The second qualifying session of the season is now complete, with a few shocks along the way, not forgetting that going into Qualifying it’s already confirmed Charles Leclerc has a 10 place grid penalty…
It was Sergio Perez who took his second pole position of his F1 career, at the same place he took his first! Charles Leclerc managed to grab second, but after his penalty is applied will be starting 12th. And to round out the top three is Fernando Alonso.
The full top 10 are: P1: Perez, P2: Leclerc, P3: Alonso, P4: Russell, P5: Sainz, P6: Stroll, P7: Ocon, P8: Hamilton, P9: Piastri and P10: Gasly.
Lando Norris is not having a good time at the moment, qualified P19… this however was not due to a reliability issue. He hit the wall on the last corner and it damaged the car. However, his teammate was on another level, Oscar managed to get into Q3 for the first time in only just two races, a much better place than they were last time out in Bahrain. But a big well done, to the Aussie.
Now onto the bigger shock of qualifying, Max Verstappen out in Q2, and starting 15th. During Q2, Max had a driveshaft problem and that consequently ended his qualifying session, as there was only 5 minutes left and Red Bull were not able to fix/figure out the problem so quick.
A better qualifying for the Alpine’s, Gasly starting 9th and Ocon 6th, hopefully they can capitalise on this and grab points, especially Ocon after not grabbing any in Bahrain.
Predictions-
My top five for the race are: P1: Perez, P2: Alonso, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Stroll.
It will be interesting to see how both Max and Charles will do going through the field working their way up, but will they both manage to stay out of trouble? And grab some points so its not as damaging for the later part of the season.
I can see some safety cars happening this race as well as VSC, this may shake some things up depending on when they are in the race, so it could shake things up a little…
Round 2 is here for Formula 2, lets take a look at what went down in Free Practice and Qualifying!
Free Practice-
Oliver Bearman was quick out of the blocks in Jeddah, as he lead teammate Frederik Vesti in the opening session of the weekend. ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins, was also proving that the rookies were having no problem getting acquainted with the ultra-high-speed circuit, finishing Free Practice in third.
All the drivers were out on track early, eager to get their eye in around a slightly tweaked Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Martins claimed the top spot with 10 minutes gone, his 1:46.411 was 0.4s quicker than anyone else in the early phase of Practice.
There was red flag thrown in Free Practice, as Amaury Cordeel suffered a spin out of Turn 13, ending up sideways on the track. With his car in need of recovering, the session then wasn’t resumed with only four minutes remaining.
Martins set a 1:43.161, that would have put him on top but with the Red Flag cancelling his lap just before he could cross the line to finish it, Bearman topped practice instead.
Qualifying-
Victor Martins was a man on a mission as he claimed ART Grand Prix’s second consecutive pole position in a dominant fashion. The Frenchman put down a 1:41.326 to go a whopping 0.744s clear in the nick of time, as a late Red Flag denied the field a chance to get close to his efforts.
Practice pace-setter, Oliver Bearman also proved that experience isn’t everything as the PREMA rookie secured second, Championship leader Theo Pourchaire made it two ARTs in the top three.
Experiencing his first qualifying session around the Saudi Arabian track, Roman Stanek was the first to get a representative lap time on the board. However, the Trident driver’s time didn’t stay top for too long, being eclipsed immediately by Jack Doohan, Arthur Leclerc and Ayumu Iwasa.
With 18 minutes remaining, improvements were stopped after Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor spun at Turn 22, bringing out the Red Flag. Frederik Vesti momentarily became the driver to beat when running resumed, before he was leapfrogged by his teammate, Bearman.
However, not all drivers were able to take advantage of their fresh supersoft rubber, as the Red Flag was thrown once again, it wiped away Dennis Hauger’s personal best sectors, after Leclerc stopped on the exit of Turn 22. The session was then not resumed, allowing Martins to hold onto his maiden pole position.
Bearman setttled for second, only 0.001s ahead of Pourchaire. Jack Doohan left it late to snatch fourth ahead of Daruvala. Hitech Pule-EIght, Jak Crawford rounded out the top 10 on his Jeddah debut, he will start on reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race today.
The second race of the season is here and we return to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Will Ferrari have any luck with reliability this time round? Leclerc already has a penalty this weekend, so are they already out of luck? Will Red Bull be making it a second 1-2 in a row?
Can Alonso, grab another podium? Will Mercedes be any closer to the front and potentially get a podium aswell? Or will they optimise on Leclerc’s penalty, and try and take as many points away from the Italian team?
Who needs to shine?
McLaren will be hoping to have a better weekend, as having Lando Norris battle problems throughout the Grand Prix and Oscar Piastri having to retire didn’t start them off well.
Esteban Ocon, will be hoping for a better weekend as he retired last time out in Bahrain. Not only this his new teammate Pierre Gasly finished in the points so, Ocon will be wanting to hit the ground running this weekend.
I think Ferrari as a team just need a better weekend, hopefully better reliability as a whole and then the points can be scored as Leclerc is also on catch up.
Mercedes will also be hoping for a better weekend, as we all know they aren’t were they thought they’d be or want to be, I think the determination is there for the Silver Arrows team, and they’ll be pushing to be up further on the grid for the race.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Alonso and P5: Hamilton. (Before penalties)
I think it will be the same teams fighting for pole as last time out, obviously Leclerc has a penalty so, other teams might benefit off that.
I could see an Alfa Romeo and a Haas be in the top 10 for qualifying, maybe the Williams of Albon aswell? With Jeddah being such a tight circuit, drivers have to be somewhat careful as they are on the limit for the majority of the lap.
Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi have became the latest drivers announced for the inaugural F1 Academy, with both sisters set to compete for MP Motorsport in the new all-female series.
Amna, 22, made her single-seater debut in 2018, competing in Italian F4 before becoming the first Emirati and female racer to compete in the Formula 4 UAE Championship the following year.
She also brings experience with her, having also driven in the Asian F3 Championship, Formula Regional Asian Championship and a two-round appearance in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
Meanwhile, 20 year old Hamda began her single-seater career in 2019, driving in Italian F4 and in 2021 she made history by becoming the first female racer to claim a podium in the Championship.
