The wait is over, the time has come to kick off the 2023 Formula 1 season this weekend in Bahrain which will be hosting the season-opener for the third time! Also the first Middle-Eastern circuit ever to host F1, Bahrain International Circuit’s success was so important that that the aggregate for the asphalt was imported from a quarry in England over 4,000 miles away. Bahrain has given us some great wheel-to-wheel racing over the years and could be the one circuit where being on pole is a disadvantage with the pole sitter winning only 8 of 18 races here. After sweeping changes to the cars in 2022, not much is new for 2023 other than seeing who has the most lessons learned in their car design.
After a dominant showing in pre-season testing Red Bull will enter the first race weekend of the season with confidence that it can repeat last year’s success. After the recent triumph Honda has realized the benefit of having its branding on the cars so it will return for 2023, look for it on the engine cover. On the driver side we expect to see continued unflappable dominance from Max Verstappen and a confident Sergio Perez will allow the use of two-car strategies more often. After what can be called an underwhelming winter test, we can expect AlphaTauri to continue in the midfield with Yuki Tsunoda now becoming the team veteran has he pairs with newcomer Nyck De Vries.
Elsewhere on the grid, based on nothing other than speculation from pre-season testing, here is how the teams could stack up for these first couple races until big update packages start entering the fray.
1. Red Bull
2. Ferrari
3. Aston Martin
4. Mercedes
5. Alfa Romeo
6. Haas
7. Alpine
8. Alpha Tauri
9. McLaren
10. Williams
US TV SCHEDULE
Friday, March 3:
Practice 1 – 6.25AM – ESPN2
Practice 2 – 9.55AM – ESPN2
F1 Show – Noon – ESPN3
Saturday, March 4:
Practice 3 – 6.25AM – ESPN2
Qualifying – 9.55AM – ESPN2
Ted’s Qualifying Notebook – 11.45AM – ESPN3
Sunday, March 5:
Grand Prix Sunday (pre-race) – 8.30AM –
ESPN
, ESPN+
Bahrain Grand Prix – 9.55AM –
ESPN
,
ESPN
Checkered Flag – 12PM – ESPN3
Ted’s Race Notebook – 1PM – ESPN3
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Lap data
Lap length: 5.412km (3.363 miles)
Race laps: 57
Race distance: 308.238km (191.53 miles)
Pole position: Left-hand side of the track
Lap record*: 1’31.447 (213.055 kph) by Pedro de la Rosa, 2005
Maximum speed: 314kph (195.11 mph)
DRS
zone/s (race): Pit straight and third straight
Distance from grid to turn one: 265m
Car performance
Full throttle: 66%
Longest flat-out section: 1205m
Downforce level: Medium
Fuel use per lap: 1.8kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel: 0.054s
Strategy
Quickest complete pit stop in 2013: 21.031s by Red Bull
2020 tyres: Hard (C2, Medium (C3), Soft (C4) (2019: Hard (C1), Medium (C2), Soft (C3))
*Fastest lap set during a Grand Prix
Data sources:
FIA
, Williams, Mercedes
2022 RESULTS
Race Info.
Pole position: Charles Leclerc, 1:30.558
Race laps: 56
Fast race lap: Charles Leclerc, 1:34.570
Podium
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
CURRENT STANDINGS
Drivers
——
Constructors
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