Episode 2
2023 F1 Season Preview
Welcome back to The Steward's Office! It's not long until lights out in Bahrain but there are a couple of changes coming in 2023 for F1. So, I'm breaking down what we can expect from this season.
We're talking about
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Music: Dirty Gertie by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Transcript
00:00
nges and some rookie drivers,:00:23
ng to be taking a look at the:00:33
2023 is set to hold a record 23 races over the season. That's right, 23. It is a packed out season with new circuits joining the calendar, some returning races and some missing ones.
00:52
The calendar was actually meant to have 24 races but F1 decided to cancel the Chinese Grand Prix because of the country's Covid-19 rules. But we will get into that later.
01:04
Still though, 23 races feels like A LOT. I know that some of the teams and the drivers feel like F1 are pushing the number of races a little too far and I have to agree them. Look, I love F1 and I love a race weekend. I wouldn't be hosting this podcast if I didn't. But 23 races feel overwhelming as a viewer and I can't imagine the strain it must put on teams and their families by them travelling and working so much.
01:38
Stenfano Domeicalli did come out and say that 24 races would be the max amount that he would want on a calendar. But in all honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if they keep trying to push that number higher and push the limit a little bit more.
01:55
Look, personally, I think 18 races is a really sweet spot for the max amount of races in a season. You can fit in some amazing circuits, go to some great countries, get a really good championship in for the drivers and still strike a good balance for everyone working in F1 to actually have a break.
02:16
I do start to wonder whether we’re getting the same quality of racing with this amount races. To expect not just the drivers, but all of the teams, to be performing at their peak that frequently is so demanding on the bodies and minds of everyone working in F1. Mechanics, engineers, PR, team principals. Everyone that is involved in F1
02:42
To be flying that frequently, building and taking apart the paddocks and the cars. To be competing that much. Without a break, without a chance to recharge properly. You just have to start wondering where that limit is.
02:58
But a 23 race calendar is what we're getting. And along with it, we're getting a brand new circuit. F1 is bringing a third race to the USA in the form of the Las Vegas GP.
03:12
is going to Las Vegas since:03:37
At this point, I think I'm more interested in and excited about what's going to be happening around the GP because you know that Vegas are gonna put on a load of events and F1 are gonna wanna put on a load of events to celebrate them going out there. So, I think I'm more looking forward to seeing all of that than the race itself.
03:58
The sound of the night race down the Vegas strip sounds insane. It sounds really, really cool. And if you guys saw the Vegas launch, Merc basically put a bunch of lights under their car and it looked so good. Like just sleek and elegant and everything I love about a night race.
04:18
But I don't know whether it's going to translate well when we actually get to the racing. And I don't know whether it's gonna kinda live up to the hype. I hope it does because like I said, it sounds really cool but it's just seeing whether it translates from paper and from the ideas that people have had into an actual good race.
04:38
International Circuit was in:04:54
The last time out in Qatar actually gave us a pretty interesting podium, with Fernando Alonso managing to get his Alpine into third place. And it had been a while since Alonso was last on a podium. So, I’m really hoping t we might get some more interesting action there and some surprise podiums.
05:13
that we can expect to see in:05:27
rnational Circuit was back in:05:48
I love seeing the racing there, when I rewatch old races it just looks so good to race at. The atmosphere seems amazing, the fans seem so excited and now that we have our first-ever Chinese driver on the grid in the form of Zhou Guanyu, I was so excited to see the reception he was going to get at his home race.
06:09
t to see this track return in:06:17
The other circuit that we had to say goodbye to was Paul Ricard. France is not going to be hosting a Grand Prix this year. With F1 trying to expand its global reach and with DTS helping with the global market that they've got not, they've decided to put some of the European races on a rotation to make some space for the newer circuits that they've now introduced.
06:40
will see it back. Probably in:07:14
This year's calendar also brings along 6 sprint races. The mini-races that are going to set the grid for Sunday's GPs are being held in Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the US, more specifically the Circuit of the Americas, and Brazil.
07:33
I can't lie to you guys, I am not the biggest fan of sprint races. I think that a lot of the drivers don't really want to push too much during the sprint on a Saturday because they don't want to risk wrecking the car before a race on a Sunday and then ending up with a penalty because they've had to replace parts of the car.