The same year, she finished fourth in F4 UAE and then went on to step up to the Formula Regional Asian and European Championships.
I’m super excited to announce that I’ll be joining MP Motorsport for the F1 Academy. MP Motorsport is a fantastic team with decades of expertise, so I’m really happy to be a part of this family. I’m also really happy to be back behind the wheel and see where this takes us.
Amna on her new seat.
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be racing with MP Motorsport for the F1 Academy. I’m excited to represent MP Motorsport in this series and I’m aware of the team’s amazing past, so I can’t wait to continue with them and grow.
Hamda added.
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Amna and Hamda to our F1 Academy squad. They are from a family that carries speed in their veins and have a bright future in motorsport ahead of them. I have fond memories of the Dubai 24 Hours in which we competed against their father Khaled who won it twice back in 2012 and 2013 when Amna and Hamda were still little girls, and then for a third time in 2020. It’s amazing to realize that they have grown into fierce competitors in karting and now in single seaters where they form arguably the quickest sister act in the entire world of motorsport. 2023 is going to be great with the pair of them.
Charles Leclerc will be having his work cut out in this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after his Ferrari team were forced to fit another control electronics power unit component which in turn triggers a grid penalty.
Ferrari replaced the Energy Store and Control Electronics on Leclerc’s engine before the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix. The Monegasque then retired when in contention for a podium behind the two Red Bulls.
As teams are only permitted to use two control electronics components per season without penalty, Leclerc’s move to a third for race two in Jeddah ensures he will have at least a 10 place grid drop this Sunday. And potentially more if they replace any other parts and increases the chances of him taking a further penalty later in the season.
After Baku, last year Ferrari were forced to run their engine at a lower power to reduce the risk of failure. However a lot of work went into durability over the winter and while they encountered problems in Bahrain.
Leclerc heads into the weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 25 points adrift of championship leader Max Verstappen – and while he was understandably down after failing to score in the season opener, Vasseur said he has no worries about the Monegasque’s mindset and motivation.
On Sunday, we had two different issues. The first one was on the Sunday morning, when we did the fire up, and the second one was in the race. Unfortunately, it was two times the control unit, the ECU. It’s something that we never experienced in the past. I hope now it’s under control, but we have a deep analysis on this. Unfortunately, we’ll have to take the penalty in Jeddah, because we have only a pool of two control units for the season. Charles was with us after the tyre test day on Tuesday, was at the factory on Wednesday morning. We had a speech with the employees, where we were all together on stage. It’s obvious Charles is motivated, we have done one race of 23. He’s full push with the team, trying to get the best for everyone. The penalty is not good news, but it’s not the end of the season. Let’s see what happens in Jeddah, and what could be the outcome, even with the penalty, but don’t imagine for half a second he could be demotivated. He’s fully convinced, he’s working with us, pushing the team, pushing everybody in a positive way. And nothing else.
It has been announced that Formula 1 will continue to race in Austria until 2027, after a new four-year agreement was reached.
The Austrian Grand Prix returned to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 2014, an since then the Red Bull Ring has welcomed millions of fans, with 303,000 supporters in attendance at last year’s sold-out event.
The last race under the current agreement, set to take place 30th June to 2nd July, will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Austrian Grand Prix’s return to the Formula 1 calendar, and feature an F1 Sprint for the second consecutive year.
And now fans can now look forward to at least four more Grand Prix at the historic track.
The Austrian Grand Prix brings together the perfect mix of a challenging track, high-speed racing, and a beautiful venue for our fans, so I am delighted that we will be coming back to the Red Bull Ring until at least 2027 under this new agreement. As we celebrate the 10th year since our return to Spielberg, I would like to thank everyone involved in this renewal, especially the promoter and Red Bull and I want to pay tribute to Dietrich Mateschitz for the love, passion, and vision he brought to Formula 1 that has ensured the continued success of the event and the huge enthusiasm for our sport in Austria and around the world.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.
We are proud of the special partnership we have with Formula 1, and we are absolutely delighted to be welcoming the top class of motorsport to the Red Bull Ring for a further four years. In signing this contract extension, Formula 1 has made a strong commitment to Austria, Styria and the Murtal region. As we enter the tenth year of our partnership with Formula 1, we want to celebrate this milestone with all the great fans of the sport and to thank them for their loyalty and the tremendous atmosphere they help to generate. Everyone is invited to experience another great race weekend at Spielberg in 2023.
Erich Wolf, General Manager of Projekt Spielberg GmbH & Co KG.
Chloe Chong has become PREMA Racing’s second signing for the F1 Academy’s first campaign, with the British-Canadian racer joining Bianca Bustamante at the Italian team.
After beginning competing in karts in the UK back in 2013, she made her first foray into the international karting scene in 2021, racing in the Rotax Max Euro Trophy and the IAME Ladies Cup in France.
Last year saw Chong race in the British Kart Championships X30 Junior Class and achieve one of the four finalist spots in the FIA Girls on Track Rising Star Programme.
Speaking about the announcement, Chong said she is excited to continue her development as she progresses from karting to single-seater racing.
This will be my first year in cars and it’s a dream come true to have been given the opportunity to make my debut with such a renowned team as PREMA. I look forward to working with them, both in and out of the car to form some solid foundations and results in F1 Academy.
Chloe on her new seat.
We always relish the chance to welcome new drivers from karting and having Chloe on board for her auto racing debut in our new F1 Academy team is particularly exciting. She has been impressive so far and she demonstrated it through the FIA Girls On Track – Rising Star selections and the FDA Scouting Camp. We think we spotted some great potential in terms of driving and mentality and knowing that she has so much road ahead makes us confident about our future together.
The tyres have been chosen for the second round out of 23, lets take a look.
For the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the middle of the range has been picked which are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).
Jeddah is the fastest street circuit of the year, with the track having been designed three years ago and has continually been improved since.
This year, there are some new rubble strips on the escape roads whilst some of the kerbs have been smoothed. A number of the walls have been repositioned, such as those at Turn 8 and 10 to improve visibility and Turn 23 to slow the corner down.
