What's new in Formula 1 2023: drivers, team bosses and rules

- Last updated: March 1st 2023
F1

All the refreshed driver pairings, team principal changes, and subtle regulation tweaks that could shake up the 2023 F1 season

The 2023 Formula 1 season is bearing down upon us, with a host of changes being made in an effort to try and shake up the running order.

Six of the ten teams took part in a silly season to remember, headlined by Oscar Piastri’s drama-filled move to McLaren and Sebastian Vettel’s retirement.

In this era of change, four team principals also left their posts – some moving up the F1 ladder and others leaving altogether.

On track, increased ride heights, bigger mirrors, and controversial cost cap penalties are just some of the changes that could force the grid closer together. But after a scarily dominant performance in 2022, will anyone be able to catch the rampant Red Bulls?

 

Car launches and pre-season testing

After ten car launches and three-days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, all ten teams have at least given a small indication of where they will lineup on the grid.

After a prolonged and disappointing car launch, in which they announced a new partnership with Ford, Red Bull’s RB19 impressed during pre-season testing – equally quick and reliable compared to its highly successful predecessor.

Conversely, Ferrari began its season in unprecedented fashion, with the SF23’s on-track debut taking place at its own launch – a cheering tifosi crowd and serenading violinist completing an impressive backdrop. During testing, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made regular appearances at the top of the timesheets, but trailed Sergio Perez’s Red Bull by three tenths on the final day.

Mercedes and Aston Martin seem to be on similar terms, with both teams revealing its actual 2023 contender during its car launch and running closely over three-days spent in the Bahrain desert. The Silver Arrows, now dressed in a full black livery, faced hydraulic issues on day 2 before bouncing back to go second-fastest on day three. Meanwhile, Aston Martin newcomer Fernando Alonso showed impressive pace over both shorter qualifying runs and longer race simulations.

Further down the field, the difference between teams became less clear. As part of its 60th anniversary, McLaren revealed its MCL60 alongside a heartwarming tribute to founder Bruce McLaren. But once it hit the track, McLaren’s latest F1 contender failed to impress, suffering from underperformance and reliability issues. Similarly, Alpine struggled to regain the form it had found in 2021, failing to contend at the front of the grid during testing and also having to cope with porpoising issues.

Haas and Alfa Romeo look equally matched, both hoping that driver experience can force a change in the running order – the Italian car giants also opting from a dramatic new red and black livery. Finally, despite leadership changes, it appears Williams have made little progress over the winter break and are set to race from the back once again in 2023, joined closely by a struggling AlphaTauri team.

 

New driver pairings

Team Driver line-ups
Alpine Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly
McLaren Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Aston Martin Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso
Haas Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg
AlphaTauri Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries
Williams Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant

Alpine

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly 

Pierre Gasly will leave his long-term post at AlphaTauri to join Esteban Ocon, as they come together to complete a full French driver line-up for the Renault-owned Alpine.

The pair’s lives have been closely intertwined from an early age, living just 30 minutes apart and beginning their karting careers at the same circuit. Despite finding early camaraderie, their friendship quickly deteriorated after numerous on-track incidents. The most notable incident occurred at the 2010 Karting World Cup in Portugal, where Gasly accused Ocon of deliberately cutting a corner in order to clash with him during one of the final heats.

Racing under different team banners in Formula 1, both drivers seem to have cooled off but will driving side by side ignite old flames?

 

McLaren

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri 

McLaren will replace one Aussie with another in 2023, with Daniel Ricciardo departing to make room for Oscar Piastri.

Piastri was the pick of the F2 field in 2021, securing two sprint race victories and four feature race victories, on his way to a comfortable F2 title. Similarly, Britain’s Lando Norris showed considerable talent during his 2022 Formula 1 campaign, beating Ricciardo by an impressive 85-point margin and finishing seventh in the drivers’ standings.

Norris and Piastri will race alongside each other in 2023 as the grid’s youngest driver pairing.

