[@McMike]

Congratulations Max on winning your second WDC. Let's see what you've got for 2023.

The biggest changes for 2023 are new drivers and the race in Las Vegas. Other than a few tweaks to address the porpoising, the cars are virtually unchanged.

There will be six sprint races in 2023 (see bold in schedule).

Winter testing is Feb 23-25 February at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Edit #1: No more China

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Race Date
1	Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	03/05/23
2	Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah	03/19/23
3	Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	04/02/23
nope	Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	04/16/23
4	Azerbaijan Grand Prix + SPRINT	Baku City Circuit, Baku	04/30/23
5	Miami Grand Prix	Miami International Autodrome, Miami Gardens, Florida	05/07/23
6	Emilia Romagna Grand Prix	Imola Circuit, Imola	05/21/23
7	Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monaco	05/28/23
8	Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	06/04/23
9	Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal	06/18/23
10	Austrian Grand Prix + SPRINT	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	07/02/23
11	British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	07/09/23
12	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	07/23/23
13	Belgian Grand Prix + SPRINT	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	07/30/23
14	Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	08/27/23
15	Italian Grand Prix	Monza Circuit, Monza	09/03/23
16	Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	09/17/23
17	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	09/24/23
18	Qatar Grand Prix + SPRINT	Lusail International Circuit, Lusail	10/08/23
19	United States Grand Prix + SPRINT	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	10/22/23
20	Mexico City Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	10/29/23
21	São Paulo Grand Prix + SPRINT	Interlagos Circuit, São Paulo	11/05/23
22	Las Vegas Grand Prix	Las Vegas Street Circuit, Las Vegas	11/18/23
23	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	11/26/23

Team	Power Unit	Number	Driver	Number	Driver
Mercedes	Mercedes	44	Lewis Hamilton	63	George Russell
Ferrari	Ferrari	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	16	Charles Leclerc
Red Bull Racing	Honda	33	Max Verstappen	11	Sergio Perez
Alpine	Renault	10	Pierre Gasly	31	Esteban Ocon
Haas	Ferrari	20	Kevin Magnussen	27	Nico Hulkerburg
McLaren	Mercedes	81	Oscar Piastri	4	Lando Norris
Aston Martin	Mercedes	14	Fernando Alonso	18	Lance Stroll
Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	77	Valtteri Bottas	24	Guanyu Zhou
Alpha Tauri	Honda	22	Yuki Tsunoda	45	Nyck de Vries
Williams	Mercedes	2	Logan Sargeant	23	Alexander Albon

 

[freedo84gti]

is it march yet?

 

[georgeboole]

is it march yet?

No and all the seats are filled.
The only drama is FIA investigating Perez crash if someone complains

Στάλθηκε από το moto g82 5G μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk

 

[35thGLINoob]

My prediction: repeat of 2021 except maybe the opposite.

With the extra CFD time, I think Merc will come charging out of the gate strong

I think Ferrari will be like 2021 and win a few races (maybe they didn't win any, I didn't follow them super close but I do know Leclarc was competitors at a few races) and get a few pole positions.

I think RB will be hampered by lack of CFD time, however I would be very surprised if they haven't been testing 2023 parts in practice sessions already this 2022 season. For all the Max haters, I do think you will see vindication of Max and Perez not helping each other. I think RB will be very competitive next year and probably will be storming by the end of the season. I do think Perez will be pretty far behind in the standings. Without a dominant car I think he will be behind both Merc drivers and at least Leclarc again.

I think in the midfield, Aston Martin seems most promising to jump a few spots. They've poached a few of RBs engineers (their head of Aero worked alongside Newey for 10ish years so I'm sure he's got some tricks as well).

It would not surprise me if McLaren goes backwards yet again but that is just a haunches.

I think Alpine will have the worst team battle they have ever had, however the car will be pretty strong in comparison to the rest of the midfield.

I think Haas will be slow.

I think Williams will be slow.