The circuit offers a medium level of grip but the sand blown onto the surface can influence this on low-abrasion asphalt. The track, is not especially demanding in terms of traction and braking with lateral forces predominantly affecting the tyres.
For the rapid Jeddah track, we have confirmed the same compound choices as last year as they showed very good consistency throughout the race weekend. In the two races held up to now, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been quite unpredictable because of the frequent safety cars and neutralisations, being a typical street circuit. A one-stopper was the fastest option in 2022, when a safety car led to an early pit stop for most of the drivers, who went on to finish the race on the hard tyre. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fought hard on this strategy thanks also to the durability of the tyres, with the Red Bull driver winning by less than a second at the end of a great race. The teams will also have to work hard on car setup because they will only have free practice to fine-tune the balance on this track with the latest tyres. The first race in Bahrain was all about traction and braking but Jeddah instead focuses on lateral forces, with completely different characteristics to Sakhir.
Rodin Carlin have become the second team to finalise their roster for the inaugural F1 Academy, signing Canadian Megan Gilkes.
She will be joining Jessica Edgar and Alpine junior, Abbi Pulling at the British team for the 2023 season.
Gilkes stepped up to single-seaters in 2017, competing in the Canadian Formula 1200 Championship, finishing third and second overall in consecutive seasons.
In 2019, she was selected for the inaugural W Series season and won the non-Championship race in Assen. With that victory Gilkes became the youngest ever W Series race winner.
Last year, the 22 year old finished sixth in the UK’s GB4 Championship, achieving two wins and a further podium finish.
Alongside racing, Gilkes also works for the Aston Martin F1 Team as a trackside support engineer during her placement year at university.
I’m thrilled to announce that I will be driving this season for Rodin Carlin in the inaugural F1 Academy series. I can’t wait to take my learnings from racing in GB4 last season into this exciting new international venture backed by Formula 1. The opportunity to join a truly world class team with a fantastic winning record across multiple junior formulae is amazing, and I can’t wait to get started. I want to thank Rodin Carlin and my sponsors for making this possible. And I will be proudly carrying the Maple Leaf to recognize the support I’ve received from Canada. Between now and the first event, when I’m not engineering at work with Aston Martin F1, I will be doing everything I can to make this coming season my most successful so far.
Gilkes on her debut.
Megan is a fantastic signing to the team. She is a proven racer on track with race wins to her name and also brings an off-track element that I think will really help the team from a set-up and engineering perspective. She is a true professional and together with Abbi and Jess we have a great combination of strengths and talent within the team that really creates the full package.
Campos Racing have announced that Maite Caceres will be joining them for the inaugural F1 Academy season – with the team becoming the first to confirm their full line-up for the 2023 campaign.
After making her single-seater debut in the 2021 Uruguayan Formula 4 Championship.
The 19 year old switched over to the USA to compete in the 2022 USF Juniors season, Caceres then earned a best result of 11th.
Caceres, will be getting her first experience of the series in pre-season testing in Barcelona from April 11th to 12th. With the first race in Spielberg on April 28-29.
I’m really excited to be working with Campos Racing with such history in motorsport for this year. This past month I’ve been in close contact with them and I can really see the determination and the compromise the team have, values which I share. We will continue working to achieve our goals together.
Campos Racing have confirmed that Lola Lovinfosse will join the Spanish team for the first F1 Academy.
Lovinfosse is the second driver which has been confirmed at Campos after Nerea Marti.
The French driver started in karts in 2018 in the IAME Winter Cup X30 Juniors. She competed in the Trofeo delle Industrie in 2019, achieving a top-10 finish. She also finished inside the top 15 in the 2020 WSK Champions Cup -OK.
The 17 year old then stepped up to single seaters in 2021. She debuted in the Spanish F4 Championship, accumulating vital experience in the junior category.
Ahead of the F1 Academy season getting underway, Lovinfosse said that she couldn’t wait to get started with Campos.
I’m very proud to be joining Campos Racing in the new F1 Academy. I’m so thankful and honoured to take part in this championship with such a professional and experienced team. I want to thank Campos Racing for this amazing opportunity and for believing in me. I will do my best to put the colours of Campos Racing at the top. I’m sure we will achieve great things together. We are more ready than ever for this season.
Lola on her new seat.
We are pleased to have Lola with us for the very first season of F1 Academy. Lola has already proved to be a strong Formula 4 contender and no doubts she is ready to take a key role in this new category. She is an excellent driver and we can set ambitious goals together.
The first race of the season is complete, let’s take a look at how it went…
Everyone bar hard-shod Kevin Magnussen began the race on soft tyres and Verstappen had a solid getaway, but teammate Perez fell back and lost second place to Leclerc.
The reigning champion stretched his legs in the lead and eventually won by more than 10 seconds. Perez made it a one-two with both drivers on similar soft-soft-hard strategies.
Whilst Fernando Alonso, went on a warpath as on Lap 45 he passed Sainz after a stunning battle to get on the podium, his first since Qatar 2021 and his first with Aston Martin.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Alonso, P4: Sainz, P5: Hamilton, P6: Stroll, P7: Russell, P8: Bottas, P9: Gasly and P10: Albon.
A good start to the season for the reigning constructors champions, it’ll be interesting to see if any tracks maybe don’t suit them and if they have any reliability issues.
Aston Martin have made a big improvement from last year, hopefully they can keep the momentum running and keep the streak going.
Not the best race for Ferrari, with Leclerc having a problem and retiring it isn’t the best start to the season especially if they want to challenge for the Championship.
A little shout-out to the highest placed rookie. Logan Sargeant finished 12th on his debut, not a bad first race for the American.
Formula 1 has announced that Susie Wolff will be the Managing Director of the F1 Academy, which aims to develop and prepare young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.
Announced in November, the F1 Academy is an all female driver series featuring five teams, 15 drivers and 21 races with Wolff brought in to enhance the managerial structure and offer her unique insight.
Wolff has a wealth of motorsport experience, both as a driver and team leader. From her development role with Williams which included FP1 outings in F1 to racing in DTM and then leading the Venturi Formula E squad as Team Principal.