 

Aston Martin

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso 

The retirement of Sebastian Vettel caused nothing short of pandemonium during Formula 1’s summer break, but it didn’t stop Aston Martin from securing the talents of an equally talented driver as his replacement. Following a turbulent time at Alpine, Fernando Alonso will join Lance Stroll in a hopeful new era for the team, as it aims to restore its winning pedigree.

Despite a season plagued by mechanical failures, Alonso finished ninth in the drivers’ standings – eleven points shy of teammate Esteban Ocon.

Stroll struggled in a difficult season of his own, eventually falling to 15th in the drivers’ standings despite notable performances in Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

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AlphaTauri

Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries

Nyck de Vries will join Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri in 2023, ending a four year wait for a Formula 1 entry.

Since winning an F2 title in 2019, the Dutchman had failed to secure a full-time seat in Formula 1, acting as Mercedes’ reserve driver and capturing a Formula E world title in the meantime.

But circumstances changed at Monza last season, where an absent Alex Albon gave de Vries the chance to make his race debut, in which he finished a brilliant ninth. After interest from multiple teams, it was a meeting with Dr Helmut Marko that ultimately sealed the deal, signing de Vries to AlphaTauri as Pierre Gasly’s replacement for 2023.

Yuki Tsunoda was able to secure a contract extension despite a difficult year in 2022, keeping him with the team at least until the end of this season.

 

Haas

Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg 

Experience over potential is the running theme for Haas and its 2023 campaign, with Nico Hülkenberg returning from reserve duties at Racing Point and Aston Martin to replace Mick Schumacher.

Hülkenberg will join Kevin Magnussen, who was the standout performer for Haas throughout the course of the 2022 season, securing seven top-ten finishes and a debut pole position ahead of the sprint race in São Paulo.

Similar to Alpine, Haas’ new driver lineup has experienced some heated moments in the past, with the harshest words being exchanged in the aftermath of the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix. Both drivers appear to have put the past behind them, but will sparks fly once again if they clash as team-mates?

 

Williams

Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant 

Williams will look to move in a different direction ahead of its 45th season as an F1 constructor, hiring the talents of F2 star Logan Sargeant to replace Nicholas Latifi.

Sargeant will become the first American driver to join the grid since the departure of Alexander Rossi in 2015, as Williams look to cater to Formula 1’s growing US audience.

The returning Alex Albon proved to be a great investment for Williams, putting in some brilliant drives at the wheel of the grid’s slowest car to score points on three occasions.

New team principals

Team Old team principal New team principal
McLaren Andreas Seidl Andrea Stella
Ferrari Mattia Binotto Frederic Vasseur
Alfa Romeo Frederic Vasseur TBC
Williams Jost Capito James Vowles

McLaren

Andrea Stella

After a four-year tenure as one of McLaren’s most senior figures, Andreas Seidl has left his post as team principal in exchange for a CEO position at Sauber. Andrea Stella has taken his place, after working as Executive Director of McLaren Racing since 2019.

Zak Brown called Stella his “number one option to lead the team moving forward” after Seidl announced his departure.

 

Ferrari

Frédéric Vasseur

A turbulent 2022 season forced one major off-track change for Ferrari, with Mattia Binotto resigning from his team principal role to be replaced by former Alfa Romeo team boss Frédéric Vasseur.

Vasseur’s official title is listed as team principal and general manager, meaning many of his responsibilities will extend beyond what happens on the race track. Fixing reliability issues and strategy errors are likely to be his first priorities.

The Frenchman officially began his duties on January 9, with Binotto placed on ‘gardening leave’ to block his move to a rival team.

 

Alfa Romeo

TBC

The departure of Frédéric Vasseur leaves a position yet to be filled at Alfa Romeo, with the Frenchman previously holding the title of managing director of Sauber as well as team principal.