07:52
Saying that though, it does look like the FIA are deciding to look into the rules for Parc Ferme on Sprint weekends. The FIA basically have said that they had a lot of parc ferme requests between the quali on Friday and the Sprint on Saturday. So, they wanna try and find a way to simplify the process for the teams.
08:13
I’m not sure what that’s going to mean. Whether they’ll be a little more leniency in some parts of the set-up changes between Friday and Saturday because there's not a lot of run time. Most teams basically have FP1 on a Friday morning to nail down their set-up. And that's it for the weekend. And normally they'd have three practice sessions before nailing down their set-up for quali. So, it really is a hit and miss sort of situation.
08:37
But hopefully we will get some clarity on that soon and so will the teams. Because the first sprint race, like I said, is Azerbaijan which is the fourth race of the season. So, there's not a lot of time. So hopefully, yeah, we'll get some word from the FIA about that.
08:53
I just think that sprints usually a pretty good way for drivers who might have ended up out of place in quali to make up those spaces and end up where, technically, they should be given their car on the starting grid on a Sunday.
09:09
Maybe though, maybe this year the sprints will give us a little bit more drama. Especially now that we've got that closer racing with the new aero regs and we'll have a bit more of a mixed up grid. So, I'm gonna try and not give up hope on the sprints completely and just hope we get some really good action and some really mixed up grids.
09:28
Whilst there aren't a huge amount of changes on the race calendar. We've got one new circuit, one reintroduced and two that are missing. There are a LOT of changes on the grid. 6 teams have decided to change their driver lineups and we're welcoming three rookies onto the grid as well as seeing a driver return. So, let's see what's going on with the teams.
09:54
river lineup that they had in:10:09
id have to take a year out in:10:38
It might not. We'll have to wait and see. But I am so interested to see where the McLaren team battle is going to end up because I think and I hope it’ll be a really good battle between the two drivers.
10:53
AlphaTauri are then second team introducing a rookie. Nyck de Vries is finally getting his shot in F1. He is definitely the rookie that is coming in with the most amount experience, having driven in a different series and winning. World Championship there. He's also traced in multiple FP1 sessions last year and driven in an F1 race as a reserve driver alread. He’s the rookie that I’m expecting the most of because of all that to be honest.
11:24
car is better than it was in:11:32
The final rookie that is entering the grid is taking a seat next to Alex Albon in the Williams. And that's Logan Sargeant. He’s going to be the only American on the grid and the only rookie that isn’t coming up with any championships from F2 or F3.
11:50
place in the constructors in:12:05
I don’t know whether Logan's going to be able to do that straight away or not. Some of it might just depend on how easy that Williams is to drive. But his is gonna be an interesting journey to see how well he can adjust to that car.
12:19
We do have a returning driver this year as well, with Nico Hulkenberg linking up with Haas. This has to be one of the most interesting driver decisions for me. Guenther Steiner’s been quite open about saying that the team wanted two experienced drivers in the car to help them maximise every race weekend. That way they're hopefully hauling points home, getting further up in the constructors' championship, which means more prize money that they can put towards building a better car.
12:49
ut Nico raced full-time since:13:12
A this point though, I think they would rather a driver who's had a few years off of the grid compared to a complete rookie because at least he's coming in with some experience and some knowledge.
13:23
So, those are all of our new and returning drivers that are coming onto the grid but there are some other changes and swaps that have happened.
13:32
Alpine now have a completely French lineup, in a French team with Pierre Gasly now joining them. Look, I know that there’s been some drama in the past with Esteban and Pierre but I don’t think there’s gonna be this huge blowout in Alpine like some people are thinking.
13:49
I definitely think they’re gonna race each other hard but I don’t think it's gonna be any worse than some of the other rivalries that teammates have across the grid. This has the potential to be a pretty strong driver lineup if both of them just get their heads down and actually wanna work together. So, I hope we don't get any drama. And I hope we kinda see Alpine still fighting ahead and maybe moving up towards the top three teams.
14:20
We’ve also got Fernando Alonso moving to Aston Martin which wasn’t exactly the move I was expecting from him. Aston were definitely a team looking for a very experienced driver to be in that car after Sebastian announced his retirement.
14:38
So, it makes sense for the team, in my opinion. For Fernando though, and look, no offence, I love Aston but it feels like a downgrade in terms of where the teams are. When you look and Alpine compared to Aston Martin, most people would agree that the Alpine is a much better car to be in.