In 2016, she launched ‘Dare to be Different’ a call to action aimed at driving female talent by inspiring the next generation and increasing female participation in all levels and aspects of the sport.
As F1 Academy Managing Director, Wolff will be reporting to F1 President and CEO, Stefano Domenicali, spearheading the development of female motorsport talent and focusing on creating a successful pathway to higher categories in the F1 pyramid.
The F1 Academy presents an opportunity to promote genuine change in our industry by creating the best possible structure to find and nurture female talent on their journey to the elite levels of motorsport, both on and off the racetrack. There is a lot of work to be done but there is also a clear determination to get this right. In doing so, I believe the F1 Academy can represent something beyond racing. It can inspire women around the world to follow their dreams and realise that with talent, passion and determination, there is no limit to what they can achieve. This is also the start of an important new chapter in my career, combining the experience I have developed so far with my passion for diversity and empowerment, so I would like to thank Stefano for entrusting me with a role that means as much to me personally as it does professionally.
Wolff on her new role.
It is fantastic news that Susie Wolff is joining the F1 Academy as Managing Director. Susie is an incredible person who understands what it takes to reach the highest levels of motorsport, both as a driver and Team Principal. She has a wealth of experience and first hand knowledge that will be of huge benefit to all of us and the drivers who are on their journey to progress through the racing pyramid. We are committed to maximising the opportunities in our sport for anyone to reach their true potential and achieve their dreams and we believe F1 Academy is a very important part of our plans to be a more diverse and inclusive sport.
Josep Maria Marti bided his time well to make a move stick on reverse pole sitter, Franco Colapinto as he took home glory in the first sprint race of the season, claiming his maiden victory in the Championship.
A frenetic opening race to the year as the Campos Racing driver kept close to the Argentian early on, as the field navigated two Safety car restarts.
After battling with Marti over second during the opening stages, Caio Collet kept himself out of trouble in the rest of the race to take home P3.
The first safety car was due to Rafael Villagomez battling Gabriel Bortoleto, as they made contact pitching the Van Amersfoort car into the wall.
The time behind the Safety Car meant that tyre degradation was less of a concern. PREMA’s Aron and Dino Beganovic continued to chop and change in the battle for fourth.
Day 3-
Gabriel Bortoleto brought home his first Formula 3 victory on his debut weekend in the Championship, meanwhile a time penalty and late Safety Car appearance relegated pole-sitter Gabriele Mini to eighth.
Starting second on the grid, Bortoleto assumed the lead early on, before fellow rookie Mini dispatched for him for the lead on Lap 10.
Keeping within touching distance of the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver, the Trident was in a prime position to benefit when the Safety Car bunched the field back together and was promoted to the win.
Oliver Goethe ensured a strong haul of points for Trident, taking his maiden podium in second, whilst Dino Beganovic showed what he was made off getting his elbows out to slice his way through to third.
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 7 following contact at the hairpin between MP’s Mari Boya and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith. The Australian resumed but Boya was forced to pull off track and retire.
The first Qualifying session is complete at the Bahrain International Circuit, as it was an intense and hotly contested session under the Sakhir lights.
Max Verstappen took pole position, with his teammate, Sergio Perez making it an all Red Bull front row lock out. Charles Leclerc rounds out the top three.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Leclerc, P4: Sainz, P5: Alonso, P6: Russell, P7: Hamilton, P8: Stroll, P9: Ocon and P10: Hulkenberg.
Lando Norris missed out on Q3 by a couple of tenths as he started to make up for a tricky pre-season test. I think it will be interesting to see how he can do in the car whilst on race pace.
Rookie, Logan Sargeant almost joined his teammate in Q2 for the first time of asking, but he set an identical time to 15th place Norris towards the end of Q1, as the American set it second it meant to he was out.
Something I didn’t expect to see was Pierre Gasly out in Q1 but the Frenchman starting P20 on the grid, as he had a lap time deleted.
A shoutout to Hulkenberg though, starting P10 on his first race back, he already looks comfortable in the car so if he can keep this going for not just the race this weekend but throughout the season, Haas shouldn’t have a problem with being in the midfield.
Predictions-
My top five predictions are: P1: Sainz, P2: Verstappen, P3: Alonso, P4: Sainz and P5: Hamilton.
I feel like we all know roughly the four teams that are at the top for this first race, but we won’t get a true idea for race pace until later on.
There’s always some drama on the first race so if some drivers are clever they will optimise on the misfortune of others.
Round 1 is here, and we have had cars back on track finally! So here is a round up from all the action on Day 1.
Practice-
Gabriel Bortoleto began his Formula 3 campaign in fine form as he topped the timing sheets in the opening Free Practice session in Sakhir.
The Brazilian looked at home in his Trident car as he set a 1:47.775 to go 0.075s clear of Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Gabriele Mini – an all rookie top two.
As the clock approached 23 minutes, a flurry of cars headed out of the pits to put their times on times on the board, which saw Bortoleto for a swift moment become the driver to beat ahead of Mini.
The top three from qualifying are: P1: Gabriel Bortoleto, P2: Grabiele Mini and P3: Gregoire Saucy, one thing to keep an eye on is track evolution as its expected to be a major factor in Qualifying.
Qualifying-
Gabriele Mini began his F3 career in fashion as he stormed to his first pole position of his championship debut. The HiTech Pule-Eight driver’s late effort of 1:47.055 couldn’t be matched as less than half a second separated the top 17 runners.
It was clear the field were pushing to the limit as Bortoleto took to the top spot however he became the first of many drivers to fall foul of track limits.
Times continued to tumble, as Mini launched himself half a second clear of Collet. Laying down a 1:47.118, then with three minutes remaining the Alpine junior delivered another lap which was a 1:47.055.
The order then continued to change, as the trio of PREMA cars rose up into the top six. And Bortoleto being a man on a mission to then launch himself up into second after the track limits violation.
