting to see. Alpine is one of six teams with a new driver line-up while McLaren has retained a British and Australian pairing. However, it’ll be the rookie Oscar Piastri partnering Lando Norris with Daniel Ricciardo now Red Bull’s reserve driver.

Is Max Verstappen on course for a third straight championship? Here’s where it starts.

MotoGP – Pre-season testing

Sepang, Malaysia, February 10-12

MotoGP heads to the beloved Sepang Circuit for its first three days of pre-season. For the second consecutive year, testing will be over a five-day period with the series then going to Algarve a month later – two weeks before Francesco Bagnaia starts his title defence at the same venue.

Formula E – Cape Town ePrix

Cape Town Street Circuit, South Africa, February 25

Formula E will make its first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa in the fifth round of the all-new Gen3 era. Drivers face a 1¾-mile circuit through Cape Town’s waterfront district and with 12 turns plus long straights, it is one of the fastest tracks on 2023’s calendar.

Formula 2 – round 1

Sakhir, Bahrain, March 3-5

Following a dominant ’22 campaign for Felipe Drugovich, F2 returns without its champion but retains familiar faces like Dennis Hauger and Jack Doohan. There’s also promotions from F3 for Arthur Leclerc and Oliver Bearman.

IndyCar – Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Streets of St Petersburg, US, March 5

IndyCar will visit a circuit that boasts one of its calendar’s fastest laps – sub one minute – for the season opener. Ex-champion Alex Palou remains with Chip Ganassi while also taking on the role of F1 reserve driver at McLaren, and Marcus Armstrong arrives at Ganassi fresh from Formula 2.

NASCAR – Pennzoil 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, US, March 5

Formula 1 isn’t the only series destined for the bright lights of Vegas in 2023. As it has done since 1998, NASCAR will complete 400 miles around the city’s speedway, which is just over 15 miles north-east of the Las Vegas Strip. Last year saw Alex Bowman take victory.

More events

Feb 24-26 Race Retro – Stoneleigh Park

Feb 26 NASCAR – Auto Club Speedway

March 04-05 Formula 3 – Sakhir, Bahrain

March 04-05 SBK – Mandalika, Indonesia