The 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, the second season with ground effect cars, has substantial continuity with 2022. The cars are a natural development from last year's cars, all teams have first sought optimization of the previous project. . The only technical element of difference is the regulation that imposes a 15 mm higher ground clearance, a case that produces a loss of load effect that the teams have tried to replace with various solutions in the undercarriage. However, there is no shortage of news, from the calendar to the Spint Races. Let's see in detail what the changes will be.
HOW MACHINES CHANGE.
As mentioned, the cars' ground clearance will be increased by another 15mm with the aim of eliminating the porpoise effect that emerged last year. The weight of the single-seaters will also be lowered from 798 to 796 kilograms.
ONLY 3 DAYS OF TRIAL.
In order to save and optimize costs, there will only be three test days available before the green light for the World Championship. They will take place from February 23 to 25 at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, the scene of the first round of the world championship on March 5.
CALENDAR: LAS VEGAS NEWS.
With the Chinese GP in Shanghai still frozen, the 2023 World Cup takes place over 23 races, an absolute record in F1 history. The Qatar GP returns, present on the calendar in 2021 but not in 2022, while the great novelty is the Las Vegas GP on November 18, the penultimate test before Abu Dhabi, which brings the races on American soil to three together to Austin and Miami.
SPRINT RACES GO UP TO 6.
Pending the FIA, Liberty Media and the teams reach an agreement on the project that will unleash the sprint races from pole position on Sunday, turning them into events in their own right, in 2023 the Sprint Races will increase from 3 to 6, with the same formula as in 2022 that sees the 100 km on Saturday as the starting grid for Sunday. They will take place in Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States (Austin) and Brazil.
THE DIRECTION OF THE CAREER IS CHANGING.
The double-career director experience ends, with Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas taking over from Michael Masi after the Abu Dhabi 2021 mess. Only Wittich remains to manage operations.
THE DEBUTANTS.
The 2023 World Championship could see a new batch of talent in F1. Starting with the very young Australian Oscar Piastri, who takes Ricciardo's place at McLaren along with Lando Norris. Also keep an eye out for Dutchman Nick De Vries, who achieved a remarkable 9th place at Monza last year at the wheel of the Williams, replacing Albon, who underwent surgery for appendicitis. This year he will be the starting rider at Alpha Tauri, replacing Gasly who migrated to Alpine. The third rookie is American Logan Sargeant, who will ride with Williams. There is also a welcome return, that of Nico Hulkenberg, who will team up with Kevin Magnussen at Haas.
CHANGES IN THE MAIN TEAMS.
Mattia Binotto's departure from Ferrari has created a ripple effect at other teams. Fred Vasseur has arrived in Maranello, replaced at Sauber-Alfa Romeo by Andreas Seidl, a German, last year at McLaren, who will have more the role of CEO to guide the team in the agreement with Audi for 2026 than as a real one and own team manager. The "Team Representative" will be the Italian Alessandro Alunni Bravi. At McLaren, instead of Seidl, Andrea Stella was promoted. News also in Williams: the team principal, instead of Jost Capito, will be James Vowles.
FIA: BEN SULAYEM STANDS OUT.
After the sparks with Liberty Media for several overlapping roles, the FIA president, Ben Sulayem, has decided to step aside: he will delegate the management of ordinary activities related to the Formula 1 World Championship that pass into the hands of two people: Nikolas Tombazis, for the technical part, and Steve Nielsen, for the sports part.
BUDGET LIMIT.
The spending ceiling rises by 14 million, up to 154 million dollars (again excluding the salaries of the pilots, logistics costs and the three salaries of the highest paid employees of each team). The reason is the increase in races on the calendar, as well as the increase in inflation. However, there is news regarding the costs of the engines, which amount to 95 million dollars and will continue to rise to 130 in 2026, when the new regulations are released.
Source images: Formula 1
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