Formula One awoke from winter hibernation this week for the season opening 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix under the lights around the Bahrain International Circuit. Also, this week the FIA made some clarifications on some of the regulations and some details emerged about upcoming changes. Here are your latest headlines from this week in Formula One.
The FIA has clarified the regulations related to the pitlane exit lines in an effort to avoid the controversy experienced at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix. A complaint was lodged at last year’s event when both Red Bull drivers appeared to cross the line at the pit exit, which is not allowed under the regulations. Both drivers were cleared of any offence, due to uncertainty over what it means to “cross” the line. The FIA has now clarified that the judgment will be made based on the outer edge of the tyre.
The final chicane has been removed from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the venue that hosts the Spanish Grand Prix. The decision to drop the chicane was made to allow cars to follow closer in the final corners, promoting overtaking down the main straight. The chicane was first added in 2007 and has been the topic of discussion for the past few years.
It’s believed that Imola will be one of the testing grounds for some new changes to Formula One’s qualifying format. The changes have been proposed to reduce the number of tyres allocated to a driver from 13 to 11. It will force drivers to use hard tyres in Q1, mediums in Q2 and softs in Q3. Wet sessions will give teams free choice over the tyre compounds used.
Susie Wolff has been appointed as managing director of the new F1 Academy series. The series is a F1-backed all-female single-seater racing championship set to debut in Austria at the end of April. The series is similar to the now defunct W Series. Susie Wolff is a former racing driver who primarily raced in the DTM series, but also worked with Williams as a test driver from 2012 to 2015. She is also the wife of Mercedes F1 team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff.
Ferrari has confirmed that their controversial front wing design has been deemed legal by the FIA. The front wing design, more specifically the use of slot gap separators, raised some eyebrows during pre-season testing. The concept was originally tested by Mercedes last season, but they were told the concept was not legal.
McLaren has been given permission to run new innovative dynamic sponsor panels on their car during the races this season. These panels are light digital displays located on each side of the cockpit that are visible from the onboard camera. This allows the team to change the sponsorship being displayed during the race, giving them more marketing opportunities. The team had tested them previously during free practice sessions at the end of last season.
Lewis Hamilton was given exemption from the controversial jewellery regulations on medical grounds. The regulation sparked a lot of attention last season, preventing drivers from wearing any jewellery while driving the car due to the potential safety risks. Mercedes’ team doctor submitted a medical report to the FIA claiming that frequently removing the seven-time World Champion’s noise studs poses a risk of “disfigurement”.
Mercedes has signed a former senior Red Bull team member to serve as an advisor to the team. Jayne Poole worked with Red Bull for many years as Chief Operating Officer and HR Director.
Red Bull may be considering selling their sister team AlphaTauri, despite the rumours being dismissed by management. The decision may be a result of the team’s performance slump last season as well as a potentially ineffective rebranding from Toro Rosso to AlphaTauri in 2020.
McLaren could be considering an engine supply deal with Red Bull Powertrains from 2026. The team has been using Mercedes power units since 2021, but they have had exploratory talks with Red Bull over a potential future deal.
Lance Stroll did participate in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix. It was doubtful that the Canadian Aston Martin driver would be able to take part in the race weekend after sitting out of pre-season testing due to injuries from a cycling crash during the off-season. He had to undergo surgery on his wrist after falling off his bike while training.
Sergio Perez topped the first free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix by nearly half a second. Fernando Alonso was close behind in P2, showing that the Aston Martin pace shown in testing may not have been a fluke. Teammate Lance Stroll did his first laps of the season after missing pre-season testing due to an injury, although he was stuck in the garage for most of the session with an ignition issue.
Fernando Alonso cranked up the heat under the lights in Bahrain by setting the fastest lap in the second free practice session. Both Red Bull drivers were close behind, despite Max Verstappen complaining of some handling issues. Oscar Piastri was fighting hard in practice, nearly colliding with Stroll as the Canadian left the pit lane. Things were not looking good for Mercedes, who finished the session in P8 and P13 within the mid-field runners.
FP3 was a relatively calm session, although there was a close competition at the top of the timing sheets. Fernando Alonso managed to edge out Max Verstappen by only 0.005, again proving the potential pace of the Aston Martin. Mercedes improved greatly in the session as they experimented with setups.
Come qualifying it was a Red Bull front row lockout with Max Verstappen on pole position. Ferrari locked out the second row of the grid and, in a bit of a surprise result, Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five. Rookie Logan Sargeant nearly made it into Q2 when he set an identical time to Lando Norris, but Norris was allowed to advance because he had set the time earlier in the session. In a big shock, Pierre Gasly qualified for last on the grid after having his fast time deleted for track limits.
On Sunday, it was a Red Bull 1-2 led by Max Verstappen with a flawless performance from the defending World Champions, despite an early challenge from Ferrari. Fernando Alonso was the star of the show, fighting his way through the Mercedes all evening long despite early contact with his teammate to finish on the bottom step of the podium. Charles Leclerc failed to complete the race distance after suffering a mechanical failure late in the race. McLaren had an abysmal outing, with both cars nursing mechanical issues throughout the race. Esteban Ocon also had a horrible race at the hands of the FIA, earning himself 3 penalties throughout the race all stemming from a starting grid infraction. Click here to read a full summary of the race.
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