Chain keep us together (running in the shadow)! What can us F1 fans expect in 2023?

Calling all you F1 fans out there! The pre-season testing is over, and the big guns are all revving up for a shot at the title. So, get the popcorn in and start your engines as yet another year of high-octane motorsports action gets underway in Bahrain this Sunday. 

Of course, the new season brings with it a new set of talking points. Will Max Verstappen make it 3 Driver’s Championships on the bounce? Will Ferrari find the consistency which eluded them at crucial moments last year? Will Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes bounce back from an abject season to show the F1 world what they are made of?

With all of the above in mind, there’s no time like the present to take a look at what 2023 could have in store for us Formula 1 fans.

“We are the champions, my friends!”

Can anyone stop Max Verstappen? That is the question that’s on motorsport fans the world over’s lips right now. Whilst the Dutchman only managed to clinch his first driver’s title by the skin of his teeth in 2021, Verstappen completely obliterated the competition last year, picking up his second Driver’s Championship with 4 races to spare and smashing the records for the most wins in a single season (15, 9 of which came in the last 11 races) , as well as the most points in a single season (454, which surpassed Lewis Hamilton’s 413-point haul from 2019).

On the basis of pre-season testing, it looks like 2023 is shaping up to be another very good year for Verstappen and Co. as Red Bull are looking like the team to beat as his teammate Sergio Perez set the fastest lap over the last 3 days of testing in pre-season with Verstappen also going on record as saying the car was “working very well”.

However, that being said, it’s also worth remembering that Red Bull had an absolute nightmare in Bahrain last season as both Verstappen and Perez were forced to retire leaving Ferrari to pick up a 1-2 with Charles LeClerc taking the chequered flag.

Whatever happens, you can bet your bottom dollar Red Bull will do everything they can to prevent a repeat of such a scenario this time around?

Consistency is key!

Speaking of Ferrari, they’ll be hoping that they can show more consistency this year after the bitter disappointment of finishing a distant second to Red Bull in 2022. Despite arguably having the best car on the grid (at least at the start of the season) and making a promising start, a combination of questionable team instructions and poor reliability cost The Prancing Horse dearly in the race for silverware last season.

Seemingly with this in mind, Ferrari have completely redesigned last year’s car to match Red Bull on the straights. However, although it appears to have had the desired effect based on what we’ve seen in pre-season testing, Charles LeClerc stated that he was still getting used to the SF-23, which felt slower through the corners than last year’s car, and that he feared his team were already playing catch up to Red Bull.

Was he playing down his team’s chances or genuinely scared that Red Bull will power their way to victory once again? Only time will tell!

“A mountain to climb”

Of course, Ferrari aren’t the only big name out there looking to close the gap on Red Bull as Mercedes will also be itching to bounce back from a very disappointing 2022, which saw their 7-year dominance of the Constructors’ Championship come to an abrupt end, and show everyone what they are made of. 

The Silver Arrows’ car was dogged by issues related to porpoising at the start of last season and only managed to pick up a single win. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that it wasn’t 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, but his teammate George Russell who took the chequered flag in Brazil, and Hamilton will no doubt be desperate to prove that he’s still got what it takes to mix it with the big boys.

That being said, it’s difficult to know what to make of Mercedes’ showing at pre-season testing this year. On a positive note, they’ve avoided a repeat of the disaster that last year’s pre-season testing proved to be, their car is no longer bouncing around like it did 12 months ago and Lewis Hamilton also managed to set the second fastest lap in the final 3 days of testing.

However, their car still does seem to be beset by a number of issues, with Lewis Hamilton complaining of handling issues and George Russell suffering a hydraulic failure on the penultimate day of testing. 

What’s more, Hamilton also stated that The Silver Arrows have a “mountain to climb” if they are to go toe-to-toe with Red Bull this season which would indicate that it could be another rough season ahead for Mercedes Benz.