The top three were: P1: Gabriele Mini, P2: Gabriel Bortoleto, P3: Gregoire Saucy. But looking toward the sprint race, Williams junior, Franco Colapinto grabs reverse grid pole as he qualified 12th.
HiTech Pulse-Eight have confirmed Luke Browning will complete the team’s 2023 line-up. The Brit joins Sebastian Montoya and Gabriele Mini.
He steps up to FIA Formula 3 following a successful season that culminated in his winning of the 2022 GB3 Championship. He claimed five victories on the way to the title as well as winning the BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.
Browning made his racing debut in saloon car racing before moving to British F4 in 2019. His second season in the Championship brought title success, taking six poles, seven wins and 16 podiums in total.
A full GB3 campaign followed in 2022, he claimed the title with Hitech. Moving to FIA F3 with the same team, the 21 year old says that the continuity will help him hit the ground running in Bahrain.
I’m excited to announce I’ll be taking the step up to FIA Formula 3 with Hitech. We had a fantastic season in GB3 last year. These past 12 months I have really developed as a driver with their guidance and professionalism. I am very thankful to the people who continuously believe in me and have made this possible. I am under no illusions how competitive FIA F3 is and stepping into the car for the first time in February will be a steep learning curve before we head to Bahrain. I feel confident with everyone at Hitech that I can hit the ground running!
Browning on his new seat.
We are delighted to welcome Luke to our team in FIA Formula 3. We had a fantastic year with him in GB3, securing the driver’s title with five wins, and we are confident his experience will be of great value to the team.
The first round is here, and we are at the Bahrain International Circuit for Round 1 out of 23.
This season we have three rookies joining the grid, and a lot of changes within the teams and the drivers as well as having the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
But who will be the world champion? Can Max Verstappen make it 3 in a row? Or will Ferrari finally end their 16 year drought and grab the championship? Will Mercedes be back on form and fight at the top?
Who needs to shine?
Guanyu Zhou is going into his second year as an F1 driver, he will be wanting to prove a lot more as he was quite unlucky last season.
This year we will be having three new rookies to the grid, Oscar Piastri for McLaren, Logan Sargeant for Williams and Nyck de Vries for Alpha Tauri. Three different cars for three different drivers, it will be interesting to see how they do as Piastri comes from a year out of racing, Sargeant from racing in F2 and de Vries from Formula E.
And we have Nico Hulkenberg who is returning to the sport after leaving at the end of 2019, but making several appearances since then as well as being a reserve and development driver.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Sainz, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Hamilton, P5: Alonso.
I think we all know that it’s going to be Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes fighting at the top but I think it will be even closer in the midfield.
Times for the weekend-
Friday 3rd-
Free Practice F3: 07:55am – 08:40am, Free Practice F2: 09:05am – 09:50am, Free Practice 1 F1: 11:30am – 12:30pm, Qualifying F3: 13:00pm – 13:30pm, Free Practice 2 F1: 15:00pm – 16:00pm, Qualifying F2: 16:30pm – 17:00pm (GMT).
Aston Martin have announced that their reserve drivers, Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Drugovich can be used by McLaren for the majority of the 2023 season.
Vandoorne was announced as an Aston Martin reserve in November, the former McLaren racer will be sharing duties with reigning F2 Champion Drugovich, who had earlier joined the team’s development programme.
Aston Martin stated that McLaren will have access to Vandoorne and Drugovich for the first 15 races of the 23 race 2023 schedule.
It follows a similar announcement that Mercedes reserve, Mick Schumacher will also be part of McLaren’s pool for the upcoming campaign.
Both Aston Martin and McLaren head into the new season with revised driver line-ups: Fernando Alonso has joined Lance Stroll at the Silverstone squad and F3 and F2 Champion, Oscar Piastri links up with Lando Norris at the Woking squad.
AMF1 has agreed that McLaren will have access to our reserve drivers, Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne, in the instance that they are required for driving duties for the first 15 races of 2023. pic.twitter.com/mHLM730BgT
F1 pre-season testing has come to an end after three days of running at the Bahrain International Circuit.
It’s not long until we have the cars back on track, but whilst the paddock is taking a breather lets take a look at how each team fared with their new machines.
AlphaTauri
Total Laps – 456, Fastest Lap – 1m 31.261s (Yuki Tsunoda)
Alpha Tauri topped the mileage charts in Bahrain as Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda complete 456 laps of Bahrain. The Italian team have more reasons to be happy as Tsunoda sets the sixth-fastest time of the whole test, and De Vries was second in mileage charts as he readies for his maiden season.
Williams
Total Laps – 439, Fastest Lap – 1m 32.549s (Logan Sargeant)
With a combined total of 439 laps of Bahrain, or 2,376km Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon notched up the second-highest lap count of pre-season testing. Bar an unusual issue with the car’s electrical system, Williams’ three days of testing were trouble-free.
Ferrari
Total Laps – 416, Fastest Lap – 1m 31.024s (Charles Leclerc)
The Scuderia had a positive three days, with both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc occasionally finding themselves at the top of the timesheets, and matching Red Bull. They did contend with a few issues, such as bouncing and the degradation of their tyres.
Haas
Total Laps – 414, Fastest Lap – 1m 31.381s (Kevin Magnussen)
Kevin Magnussen set the seventh-fastest time of testing on Friday and the Dane notched up 95 laps as the team had a smooth three days. Returnee Nico Hulkenberg also got useful mileage – a minor throttle issue on Day 1 was the only hurdle they faced in reliability.
Red Bull
Total Laps – 413, Fastest Lap – 1m 30.305s (Sergio Perez)
It was a strong pre-season test for Red Bull that ended in Sergio Perez setting the fastest time of the week on the final day. They enjoyed a trouble free three days with limited reliability woes, putting them in a good position ahead of the season.
Alfa Romeo
Total Laps – 402, Fastest Lap – 1m 30.827s (Valtteri Bottas)
It was a mixed pre-season for Alfa Romeo. They managed a good haul of laps, and Zhou Guanyu topping the timesheets on Day 2. But they also caused two red flags, the first when Zhou stopped at the end of the pitlane and the other when Valtteri pulled over with a power unit problem.