14:59
So, I don’t know whether Fernando was just looking for a seat at that point because he knew Alpine weren't going to renew his contract, or at least not giving him the amount of years that he wanted. Or maybe there’s some secret about Aston Martin that we don’t know about yet. I mean, for all we know it might be an absolute rocket on track this year. But right now, it’s definitely an interesting decision for Fernando to make
15:27
re since I covered that in my:15:44
But I think we’re in for an interesting season as Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Alfa Romeo have a change in TP. I’m curious to see whether there’s gonna be any changes in the ways the teams are managed and especially how the drivers are managed.
16:02
I don’t think McLaren are going to have as many issues since their TP was already working within McLaren. For the other teams, there could potentially be some issues as the TPs are coming from different teams. So, there might be a settling-in period as they get used to the new drivers and dealing with them and getting to know the new personnel that they're working with.
16:29
Saying that though, Alfa Romeo are in a bit of a unique position here. They don’t actually have a team principal this year, what they’ve opted for is a team representative in the form of Alessandro Alunni Bravi. And I hope I've pronounced that right. My apologies if I didn't. But from the sounds of it, he’s going to be taking on all the responsibilities of a Team Principal on a race weekend but just won’t have the title of TP. Now, that might be because outside of a race weekend the responsibilities of a Team Principal are then going to be shared with other people on the team. But I think Alfa Romeo are gonna be an interesting team to keep an eye on with this new structure. Especially as Audi starts their gradual takeover of the team.
17:15
There are also a couple of rule changes this year that we can expect to see. A huge set of rule changes has to do with the porpoising that the vast majority of the teams were facing in twenty-twenty-two. Understandably the teams weren’t happy to see their cars bouncing up and down and eventually the FIA realised that they were going to need to step in with some safety measures for the upcoming season.
17:41
So, from this year, the floor edge has to be raised by 15mm, the diffuser throat height has also been raised and the diffuser edge stiffness has also been increased. Those three things should help to mitigate the effects of the porpoising. On top of that though, an extra sensor is now having to be placed on each car so that the FIA can measure the porposing and can step in if they need to with any penalties if they find that the porpoising is getting too much and the teams aren't doing anything to help it.
18:15
Safety requirements on the car have also been increased, with roll hoops now needing to have a rounded top. And this should mean that there’s less of a chance of it digging into the ground in the case of an accident.
18:28
rific crash at Silverstone in:18:45
oll hoop in coming years. So,:19:04
2022 gave us some of the heaviest cars that we’ve seen in F1. The drivers had said throughout the season that they felt pretty sluggish to drive and it didn’t help that some of the teams couldn’t even reach the minimum weight limit. So, they were just left with these overweight cars to drive.
19:23
But in:19:42
The next new rule comes in the form of the rearview mirrors. If you saw the Hungarian or Belgian Grand Prix last year, you might have seen some larger mirrors on the Red Bull and Mercedes cars. And during the Dutch Grand Prix last year, every car had them on. Those wider rear-view mirrors are going to be featured on every car on the grid this year for every single race. They’ve basically had the width increased by 50 mm to try and help visibility.
20:14
The amount of times I’ve heard drivers past and present say that those mirrors are basically useless to them because they can’t see anything properly. I am really hoping that these might give them some better visibility and we won't hear those same complaints. But I think we're gonna actually have to wait until we see them racing with most of the circuits to see whether it's made that difference to them.
20:40
I mentioned towards the beginning of the episode that F1 are increasing the number of sprint races and looking to simplify some of the rules surrounding parc ferme during race weekends. In addition to that though, the Sprint damage allowance is being doubled to $300,000.
20:58
So basically, last year each team was allowed an extra $150,000 allowance in the budget cap per sprint weekend for any damages the cars might have had during a sprint race. That’s now been doubled.
21:16
In the era of the cost cap, that's probably useful for the teams who are actually able to reach the cost cap limit but I think every team is still going to want the drivers to be extremely careful on a Saturday sprint so they don’t end up having to break curfew whilst they rebuild the car in time for the race.
21:34
ing to cut that down again in:22:03
Restrictions on curfews are pretty tight in F1. Like, they are rules that the FIA really clamp down on if they see a team going over the number of curfew that they're permitted. And teams are already having to pick and choose when they'll think it’ll be best to break curfew and when they think 'no, we could probably leave the car and work on it in th morning again'.