Alfa Romeo will likely be the fastest of the slow teams.

I may have forgotten a team or two but these are my thoughts while 🚽🧻


Edit: forgot Alpha Tauri. Who knows where they'll be. Probably back there with Alfa Romeo.

 

[0dd_j0b]

Damn that's a lot of races.
Hurry up March!

 

[Nealric]

My prediction: repeat of 2021 except maybe the opposite.

With the extra CFD time, I think Merc will come charging out of the gate strong

I think Ferrari will be like 2021 and win a few races (maybe they didn't win any, I didn't follow them super close but I do know Leclarc was competitors at a few races) and get a few pole positions.

I think RB will be hampered by lack of CFD time, however I would be very surprised if they haven't been testing 2023 parts in practice sessions already this 2022 season. For all the Max haters, I do think you will see vindication of Max and Perez not helping each other. I think RB will be very competitive next year and probably will be storming by the end of the season. I do think Perez will be pretty far behind in the standings. Without a dominant car I think he will be behind both Merc drivers and at least Leclarc again.

I think in the midfield, Aston Martin seems most promising to jump a few spots. They've poached a few of RBs engineers (their head of Aero worked alongside Newey for 10ish years so I'm sure he's got some tricks as well).

It would not surprise me if McLaren goes backwards yet again but that is just a haunches.

I think Alpine will have the worst team battle they have ever had, however the car will be pretty strong in comparison to the rest of the midfield.

I think Haas will be slow.

I think Williams will be slow.

Alfa Romeo will likely be the fastest of the slow teams.

I may have forgotten a team or two but these are my thoughts while 🚽🧻


Edit: forgot Alpha Tauri. Who knows where they'll be. Probably back there with Alfa Romeo.

I think Ferrari won’t be quite the cluster they were in 2021. That was a very low year for them.

 

[35thGLINoob]

I think Ferrari won’t be quite the cluster they were in 2021. That was a very low year for them.

I think the second half of 2021 they were pretty quick. I think that's when they upgraded their PU to an 800V system. They were fighting with RB on occasion, they were clear of McLaren at that point. About what I expect. However their PU apart from reliability woes is pretty potent.

 

[n0thing]

Even if it’s a rough year for him, I’m so excited to see Logan Sergeant on the grid.

I think 2023 will be RBR versus Merc again. I’ve lost any and all hope for Ferrari.

 

[kiznarsh]

Pssttt…your table is showing 2022, not 2023.

 

[@McMike]

Pssttt…your table is showing 2022, not 2023.

Fixed. I changed the format of the date in excel and it defaulted to this year.

 

[300_munkeys]

When can alpha tauri start buying red bulls old parts? Can't they get some stuff next year? If so I think they'll be more competitive. I think the field will get more compressed which is great for racing fans.

Still I think it's too many races and too many street circuits :/

I agree on checo and I think he's not good enough tbh. I wouldn't be surprised to see rb get rid of him after next season if they have a decent option. E.g if devries is impressive or if Danny Ric looks good in the sim or gets a chance to fill in and actually does well.

 

[0dd_j0b]

When can alpha tauri start buying red bulls old parts? Can't they get some stuff next year? If so I think they'll be more competitive. I think the field will get more compressed which is great for racing fans.

Still I think it's too many races and too many street circuits :/

I agree on checo and I think he's not good enough tbh. I wouldn't be surprised to see rb get rid of him after next season if they have a decent option. E.g if devries is impressive or if Danny Ric looks good in the sim or gets a chance to fill in and actually does well.

I find Checo to be on the same level as Leclerc, Sainz (usually) and Russell, as far as drivers. But obviously the car makes the difference between all of them. I would be surprised if RB dumped Checo for anyone on the current field of F1 and F2 drivers, unless one of the aforementioned drivers randomly opens up to a team.

 

[mk3er]

I agree on checo and I think he's not good enough tbh. I wouldn't be surprised to see rb get rid of him after next season if they have a decent option. E.g if devries is impressive or if Danny Ric looks good in the sim or gets a chance to fill in and actually does well.