Mercedes
Total Laps – 398, Fastest Lap – 1m 30.664s (Lewis Hamilton)
Mercedes, endured a mixed pre-season as well, as they were able to go through their programme on Day 1, George Russell stopped on track on Day 2 with a hydraulics issue. They were able to get the car fixed for Day 3, with Lewis Hamilton ending the day 2nd, although they seemed to struggle with the balance of their 2023 challenger.
Aston Martin
Total laps – 387, Fastest Lap – 1m 31.440s (Fernando Alonso)
While Felipe Drugovich did an admirable job in the two sessions he drove as he stepped in for Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso was the one to watch. The Spanish driver settled in well at his new environment, with the car seemingly responding to his every request.
Alpine
Total Laps – 353, Fastest Lap – 1m 32.762s (Pierre Gasly)
Alpine had a low-key three days of running in Sakhir, with both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing towards the bottom the combined timesheets. Ocon was keen to talk up the A523 as a clear step forward, with the general feeling that there is more to come.
McLaren
Total Laps – 312, Fastest Lap 1m 32.160s (Lando Norris)
McLaren had another challenging pre-season in Bahrain after their brake related woes 12 months ago, with aerodynamic efficiency – or rather an apparent lack of it. Add in the need for temporary strengthening work on the front winglets between runs on Saturday, McLaren ended the test with the least mileage out of all 10 teams.
Spanish Grand Prix venue, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will feature a revised configuration for this year’s race – the eighth round of the championship.
Furthermore, the track will feature new safety features and renovated paddock facilities.
The circuit just outside Barcelona, first hosted the Spanish Grand Prix in 1991 – where Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell went wheel to wheel for championship glory – and has undergone several changes since.
In 2007, a chicane was introduced before the final corner in Barcelona but this year, the chicane (currently Turns 14 – 15) will be removed to return the section to its original layout.
New TECPRO barriers will be introduced in the last two high speed corners and the official length of the track for the Spanish Grand Prix will be 4.657 kilometres which is 18 metres shorter than the previous track.
The Spanish track will also make other changes, with a widening of the run-off area in Turn 1, including 70 more metres of gravel plus a slope of 5% and a new fence protecting Turns 1 and 2 to improve the safety of the drivers.
The scoreboard at the pitlane exit will be remodelled for 2023, including a more modern signalling tower.
The tyres for the first round of the 2023 season have been chosen as the new C1 makes its debut this weekend.
This year, Pirelli has expanded the range of available compounds to six, with three still chosen for every race. The brand new C1 compound fills the gap between the hardest C0 (used as the C1 in 2022) and the C2 which is unchanged from last year.
The selection is: C1 (Hard tyre), C2 (Medium tyre), C3 (Soft tyre). The teams will have at their disposal two sets of hard tyres, three sets of mediums and eight sets of soft per car.
The Bahrain International Circuit, features some of the most abrasive asphalt of the year while the track – consisting of low to medium speed corners – mainly places traction and braking demands on the tyres. The layout also requires a good level of stability at the rear of the car.
The Bahrain Grand Prix, takes place on a circuit surrounded by the Sakhir desert. Wind can sometimes blow sand onto the track, which can affect the grip levels during the sessions.
The support races include Formula 2 and Formula 3, with them resulting rubber laid down influencing track evolution.
Tyre degradation will be a key factor when it comes to deciding the strategy. Last season, all the drivers bar one stopped three times (rather than the anticipated two-stopper) due to a late race safety car.
Everything you need to know about the tyres ahead of this week's #BahrainGP 🇧🇭🤓
Alpine have announced that Jack Doohan will be acting as the squad’s reserve driver during the upcoming F1 season. As it marks the next step for the Aussie after his recent test and practice outings.
Doohan joined the Alpine Academy from Red Bull’s junior programme in 2022, combining work for the F1 team with a second F2 campaign which yielded three wins, three pole positions and sixth in the standings.
In the closing stages of the year, Doohan also made his official Grand Prix weekend debut with FP1 outings in Mexico and Abu Dhabi. Now, having also taken part in the 2022 post-season test in Abu Dhabi, 20 year-old Doohan has been given the official title of Alpine reserve driver.
It means he will be called upon should regular Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly – the latter arriving from AlphaTauri to replace Aston Martin bound Fernando Alonso – be unable to compete.
Alongside his F1 reserve duties, Doohan will be continuing to compete in F2 for a third campaign in 2023, sticking with the Virtuosi Racing squad as Alpine set him the target of claiming the title.
Round 5 is here, and we are in Cape Town South Africa for a first time appearance, lets take a look at how the weekend went.
FP1-
Maserati’s MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara topped the timesheets with a time of 1m 09.700s.
It’s the first time in Season 9 that one of the Maserati cars have topped a session, despite the team looking strong in pre-season testing. Mortara’s teammate, Maximilian Guenther finished the session in seventh.
Fresh from a disappointing result last time out in Hyderabad, Jaguar’s Sam Bird was on a mission and finished the session in second, 0.158s off Mortara’s time. Sacha Fenestraz slotted into third on the timesheets to round out the top 3.
But minutes into the start of the session, Sebastian Buemi brought out the red flags after a heavy impact with the walls of the rapid street circuit between Turn 9 and 10.
FP2-
The final session before qualifying ahead of the Cape Town E-Prix, Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy headed the pack with a 1m 08.118s.
Cassidy was 0.307s ahead of Maserati MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and some 1.6 seconds faster than the pace set in Free Practice 1’s session.
Rounding out the top three was NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum with an impressive lap time. As well as the Jaguar cars looking rapid, Mitch Evans and Sam Bird were fourth and fifth.
Qualifying-
Nissan’s, Sacha Fenestraz sealed his first Julius Baer Pole Position for the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, as well as setting the fastest-ever lap in the process.
Fenestraz managed to beat the Maserati of Maximilian Guenther by over four tenths of a second to set a stunning time of 1m 07.848s.
Disappointment came for all four Mahindra-powered cars as the quartet were withdrawn due to rear suspension safety concern. As well as a big shunt fro Edoardo Mortara and Sam Bird which brought out the red flag at the end of Group B.
