Bulls, Stars and Horses: F1 2023… Here we Go!
With the first season of the new Aero Regulations in the books last year, Formula One will continue to head into the bold new future that promises closer racing than ever before. Teams will have had an year to assess and digest their concepts for the new regulations — some failed surprisingly, while others shocked the grid with their efficiency. Whatever happened last year, is now a thing of the past. It’s a new season, and with the scoreboard back to zero, let us look at the contenders of this season.
Williams
Williams had a languishing season last year, finishing last on the grid. The legendary team has for years been on a path of rebuilding itself as a front runner of the grid, but so far those attempts have not been successful at all. With a new leadership at the helm of the team, having onboarded James Vowles, the man behind the rampant success of Mercedes over the years, as their team principal, the hope is now that he can guide this once great team back to regain some of its lost glory.
My Prediction: 9th
AlphaTauri
The sister team of Red Bull had a dismal season last year, being plagued by reliability issues and a lack of performance. With long term driver Pierre Gasly having left the team, and rookie Nyck De Vries onboarded as his replacement, The burden now falls on the young, and still inexperienced, shoulders of Yuki Tsunoda to lead the team up the ranking.
My Prediction: 10th
Haas F1 Team
After two years of absolute dread in 2020 and 2021, Haas showed signs of recovery in 2022, having finished 8th in the standings. The car showed a lot of promise in the hands of Magnussen and Schumacher, but crashes (especially for Mick), took a toll on the team, taking a sizeable chunk out of their Cost Cap. With Mick being replaced by the ever reliable Hulkenberg for the season, we might finally see the Haas of the old, fighting to earn points in the ever competitive F1 midfield
My Prediction: 7th
Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin had a below par season last year, especially for a team that is aiming to challenge at the top of the table. But this year brings a lot of hope for the Silverstone based team. The two main reasons for this is first of all, their driver line up, where they have swapped out one legend in for another — Alonso replaces Vettel. The second reason is the new multimillion dollar factory and wind tunnel that the team has invested in should be ready by the end of this year. The team is hence laying a strong foundation in the hope of slingshotting up the standings in the years to come.
My Prediction: 6th
Alfa Romeo F1 Team
Alfa Romeo capitalized on having a serial winner in the form of Valterri Bottas last year and a lack of reliability of their competitors to finish a healthy position this year. But this year marks the first year since it was announced that Audi will be taking over the team from 2026, and that should mean significant investments for the future. How this season goes, hence seems almost inconsequential, as long as they do not take a step backwards, since the larger aim for 2026 is their target.
My Prediction: 8th
McLaren Formula 1 Team
McLaren definitely took a step back from the great progress it had made between 2019–21 last year. It got its car concept wrong for the new regulations, which hurt its progress. But this year brings a new driver pairing for them in the form of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, which the team hopes will reinvigorate their journey back to the top of the podium.
My Prediction: 4th
Alpine F1 Team
Alpine comes into the season with arguably its best season ever. In the words of their team principal, the team aims to be closer to the top 3 than the 5th place this year, but considering the gap last year between them and Mercedes was ~350 pts., that seems like a daunting task. Add to that the fiery teammate combo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, the season promises to be full of fireworks (Both on and off the track) for alpine surely!
My Prediction: 5th
Mercedes
Coming to the first of the big teams, Mercedes has seen a shake up of their key technical leadership, with their technical director James Vowles leaving for Williams. And coming off their worst season in the past decade, they will be more than fired up to come back up the grid. Their famous “No-Sidepod” car made a lot of waves in the Paddock last year, but was only 3rd best. This year they have continued the concept and evolved it further, with the hope that they can challenge for the wins once again.
My Prediction: 3rd
Ferrari
Ferrari finished a distant 2nd in the championship to Red Bull last year with a car that was quick in qualifying, but unreliable and slow in races. After showing a lot of positive signs, and an early title challenge, the team faded quickly owing to an unreliable engine. With new team principal Fred Vasseur being recruited over the winter, there’s a lot of positivity over the new season at Maranello, and as ever, the Tifosi will be hoping that this year we see the Prancing Horse go to the top!
My Prediction: 2nd
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull absolutely destroyed the competition last season, courtesy of a dominant Max Verstappen and the genius car design of Adrian Newey. Despite drawing flak for an underwhelming car launch, all F1 fans know that Red Bull will be the team to beat this year as well. With Max now a 2 time world champion, a strong strategy team, the genius of Adrian Newey and a capable Wingman in Sergio Perez, there’s little that stands in the way of Red Bull dominating again!
My Prediction: 1st
So, there we have the F1 2023 season preview. What we have in store for the season, hardly anyone knows, but we know for sure is that there will be fireworks on and off the track, and sure-fire entertainment everywhere! Next on the agenda is Testing that starts this week which should give us a preview of the pecking order for the season ahead.
