Formula One 2023: a team-by-team guide to the cars and drivers

Formula One returns to action this weekend with Max Verstappen chasing a third straight title. . .

but who are the 20 drivers competing this year? And what changes can we expect to see on this season’s cars? The 2023 Formula One season kicks off on Sunday with the Bahrain Grand Prix Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will be looking to win his third straight championship Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will also be in the mix after a poor season in 2022 By James Evans For Mailonline Published: 19:32 GMT, 2 March 2023 | Updated: 21:40 GMT, 2 March 2023 e-mail 6 View comments The new F1 season will return this weekend with Max Verstappen chasing his third consecutive driver’s championship title. After a disappointing 2022, Lewis Hamilton will be desperate to get back to winning ways and challenge Verstappen for the title. Ferrari, with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, will also be looking to compete for the championship.

Alpine and McLaren made up the rest of the top five in the Constructors’ standings and both teams will be aiming for another good season. Following the arrival of Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin are also in the mix. Sportsmail breaks down everything you need to know about the drivers competing this year and what changes have been made.

Max Verstappen (centre) is chasing his third straight drivers championship title this year Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (L) and George Russell (R) will be hoping for a better season in 2023 Red Bull Engine: Honda-RBPT Drivers: Max Verstappen (NED), Sergio Perez (MEX) Car: RB19 Red Bull will be hoping for another successful year. Last season Max Verstappen picked up 15 race wins, and team-mate Sergio Perez scored another two to fend off challenges from Ferrari and Mercedes. Red Bull looked to have made an improvement on last term’s car following their success in pre-season.

The RB19 proved to be the fastest car throughout testing ahead of this weekend’s opener. Max Verstappen and his Red Bull side seemed to catch the eye of many during pre-season. Ferrari Engine: Ferrari Drivers: Charles Leclerc (MCO), Carlos Sainz (ESP) Car: SF-23 After starting strong last season, Ferrari main aim will be consistency.

Following some disastrous strategy decisions which cost the team on more than one occasion, Mattia Binnoto has been replaced as team boss by Fred Vasseur. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will once again lead team Ferrari as they look to push Red Bull all the way. The pair have formed a good partnership, but Leclerc looks set to be the leading man once again.

Leclerc started well last season but failed to maintain consistency Mercedes Engine: Mercedes Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (GBR), George Russell (GBR) Car: W14 In 2022, Mercedes endured a torrid season – but started to pick up towards the end. It could be similar story this time around too, with Lewis Hamilton stating that they are not where they want to be just yet heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix. Most of the team remains unchanged, but Chief Strategist James Vowles did leave to take up the role of team boss at Williams.

The departure could prove to be a big loss. It remains to be seen if the shake-up will affect Hamilton’s ability to return to regular podium finishes. His team-mate George Russell will have lofty ambitions of his own as he looks to build on a promising start to his F1 career.

Lewis Hamilton had a tough 2022 but will be desperate to push up the standings in 2023 Alpine Engine: Renault Drivers: Pierre Gasly (FRA), Esteban Ocon (FRA) Car: A523 One of the most exciting teams to watch last year were arguably Alpine – with many intrigued to see how they will perform this time around. They’ve entrusted their engines in the hands of a French duo, with Pierre Gasly joining Esteban Ocon behind the wheel. Both drivers are quick on their day and are capable of putting points on the board.

McLaren Engine: Mercedes Drivers : Lando Norris (GBR), Oscar Piastri (AUS) Car: MCL60 The fortunes of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will be being closely monitored as he settles into F1. Alpine had previously announced that Piastri would be racing for them only for the driver to deny he had signed a contract on social media, causing havoc between Alpine and the driver . A court battle then determined that the Australian driver would race with McLaren.

With Lando Norris assuming the main seat, the team have arguably the most exciting driver pairings on the grid. If the car is good enough, McLaren could prove to be real contender. All eyes will be on McLaren and Oscar Piastri following his decision to reject Alpine Alfa Romeo Engine: Ferrari Drivers : Zhou Guanyu (CHI), Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Car: C43 Following their recent design with a new black and red colour scheme, the Alfa Romeo’s rear end is said to unlock the ‘next level of performance,’ according to the team’s technical director.

With Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu leading the way, the pair provide a balance of experience and speed as the team look to move up the standings. Aston Martin Engine: Mercedes Drivers: Fernando Alonso (ESP), Lance Stroll (CAN) Car: AMR23 2023 could be a big year for Aston Martin following the arrival of veteran Fernando Alonso. It shows a real major statement of intent from team owner Lawrence Stroll – with the team looking to start strong.

Towards the back end of last season, Aston Martin started to pick up some good results and will be looking to continue that form. The arrival of Alonso could prove to help team-mate Lance Stroll as they aim for a better 2023. Aston Martin are considered to be ones to look out for ahead of the new Formula One season The team have been boosted following the arrival of Formula One veteran Fernando Alonso Haas Engine: Ferrari Drivers: Kevin Magnussen (DNK), Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Car: VF-23 Heading into the new season, Haas have quite an experienced pairing in Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg that could help the team secure more points on the board this year.

Over the years, Haas have been fairly inconsistent, and it can’t keep pace with the better-funded teams in terms of mid-season improvements. AlphaTauri Engine: Honda-RBPT Drivers: Nyck de Vries (NED), Yuki Tsunoda (JAP) Car: AT04 Yuki Tsunoda and engineer Mattia Spini go into a third year of working together at AlphaTauri. The team had a tough year in 2022 – with AlphaTauri only picking up 35 points in total.

Nyck de Vries will be driving alongside Tsunoda ahead of the 2023 campaign – with the former Formula E champion aiming to make big waves for AlphaTauri. Williams Drivers: Alexander Albon (THI), Logan Sargeant (USA) Engine: Mercedes Car: FW45 Following the arrival of Team Principal James Vowles, Williams will be hoping for a better year in 2023. Vowles enjoyed a remarkable spell with Mercedes but has an uphill task of pushing Williams up the ranks after their poor 2022.

Alexander Albon will be expected to lead the way for the team this year after being paired with youngster Logan Sargeant for the new season. After finishing fourth in F2 last season, Sargeant will be making the jump to F1 with all eyes on the youngster to see if he can help guide Williams up the Constructors’ Championship table. There have been a few rule changes which teams will be addressing heading into the weekend What are the significant changes to cars in 2023? With the first race around the corner, there haven’t been too many rule changes – but there are a few that teams will be looking to take advantage of.

A big change is most notably the higher ride height. This is essentially lifting the cars higher off the ground to help reduce the porposing phenomenon that has affected several teams. This is done by raising the floor edge and throat, while the diffuser edge has also been stiffened.

There is also an additional sensor to effectively monitor porpoising. Teams used testing in Bahrain to address the changes in the rules ahead of the season opener Another major change in cars sees more safety additions being included when it comes to outlawing designs. The roll hoops have been strengthened following Zhou Guanyu’s crash at Silverstone last year.

The car weight was a major talking point heading into the 2022 season – with teams trying to get close to the 798kg limit (without fuel). Now, there has been a reduction of 2kg (796kg) – meaning the designers will be trying to shave off more weight. Share or comment on this article: Formula One 2023: a team-by-team guide to the cars and drivers e-mail Add comment Comments 6 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated.

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