Round 5-
Antonio Felix da Costa drove a storming race from 11th on the grid to his first win for TAG Heuer Porsche, after producing a copy of one of the best moves you’ll ever see for the lead, on two seperate occasions.
The season 6 champion returned to form last time out with third in Hyderabad but this was something else in a properly attritional race at another meg, all new track with only 13 drivers making it to the finish line.
With the quartet out front nose to tail thanks to Guenther clipping a wall and pulling the car over into retirement, throwing that caution, Cassidy headed Fenestraz by less than half a second with da Costa and Vergne for company.
On Lap 24, Da Costa produced an outrageous pass to steal the lead from Cassidy at the trickiest part of the track – the Turn 7,8 and 9 combo.
The Porsche driver then pulled enough gap to take his second mandatory ATTACK MODE and retake the lead but he missed the activation loop.
Meanwhile, Fenestraz had made it by Cassidy to take a potential podium but heartbreakingly, the Nissan driver hit the wall on the final lap.
The full top 10 are: P1: da Costa, P2: Vergne, P3: Cassidy, P4: Rast, P5: Buemi, P6: Ticktum, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Nato, P9: Lotterer and P10: Hughes.
McLaren have announced that they have reached an agreement with Mercedes which will see them add Mick Schumacher to their pool of reserve drivers, for the 2023 season.
Schumacher joined the silver arrows as a reserve driver in December last year – after two seasons racing at Haas – where he scored 12 points in 43 starts.
This means, Schumacher joins IndyCar Champion, Alex Palou in McLaren’s list of reserve drivers for the 2023 season, with the German able to step in if one of Lando Norris or the team’s newest recruit, Oscar Piastri is unable to take part in a race weekend.
McLaren shared an image of Schumacher getting accustomed to their cockpit and getting the seat moulded around him in Woking, so the German will be ready to step in if needed.
Schumacher, will be on hand for the squad which is led by Team Principal Andrea Stella who was his father, Michael’s Performance Engineer at Ferrari from 2002 to 2006 – during which they won three drivers’ titles together.
McLaren will be able to call on @SchumacherMick as a reserve driver during the 2023 F1 season as part of our arrangement with Mercedes. Welcome to the family, Mick. 👊🧡 pic.twitter.com/DNiJ5s99rQ
— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team (@McLarenF1) February 1, 2023
F1 Academy has revealed the calendar and format for its inaugural season of racing, with the all-women series set to feature seven events, with 21 races in total.
Kicking off in Speilberg, Austria on April 28th-29th, the new series will then head to the Spanish cities of Valencia and Barcelona on May 5th-7th and May 19th-21st, respectively.
From there, June 23rd-25th will see them pay a trip to the historic Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands. After taking on Monza’s Temple of Speed from July 7th-9th they’ll head to Le Castellet in France for the penultimate round of the year.
Finally, the 2023 season will draw to a close at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas, as a support event to the United States Grand Prix from October 20th-22nd.
Designed to feature as many F1 tracks as possible, the calendar provides an opportunity for the 15 drivers to compete on a variety of challenging circuits, helping to develop their technical skills and prepare them to progress to higher levels of competition.
The grid will take to the track for the first time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from April 11th-12th whilst 13 additional days of testing throughout the season will also be revealed in the coming weeks.
The race weekend format is as follows:
Two 40 minutes free practice sessions
Two 15 minute qualifying sessions
Three races per weekend.
The first qualifying session will set the grid for Race 1, whilst the second will set the order for Race 3. Race 2’s grid will be set by reversing the top eight drivers from Qualifying 1, with ninth and below lining up in the positions they qualified in.
Races 1 and 3 will be 30 minutes long and award 25 points to the winner. Whilst Race 2 will be a slightly shorter 20 minutes and offer 10 points. one point for the fastest lap will be up fr grabs in each race, provided the driver finishes in the top 10.
Abbi Pulling will be racing with Rodin Carlin this season in the F1 Academy, as well as becoming a fully-fledged member of the Alpine Academy driver programme.
Pulling was an Alpine Affiliate last season during which she achieved a seventh place finish in the 2022 W Series campaign.
The British driver began her career at nine, racing in karting before graduating up to Ginetta Juniors. In 2020, she moved to British Formula 4 where she took four podiums on the way to P6 in the championship.
A second British F4 campaign and a further three podiums followed. She also completed her maiden season in W Series, finishing the 2021 season seventh. The following year, she climbed to fourth place overall, achieving four top five finishes in 2022.
It is great to be competing in the first season of the F1 Academy, especially to be working with such a successful team as Rodin Carlin. Having spent time with the team before, I can’t wait to get the season started, working alongside some incredible people. I have lots of trust in them and know they will push me to be the best I can be. I’m very thankful for the continued support of the Alpine Academy for a second season and the great work of Gazing Performance and Alice Powell behind the scenes. I’m also excited to welcome My First Alert who are supporting my programme for the first time this year.
Abbi Pulling on her F1 Academy seat.
We’re delighted to welcome Abbi to the team for this first season of F1 Academy. Our paths have crossed in the past before and Abbi is a driver we’ve wanted to work with for some time now. We’re really excited that we are able to work on this programme together and have no doubt that Abbi will be a huge asset to the team. Thank you to the Alpine Academy for entrusting us with this next stage of Abbi’s career. We can’t wait to get on track.
ART Grand Prix have confirmed their second of three drivers for the inaugural F1 Academy season, with Carrie Schreiner joining Lena Buhler.
Schreiner, began her career in karting, where she become the first female to win the 2012 ADAC Kart Masters in the X30 Junior Category.
After competing in British and German F4 in 2016, she switched to GT and endurance racing, claiming both the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East (Pro-Am) and DMV Gran Turismo Touring Car Cup (GT3 Class) titles in 2018.
The 24 year old also became the first woman to win a race in the selective Porsche Sports Cup and in 2021, she finished fifth in the Italian GT Championship.