I don't see Checo getting dropped unless the infighting with Max becomes too much for the team to deal with. I don't see how Danny, as much as I root for him, getting a real shot at a RB seat unless he discovers a huge amount of pace (relative to Max) that he couldn't find at Renault or McLaren.

All I do know for next year is I am going to miss seeing Seb on the grid.

 

[mrew42]

I don't see Checo getting dropped unless the infighting with Max becomes too much for the team to deal with. I don't see how Danny, as much as I root for him, getting a real shot at a RB seat unless he discovers a huge amount of pace (relative to Max) that he couldn't find at Renault or McLaren.

All I do know for next year is I am going to miss seeing Seb on the grid.

I want Lando in Checo's seat. Just to see what he can really do

 

[Nealric]

When can alpha tauri start buying red bulls old parts? Can't they get some stuff next year? If so I think they'll be more competitive. I think the field will get more compressed which is great for racing fans.

Still I think it's too many races and too many street circuits :/

I agree on checo and I think he's not good enough tbh. I wouldn't be surprised to see rb get rid of him after next season if they have a decent option. E.g if devries is impressive or if Danny Ric looks good in the sim or gets a chance to fill in and actually does well.

RB went through 3 drivers in short order before landing on Checo. He’s not as talented as Max, but I don’t think any driver they could pick today is likely to be at his level. Even if they found someone as good, I could see that blowing up as Max’s huge ego deflates. Unless Checo totally blows up next season or some crazy wunderkid storms onto the scene, I’d be surprised if they dump him.

 

[Nealric]

I find Checo to be on the same level as Leclerc, Sainz (usually) and Russell, as far as drivers. But obviously the car makes the difference between all of them. I would be surprised if RB dumped Checo for anyone on the current field of F1 and F2 drivers, unless one of the aforementioned drivers randomly opens up to a team.

I think LeClerc is a bit different from those others. When he’s firing on all cylinders, he’s hands down the best driver on the track, and also the best qualifying driver. But he had serious consistency problems and is prone to red mist moments which has prevented him from seriously challenging Max this year.

The others are solid drivers, but I don’t see the same flashes of brilliance.

 

[35thGLINoob]

I think LeClerc is a bit different from those others. When he’s firing on all cylinders, he’s hands down the best driver on the track, and also the best qualifying driver. But he had serious consistency problems and is prone to red mist moments which has prevented him from seriously challenging Max this year.

The others are solid drivers, but I don’t see the same flashes of brilliance.

I'd have to agree here. Max and Leclarc are on another level right now, Max at least as of 2022 season being more consistent at that high level.

I think Lando, George are near that level but just have not had the car to be able to prove they are on that level and can consistently deliver on that level.

 

[GLI Dan]

My thoughts, which are in line with much of what was already said:

1. Grid will be compressed - Merc, RB, Ferrari will be in 1-2-3 contention for the majority of the season and taking nearly every podium spot in every race; Mclaren and Alpine will be duking it out for 4-5 with the potential to be scraping at 3rd for Mclaren if they get the car together;
2. I'm hoping for and expecting a fierce competition for 1 and 2 in the WDC between VER, HAM, and LEC, with Sainz, Russell, and Checo a DNF and podium away from leapfrogging into 2nd. Basically, if the cars are reliable, I expect some cannibalism making the WDC top 3 very tight.

I think this tightness will be in play towards the middle-back of the grid as well. Consistency and strategy will be the name of the game next year as it seems most of the teams had the aero well dialed in.

 

[Jimmy Russells]

Are they going back to the original ride height for next year or are they going to keep it at the higher limit that was imposed later?

 

[GLI Dan]

Are they going back to the original ride height for next year or are they going to keep it at the higher limit that was imposed later?

This is a good question. I suppose they allow the lower height, so long as they still meet the limitation/threshold for the porpoising.