22:24
So, I think that the teams and drivers are going to be even more wary of how they spend their time now and how they deal with any damage.
I'm most interested to see in:22:57
Obviously most of the teams do opt to use soft tyres unless there's a wet quali when obviously the intermediates and the wets are being used.
23:06
But in two quali events this year, there are going to be mandated tyre compounds. In Q1 only hard tyres can be used. In Q2 only mediums and in Q3 only then can the teams start to use soft tyres.
23:22
I don’t know whether I like this rule too much, guys. I kinda like when we see teams taking a chance on a set of mediums because they think they're super safe or when we see a team decide that they're gonna use old soft tyres because they really wanna keep a set of new softs for the race. And it obviously has a knock-on effect for strategy then.
23:44
I think it's just something that makes the races so much more interesting. How many soft tyres do you actually risk using in quali compared to the race? Which races are more starting position dependent and which tracks offer more chances for overtaking? Is your car built for overtaking or do you really need to keep that starting position?
24:04
But one of the main reasons F1 want to do this sort of new quali format is so that they can save on the number of tyres that are going to waste on a race weekend. Because basically, any unused tyres have to be recycled by Pirelli. They aren't allowed just to go to another race weekend. So, they are trying to cut back on how many tyres, I think, that they can take to a race and then how many actually wasted.
24:30
This is just a test right now to see if it would work to implement in later years but I’m curious to see whether it's going to make any actual difference. Whether it'll help or hinder the teams and whether strategy might get a little more predictable or boring because of it. Or whether it opens the doors for strategy even more. So, I don't think F1 have yet announced which races they're using this new quali format in. So, we'll see what happens there.
24:59
a change being made to it in:25:17
During all the sprint races this year though, they’re going to be trialling activating after one lap. And I think there's the potential to have some issues here.
25:27
Tyres are normally a lot colder when the drivers are following the safety car, they really struggle to bring heat into them. I mean we've heard the driver radios when they're complaining that the Safety Car is going too slowly and that's because they're just losing the heat out of the tyres.
25:44
Losing heat in the tyres means that they don't have as much grip during a restart. So, if a car behind you has much warmer tyres, you're gonna really struggle to fight off that car and you're likely to lose your position because of it.
25:58
So, I think bringing DRS a lap earlier might cause some more skids and uncontrolled cars. Because if the tyres haven't heated up properly yet, they're gonna have no proper grip. I mean, we've seen how punchy the driver can get on restarts anyway. And then adding DRS in one lap earlier, it could cause problems.
26:23
But this is just another one of those things that F1 and the FIA wanna trial and see if it works. And if it doesn't, we probably won't see it introduced into the races. And if it does, we might see, in later years, it coming into all of the Grand Prixs.
26:36
I'm not sure how many of you remember the Italian Grand Prix last year. In particular, I wonder how many of you remember the mess that happened after quali. If you do, you might just remember how much of a mess it was to figure out the starting grid.
26:55
We essentially had Lewis, Max, Checo, Valterri, Carlos and Yuki, that was six drivers, all taking grid penalties as they took on extra power units and some extra gearboxes out of their allowance. Absolutely no one was quite sure how the penalties were meant to be applied.
27:18
I think I saw at least three or four different variations on how the starting grid might look like. It took, I'm pretty sure, longer than usual for the FIA to even release their confirmed starting grid for the race. So, there was just confusion all around with this one.
27:35
It was just a mess. I mean, there were just so many variation because nobody actually knew how the penalty rules would be applied with that many drivers taking on penalties.
27:49
So this year, the FIA are trying to tidy up some of that confusion since they’ve updated the wording on the regulations. So now, any driver who’s been told that they have a fifteen plus place grid drop or been told that they're going to be starting at the back of the grid will start behind any of the other drivers.
28:11
And they're position then will determined on their qualifying place. So, hopefully, we can avoid the mess at Monza because it was so confusing to figure out who was going where.
28:24
changes that are coming into:28:42
Overall though,:29:00
going to be talking about my:29:09
So, thank you guys and diolch yn fawr for listening! Make sure you subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so that you never miss an episode. And follow us on Twitter and Instagram @stewards_office and I’ll see you guys the next time that you’re summoned to the Steward’s Office.