It’s a great honour to be driving for ART Grand Prix. Not many teams have the amount of records they do, or have been champion so many times. I am proud to be joining the list of their drivers and excited about what we can achieve together. I think it’s an important step that F1 has its own championship for women. The car is quite similar to an F4 car and I had some experience in this category a few years ago. It will certainly be fun to drive the car with the new aero and with a team like ART. I have the best requirements I need to perform well. I will give everything to achieve the best results and compete for front positions.
Carrie on her move to the F1 Academy.
I’m happy to welcome Carrie into our team. Her experience and technical background will be important pillars for building a strong career in the new F1 Academy championship. She has already proven that she can adapt to some very different championships and I have no doubt she will find her feet right from the start of the season.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship makes it two brand new events in a fortnight, with the series’ maiden visit to South Africa and Cape Town for Round 5.
The inaugural Cape Town E-Prix is Formula E’s first sub-Sahraran African event, with the spectacular Table Mountain providing the backdrop for the second of three consecutive events at new venues to the championship.
The Mother City’s Green Point district provides the location for the high-speed 2.921km circuit, snaking around the DHL Stadium and skirting the coastline.
It’s a fast-paced track, with bumpy braking zones, a tight chicane at Turns 4, 5 and 6 with a pacy, eye of the needle section midway around the lap.
The Championship-
With a quarter of the season complete, lets take a look at who is leading the championships.
It’s TAG Heuer Porsche leading the Teams’ Championship, and Pascal Wehrlein leading the Drivers’ Championship. A double-win for the German in Diriyah followed a podium in the season-opener in Mexico City.
Porsche didn’t have it their way in Hyderabad and neither did Jake Dennis in the Avalanche Andretti. The Brit was uncermoniously removed from a potential top three finish by an overenthusiastic move from Rene Rast.
The resulting 16th-placed finish proved costly for Dennis – who’d won Round 1 in Mexico and followed it up with two 2nd places in Diriyah – allowed Wehrlein to extend his advantage.
Jean-Eric Vergne kickstarted his and DS Penske’s season as they picked up the race win and silverware in Hyderabad with a vintage defensive drive.
Morning– Everyone was out of the garages immediately, but it was Tommy Smith who was the first to put a laptime on the board for VAR, with the Australian’s 1:51.521 was the only time on the board in the opening hour.
With just over half an hour remaining, the track began to fill up. Nikita Bedrin was the first beneath the 1:50s, but plenty followed. Gregoire Saucy managed to better the Jenzer Motorsport driver’s time, beating it fractionally with a 1:51.155.
Luke Browning was the busiest driver of the session, logging 29 laps in the Hitech Pulse Eight.
The top three are: P1: Gregoire Saucy, ART Grand Prix, P2: Taylor Barnard, Jenzer Motorsport, P3: Zak O’Sullivan, PREMA Racing.
Afternoon– A much faster start to the afternoon followed, with all teams bar Hitech Pulse-Eight immediately out on track. Gabriel Bortoleto set the early pace on a 1:49.366. It put him 0.241s ahead of Collet in P2.
With just under an hour and a half remaining, Gabriele Mini went fastest and then beat his own time to go onto a 1:48.453.
PREMA made a leap up on the table as the grid entered the final 45 minutes of running, Paul Aron closed to within 0.033s of Mini’s table-topping time before going P1 with a 1:47.889.
Saucy lowered the time to beat to a 1:47,563 inside the final 10 minutes as plenty of personal best times filtered through, but the ART driver remained fastest to the chequered flag.
The top three are: P1: Gregoire Saucy, ART Grand Prix, P2: Paul Aron, PREMA Racing, P3: Josep Maria Marti, Campos Racing.
Day 2-
Morning– Sophia Florsch led the way out of the garages for the morning session. Gabriele Bortoleto put in a 1:47.808 to go quickest in the opening minutes. Gregoire Saucy slotted in two-tenths behind and Taylor Barnard third.
The ART Grand Prix driver didn’t take long to retake the top spot with a 1:46.697. But with an hour and a half to go, the only red flag of the morning session after Alejandro Garcia stopped on track at Turn 6.
Once the track went back to green, Dino Beganovic, Grabiele Mini and Bortoleto could hardly be split in second, third and fourth places respectively.
The top three are: P1: Gregoire Saucy ART Grand Prix, P2: Dino Beganovic PREMA Racing, P3: Gabriele Mini Hitech Pulse-Eight.
Afternoon– Hunter Yeany led the way for the afternoon running, as Josep Maria Marti topped the timing sheets early on. The second red flag of the day was shown, due to Saucy stopping out on track but the session was soon underway.
Marti broke into the 1:49s to extend his advantage at the top, before a second red flag of the session was for Oliver Gray. The session then went back to green with an hour 45 minutes remaining.
Times began to improve once more as the sun began to set, with Bortoleto returning to the top of the timing screens with a 1:48.388. Mini then moved back into P1 with just over half an hour left, with teammate Sebastian Montoya joining him in second.
The top three are: P1: Gabriele Mini Hitech Pulse-Eight, P2: Gregoire Saucy ART Grand Prix, P3: Sebastian Montoya Hitech Pule-Eight.
Day 3-
The extended session got underway with Rafael Villagomez taking the top spot in the early laps, but it didn’t take long for Saucy to return to the summit.
Bortoleto was next to take over P1, going just under a tenth clear of Saucy with a 1:47.417 less than an hour gone. Paul Aron moved PREMA Racing inside the top three as the first hour elapsed. Hugh Barter and Dino Beganovic were spearated by 0.004s in fourth and fifth.
Approaching the halfway stage of the final day, ART Grand Prix kept their drivers busiest, logging over 80 laps. Saucy remained second ahead of Kaylen Frederick and Nikola Tsolov, ninth and 10th respectively.
Race runs became the focus for everyone, with the grid logging the mileage on multiple lap runs. It continued that way as the clock ticked into the final hour. Caio Collet broke the 50 lap barrier first, with 30 minutes remaining.
The top 3 are: P1: Gabriel Bortoleto Trident, P2: Gabriele Mini Hitech Pulse-Eight, P3: Gregoire Saucy ART Grand Prix.
Jordan's Track Talk 