Andreas Seidl began his duties as CEO of Sauber in January, concentrating on its collaboration with Audi in producing a squad ready to challenge at the front in Formula 1 grid by 2026 – one of his tasks will be to hire a new team principal.

 

Williams

James Vowles

Former Mercedes strategy chief James Vowles will replace Jost Capito as Williams’ team principal for 2023.

Capito announced his departure from team in early December, ending a two-year spell at the historic outfit, joining first as CEO and later becoming team principal in July 2021.

Vowles, famed for his mid-race radio messages to Valtteri Bottas, will begin his new duties at Williams on February 20.

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New technical regulations and rule changes

Technical regulation and safety changes

As an extension of the FIA’s anti-porpoising measures, a 15mm height increase to the floor of the cars will be made mandatory for 2023. The change should negate any previous safety concerns by making the cars more rigid, as well as potentially reducing the gap between teams due to their inability to run the cars closer to the floor and gain an aerodynamic advantage.

On the subject of safety, larger mirrors and strengthened roll hoops will also take effect in the new year, following incidents at the British Grand Prix involving Zhou Guanyu.

The Alfa Romeo driver made contact with George Russell’s Mercedes at the start of the race, causing his car to flip over and tumble into a sand trap before coming to rest on a wire fence at the end of the Hamilton straight.

Sparks fly as Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu slides upside down at the 2022 British Grand Prix

Zhou’s Silverstone crash prompted new safety rules

Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

The larger mirrors were tested in free practice sessions in the latter stages of last season and will be added to the cars in an attempt to improve visibility. Meanwhile, the top of the roll hoops have been rounded to stop them from digging into the circuit and further testing has been developed to specify a minimum loading point.

 

Tyre changes

Pirelli have introduced a sixth dry tyre compound for 2023, with the new C0 joining the line-up.

The current selection of tyres ranges from C1 (hardest) to C5 (softest), with the C0 replacing the current C1 compound and a grippier C1 tyre being introduced.

The new compound was tested in Texas ahead of the 2022 United States Grand Prix, and is expected to be used at circuits such as Silverstone and Suzuka.

 

The cost cap

Even after being shrouded in controversy, the FIA has continued to decrease teams’ cost cap’s for the 2023 season, dropping to $135m (£115m) – a $7.4m (6m) decrease from 2022.

After being found guilty of breaching the cap, with an overspend of $2.2m (£1.8m), Red Bull was handed a $7m (£5.7m) fine and a 10% reduction in aerodynamic testing. The penalty was labeled “draconian” by team principal Christian Horner, who claimed the fines could cost his team “half a second per lap”. The reality is yet to be seen.

 

New circuits, sprint races, and qualifying formats 

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Arguably the headline attraction to F1’s record breaking 23-race calendar for 2023 is the addition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Set to take place on the penultimate weekend of the season, the iconic city in lights will host its first race since 1982, with the circuit blended around world famous landmarks including the Las Vegas Strip.

General grandstand tickets have already begun to sell out, however astronomically priced hospitality tickets are still on sale – one particular package retailing for $5m (£4m).

 

Six new sprint races

As well as an additional grand prix, teams will also participate in six sprint races in 2023 – double the offering of the previous two seasons.

The races are set to be held in Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States and Sao Paulo, with a one-hour qualifying session taking place on Friday.

 

Revised qualifying format

In its latest attempt to shake up the F1 race weekend, the FIA have proposed a ‘Revised Qualifying Format (RQF)’, which will be trialled at two grand prix over the course of the 2023 season.

The three-part session will see drivers use each tyre compound throughout qualifying, with mandated use of the hard tyre for Q1, the medium tyre for Q2, and the soft tyre for Q3. As in 2022, five drivers will be eliminated in Q1 and Q2, leaving ten drivers to compete for pole position in Q3.

This reduces the amount of dry weather tyres that can be used by drivers during RQF events – (previously 13 and now 11) and could provide a different challenge for teams and drivers.

 

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